Roadshock Edge Off-Road Lights From Harbor Freight – Review

Harbor Freight has been making waves in the off-road market in recent years. Most notably, their Badlands Apex Winches and Off-Road 3-Ton Jack. Now, they enter the mid-tier off-road lighting market with their new Roadshock Edge series.

I recently tested the 4 and 6 LED pods on a week-long trip through the deserts of Anza Borrego, in Southern California. These were demanding conditions for any lighting brand, so I knew it would be an excellent test to see how they stacked up against their competition. Let’s get into the review!

What’s In The Box

Upon opening the box, you’re immediately greeted by this massive light.

Each box includes:

• 1x Light
• Black & Amber Covers
• Mounting Brackets & Hardware
• 4-Pin Pigtail For Wiring DRL + Low & High Beam Wires
• Manual

The wiring harness, sold separately, is completely assembled and plug-and-play. It includes the relay and fuse and is specific to these lights (4 and 6 models).

Features & Specifications

Regardless of which model you choose, you’ll push out a ton of lumens with multiple light modes, including DRL, low beam, and high beam. Rated IP68 and IP69K, these lights are dustproof, waterproof, and tested to withstand 1450 PSI water streams, according to Harbor Freight.

Features

• Produces 7,500 lumens (Edge 6) / 5,400 lumens (Edge 4)
• Pulls 120 & 80 watts (Edge 6) and 95 & 65 watts (Edge 4), per light, for high and low beams, respectively
• Six (Edge 6) / Four (Edge 4) forward-facing OSRAM LEDs
• Six/Four total side-facing OSRAM LEDs (three on each side for Edge 6, two on each side for Edge 4)
• Long-distance coverage from 700 ft. (low beam) to 3,700 ft. (high beam) for Edge 6, and from 650 ft. to 3,050 ft. for Edge 4
• Self-regulating electronics paired with cooling fins for more efficient heat transfer, improved durability, and longer life
• Durable aluminum bezel
• Hard-coated polycarbonate lens
• Stainless steel mounting brackets and hardware

Wiring Harness

The wiring harness has an easy-to-install 3-way switch and measures 12 feet in length from battery to switch. In addition, there are 17.5 feet of wire from the switch to the light connector. It is sold separately. So account for that into the price.

Features

• 14 AWG wiring from the light to a 12 AWG shared wire
• 40 amp relay
• 3-way switch: high, low, off
• 30 amp fuse protection
• Water-resistant DT-sealed connectors for easy installation
• Long wire lengths for a universal fit on most off-road vehicles
• Includes wiring diagram

Note: If you run the lights to a switch panel, ensure you’re not exceeding the peak wattage for the wire gauge. Also, ensure the fuse within the switch matches the one inside the harness.

Installation

Installation steps for these lights will depend heavily on your setup and where you plan on putting them. I decided to mount mine to the top of my low-profile bumper. This required drilling holes into metal, but I’m pleased with the outcome.

The wiring harness can reach most locations but for roof mounting, a custom harness would be my suggested route for getting power to your lights. For my application, the standard harness worked fine.

Required Tools

As mentioned above, the tools you’ll need will vary. For example, if you have an easily accessible spot with nothing in your way, all you’ll need is a few sockets.

Installing these lights into my CBI Covert bumper and unwilling to first remove it from the truck to make the process easier, I needed everything listed below.

• 19, 13, and 10 mm socket set and wrench set
• Socket Extension Set
• Flexible Socket Extension/Jointed Socket Adapter
• 1/2″ Drill Bit
• Stepper Drill Bit
• Power Drill and Ratchet Wrench
• Plastic Trim Removal Tool
• Wire Cutter – for modifying the wiring harness

Note: The instruction manual by Harbor Freight, lists mounting hardware sizes that did not match what was included. Unless I misunderstand metric bolt sizes, the M12 nut and bolts noted in the manual required a 19mm socket and wrench.

Step 1. Determining Placement

A few lessons were learned during installation due to my relative inexperience with these styles of lights and lack of planning. These are sizable lights, with both the Edge 4 and Edge 6 taking a lot of real estate. Planning things out ahead requires extra attention to detail.

Lesson 1 – Assemble your lights to the mounting hardware first.

I made the mistake of aligning everything with just the mounting brackets, not realizing how much taller the light would sit once installed. Similarly, the amount of space needed between the lights. Had I installed the lights on the mounting bracket first, I would have noticed that Edge 6 is too tall to fit between the bumper and front valance without modification.

Lesson 2 – Mockup your final locations.

With the lights fully assembled, mock-up how you want them to look once installed. Some simple questions to ask are:

1. Do the light mounts match up with the pre-drilled locations on your bumper? The CBI Covert bumper comes with four drilled holes on the front of the bumper. I jumped the gun and tapped them to the size I needed to fit the hardware, only to realize that the spacing did not work with all my lights!
2. Do the lights all fit where I want them to go, both in space across the bumper and vertically? A set of the Edge 4 and Edge 6 fit perfectly in between the bull bar on my bumper. However, I did not mock the location with the lights fully assembled, only the mounting hardware. I realized they were too tall and just barely hit the front facia where the Toyota Badge is. Fortunately, the mounting bracket is offset, so I was able to make it work, barely.

Lesson 3 – Check the hardware.

As mentioned above, I trusted the manual as to the sizes of the hardware. However, after starting, I realized I did not have everything I needed for installation. Don’t wait to install your lights until you are 150 miles from home and 50 miles from the nearest hardware store. Ask me how I know.

Step 2. Prepping

The CBI Covert bumper has been great, they touted easy points of access, and that selling point shined through this install. I did not want to drop the bumper during the installation as it would mean undoing and redoing a lot of wiring and hardware.

The bumper comes with four pre-drilled holes. However, based on the size of the lights, I would need to drill new 1/2″ holes. The bull bar required that I use a bit extension, which allowed me to get the right angle. Then, I followed up with a step bit to help de-burr the new holes.

Step 3. Mounting

With the relatively tight spacing, I knew I’d need to install the mounting hardware to the lights before mounting everything to my bumper. When I went through this a second time (more on this later), I was more selective about the hardware location so that I could more easily aim them.

This step was a real pain, largely due to the light’s location relative to the openings within the bumper. That said, with some of the other bumpers, installing the lights the way I did would not be possible. With the socket extension set and flexible adapters, I could get the 19mm socket into the bumper at the correct angle to tighten the hardware.

I did not have a second 19 mm socket or wrench, so I had to rely solely on the welded tabs on the mounting bracket to allow me to get the locknut tightened enough to secure the lights. Again, planning ahead would’ve saved some headaches here.

Step 4. Wiring

For the sake of testing, I knew I needed to use the full wiring harness with these lights. After testing everything, I cut up the wiring harness to connect them to my Auxbeam switch panel.

I cut the wiring harness to separate the DT plugs from the relay and switch. Because my Auxbeam switch panel has two 30-amp fuse connections (the same fuse size as the wiring harness), I felt that I could cut them out. I could not think of a use case where I would want the low beam option over the high beam option, so I only wired the latter to my switch panel.

I will save the DRL and low-beam wiring for another day.

Next, I ran each DT plug through the grill, passing the full harness through the holes in the air dam and frame to get into the engine bay. The wiring harness sheathing feels durable, so I’m not worried about it getting worn down and potentially shorting the system.

If you’re wiring these lights to a switch panel, or anything other than the harness Harbor Freight makes, they make it clear that you should not provide power to both low and high beams at the same time, as it will damage the light.

This is consistent across the market, as the Baja Design LPs have a similar notice. I taped off the red and yellow wires (low beam and DRL), respectively, and wired the high beams to my Auxbeam. Installation was as simple as cutting the wires to the right length, opening the port on the switch, and tightening everything. Switch panels are amazing!

Step 5. Aiming

The Edge 4 and 6 have very tight beam patterns for their spotlight/high beam, so being aligned and pointing straight ahead is important. Loosen the hardware just a smidge so that you can turn and tilt the lights. Once the sun set, I turned everything on and used the backdrop of the mountains (about 600 ft away) to align the lights. Then, I re-secured all the hardware.

Initial Impressions

The Roadshock Edge lights are seriously impressive. With the beam patterns available in the three versions, Harbor Freight has created a set of lights that can be mixed and matched to fit all kinds of builds.

The DRL, low beam, and high beam patterns push out a lot of light. The precision in the beam is crisp, which for me, is what I have been looking for in my setup.

Beam Patterns

The Spotlight and Spot/Flood combo patterns offered across the Edge 4 should fit most needs. If you opt for the Edge 6, being only a Spot/Flood combo, you may want to wire up the low and high beam wires. The output of two Edge 4 lights can be met with a single Edge 6. The side shooters on both fill out the space nicely between my ditch lights.

Mounting Hardware & Bracket

The mounting hardware is straightforward, and I appreciate that it’s similar metals (yes, I’ve installed products that included dissimilar metals in their hardware that meld together over time). Two things come to mind with the hardware.

1. The mounting brackets, being offset in one direction means that you can orient them where the bolts used for locking in the tilt angle don’t quite align. Ultimately, I’ll drill the hole I need once I’m happy with the aiming of the lights.
2. With the mounting bracket positioned backward, the provided lens covers do not fully sit on the light. This can be easily remedied with a Dremel but could have been considered in the design.

The setup I went with was two Edge 6 and two Edge 4 spotlights with amber lenses, both with only a high beam wired to my switch panel. If you were unaware, amber lights help more in adverse conditions such as fog and can cast better shadows on the ground ahead. A mix between the two felt right.

I’ll most likely run the black covers on the Edge 6 lights to protect them when not in use.

Output Shots

There is a drastic difference between the stock headlights and the Roadshock Edge lights. I used fixed settings in my drone to keep the exposure similar across the following photos.

Edge 6 (Low Beam)

The Edge 6 has an impressive low beam, which lights up everything you want. The side shooters cover almost everything outside of what ditch lights could reach.

Edge 6 (Low + High Beam)

With the high beam turned on, you see the extra concentrated forward beams lighting up the side of the mountain. It’s an incredibly crisp barrel of light. The detail I could see on the mountain about 600 feet away was surprising!

Edge 4 Lights Low + High Beam (Amber Covers)

I decided to run the spotlight pattern of the Edge 4 lights as I wanted more forward-facing light. The low and high beams are both incredibly bright. The tight beam pattern of the high beam is definitely noticeable (right).

DRL/Backlight Feature

The DRLs on both the Edge 4 and 6 appear to have a solid bar of light behind the main LED drivers. The Edge 4, on the outside of my setup, has the amber caps on them, which makes the output a bit more orange. The Edge 6 DRLs (and Edge 4 without amber caps) are a more natural yellow. Running the black caps does not allow light to filter through at all.

Trouble!

In less than a month, two of the LEDs on the Edge 6 had died or turned a different color. I noticed this while aiming the lights once home from my trip and a slight blue hue was seen on one of them against the wall.

I do not feel that I pushed the boundaries of these lights and probably had a total run time of 2 hours on them. They saw high and low temps of about 95 and 40 degrees, respectively, and crossed a handful of streams, and one mud bath. The harness showed no issues, so I didn’t short something out.

I tried about every combination or wiring harness, plugged and unplugged, switch panel, or direct-to-battery combination to see if it was an issue. Unfortunately, none of it worked. It seems the issue was with the light itself.

However, the customer service is great. Within two days, replacements had arrived. I hope this was a fluke with an early run production of the lights. Those faulty lights have been sent back for them to diagnose the issue, so hopefully, future units won’t experience the same failure.

Final Thoughts

I’m extremely impressed with the new Roadshock Edge Lights. The design, output, and customer service make them feel like a serious contender in a saturated market.

The affordability, compared to their competition, is a great way for consumers to add good auxiliary lighting without breaking the bank. Are my issues with faulty units indicative of the price point or a fluke? Only time will tell. However, you can take solace in knowing that Harbor Freight backs and supports its products if something goes wrong.

I’m excited to see what they release next for the off-road world!