9, 24 or 36 LED Rock Lights: Which Size to Buy
Southern Lumen builds three pure white rock lights: a 9 LED rock light, a 24 LED rock light and a 36 LED rock light. They mount the same way, they run off the same harness, and they carry the same waterproof rating. The only decision that separates them is how much light you want coming out of each rock light, and what you want to spend to get it.
This guide is about that one decision. If your question is how many rock lights you need rather than which rock light, start with how many rock lights do I need and come back here once you have a count.
The three pure white rock lights
All three are pure white with no blue or yellow tint, and all three are sold in sets of 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20.
- 9 LED rock light — the entry rock light. Smallest housing, lowest price per light, and the same waterproof rating as everything above it.
- 24 LED rock light — a clear step up from the entry rock light while staying easy on the budget. This is the middle of the road pick for a daily driven truck.
- 36 LED rock light — the middle of the range and the most output of the three, without moving to a larger housing.
We have not put these tiers on a photometer, so you will not find a brightness multiplier anywhere on this site. What we can tell you is what is inside the housing: more emitters per light, in the same footprint, going up the range.
What the LED count actually changes
LED count per light is not the same thing as light on the ground. Two other factors move the result as much as the rock light does.
Ride height. The further a rock light sits from the ground, the more the beam spreads before it lands. A stock height truck gets a tighter, brighter pool from the same rock light than a lifted one does. If you are running a lift, buy up a tier rather than adding more rock lights of the smallest size.
Rock light count. Eight 9 LED rock lights put more total light under a truck than four 36 LED rock lights, and they spread it more evenly. Even coverage usually looks better than a few bright spots, so decide your count first and then pick the rock light that fits the budget at that count.
What you are lighting for. Show lighting at a meet and working light for a trail at night are different jobs. If you actually want to see the ground you are crawling over, go up a tier. If you want the truck to look right parked, the entry rock light does that job.
Set sizes and how the price scales
Pricing runs per set, and the jump between tiers is real money once you are buying eight or more. Standard mount pricing at the two most common counts:
- Set of 4 — 9 LED $54, 24 LED $120, 36 LED $180.
- Set of 8 — 9 LED $108, 24 LED $233, 36 LED $360.
Four rock lights cover the wheel wells. Eight adds the frame rails and is the most common setup we ship. Twelve to twenty lights the full underbody, and sets run that far up on all three rock lights.
Read that table sideways rather than down. A set of eight 24 LED rock lights costs about the same as a set of four 36 LED rock lights plus change, and the eight rock light set will light the truck more evenly. Count first, tier second.
Standard or magnetic mounting
Every rock light is offered two ways at checkout. Standard is bolt on: two bolts and nuts come with each light and you drill for them. Magnetic swaps that for our magnetic mounts, which skip the drilling entirely and stay adjustable afterwards.
The magnetic option costs more per set on every tier. What you get for it is the ability to move a rock light after you have seen it lit at night, and no holes in a frame you may not own forever. The full comparison is in magnetic vs bolt on rock light mounting.
One thing that does not change with the mount: the rock light is the same rock light. A 24 LED magnetic set and a 24 LED standard set are identical lights.
What ships with the rock lights, and what does not
Each rock light ships with two bolts and nuts. Magnetic mounts, if you selected them, come in the same box.
What is not in the box is the wiring. Every set needs a wiring harness, which carries the relay, switch and fuse, plus a wireless remote with six strobe options and standard on and off. The 30 amp harness with 14 gauge wire covers a set of rock lights, a set of wheel lights, or both on one vehicle, which is where almost every install lands.
Install is easy to moderate and takes one to four hours depending on rock light count. The rock light installation guide walks the whole job.
Waterproofing and warranty are the same on all three
IP68 is the rating carried by every rock light we sell, at every tier. Fully submersible, not splash resistant. That is the part of the spec sheet you do not have to shop for, and it is why the tier decision is purely about output and price.
The limited lifetime warranty applies on all three when the installation instructions are followed and the warranty is registered. What the rating does not protect against, and what actually takes a set out, is covered in what actually kills a rock light. Read the warranty page before you drill.
Which rock light to buy
The short version. Buy the 9 LED rock light if you want the look on a budget or you are lighting a stock height truck. Buy the 24 LED rock light if you want one answer that suits most trucks, which is why it is the one we point people at. Buy the 36 LED rock light if the truck is lifted, or if you want the most light per light we build in this housing.
Then buy the count you actually need rather than the tier you can afford four of. Browse all rock lights, and check lead times before you plan the install weekend. Questions on a specific truck go to sales@southernlumen.com.