Evil Off-Road Third Brake Light Mount With Amber Baja Designs S2 Chase Lights For 2nd Gen (2007-2021) Tundra – Detailed Review & Overview
Finding the perfect spot to mount your chase light is never easy. If you are like me who has accessories such as a soft bed cover and no bed rack, your options become even more limited. Beyond just the mounting, you have to consider how you will also run the wiring cleanly. Thankfully, Evil Off-Road has created a unique solution to avoid all of those issues that integrate a chase light with your 3rd brake light.
The 3rd brake light mount for 2007-2021 Tundras provides that seamless factory look with flush-mounted Baja Design S2s. In addition, the assembly includes pre-installed LEDs for your running lights, brake light, and cargo lights. This means you don’t even have to bother replacing those original bulbs with LEDs as many people tend to do. Let’s go over some of the reasons why this may be the best all-in-one choice for your rear lighting setup.
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- Evil Off-Road 3rd Brake/Chase Light Mount (2nd Gen Tundra): Check Price
Evil Off-Road Chase/Brake Light Mount
Table of Contents
A Closer Look
At first glance, you will notice the solid steel construction and satin black powder coat finish. Compared to your factory 3rd brake light, the Evil Off-Road mount is relatively similar in size.
Taking advantage of the unique design, you are now able to mount a pair of Baja Design S2s or S2 Pros where your factory 3rd brake light used to be. There are also five extremely bright LEDs that replace your boring factory incandescent bulbs. These brighter bulbs are not only useful off-road, but also as a daily driver to allow other motorists to see you from greater distances.
The top three LEDs act as your running and brake lights, while the lower two are your cargo lights. There is no need to run additional wiring for these, as they easily tap into your original wiring harness. You will, however, need to run the chase light wiring through the interior to your power source and switch location. Thankfully, this can be run inside the vehicle along the headliner and completely out of sight, helping to give it that factory look.
While it may look like a perfect fit from the exterior, the installation does require drilling as the mounting holes are in different locations than before.
Customization
Evil-Offroad currently offers their 3rd brake light mounts with a few options. When ordering directly, you are able to bundle the mount with your choice of Baja Design S2 lights in a variety of configurations. These include your choice of lens, lens color, and output power.
We chose the S2 Sport driving/combo pattern in amber as it provided a great output without breaking the bank. For us, we didn’t feel the need to splurge on the Pro version as they wouldn’t be used as frequently as some of our forward-facing lights. We also didn’t want to make it excessively bright for the drivers behind us yet still give us more than enough light.
The Driving/Combo pattern provides a great balanced pattern of light and is perfect for our needs. Amber lights are great for cutting through dust, so we opted for those over the clear lenses.
You are also given the option to add a pre-installed NMO cable antenna for those who may want it.
Optimal Mounting Location
One of the benefits of this mounting solution is its optimal location. Having the chase light mounts higher up allows you to get the most reach out of them.
Lower-mounted lights may not provide as much light due to their position and more dust being kicked up in front of them. They are also a bit more protected when it comes to something like bumper-mounted lights. With this mount, there’s no need to worry about trail damage from rocks or electrical issues in the deeper water crossing.
In our case, we had a folding soft bed cover which prevented us from mounting them along the bed without interference. The lack of a rear bumper also gave us very few places left to choose from.
Cosmetically, the flush mount avoids having a pair of LED pods protruding up from other areas. Think of it as a behind-the-grille style light for the rear. You don’t really notice it’s there until it’s on, and that is what we loved about it. Overall, it is just the most ideal location.
Is It Right For You?
If the thought of drilling into your truck makes you a bit uneasy, this may not be the solution for you. For everyone else, there are a few other things to consider before purchasing.
As mentioned before, one of the original reasons for choosing this was a way to cleanly mount rear-facing lights without a bed rack. Those who have a rack, have to consider its location. Will this interfere with it? Do you have a rooftop tent?
Accessories such as these will block the line of sight and provide a less-than-optimal output. If your 3rd brake light is already obstructed, it may not be worth it to replace it.
Another factor to consider is the cost. While the mount itself is not excessively expensive, you will have to purchase the Baja Design S2s as well. Depending on if you choose their Sport or Pro model, it can get expensive rather easily. Thankfully, Evil Off-Road chose a great manufacturer to base their mount on. Baja Designs is commonly known for being one of the best in the industry, so for that price, you are definitely getting your money’s worth.
For those who may already have a different brand of pod lights, compatibility may be your issue. These mounts are designed specifically for the S2 pod lights, and other brands will likely not fit without modification.
Final Thoughts
All things considered, this is a great way of adding rear-facing chase lights to your 2nd Gen Tundra. After months of using them on and off road, they have performed as expected without issue.
We were lucky enough to be within driving distance from Evil Off-Road HQ and everyone was a pleasure to deal with. Purchasing from a company that stands behind its products is something I always look out for. If anything does happen to go wrong in the future, they also offer a very generous warranty.
Overall, such a small modification has made a big impact. Down the road when we choose to add our bed rack, we will have to get creative with how to try to keep its functionality. We have already considered trying to relocate it to the rear of the bed rack, but we will evaluate it when the time comes. Stay tuned!
