Running-board lighting gets interesting when you stop treating the board as a long place to hang lights and start using it as part of the warning system.
That's what the Redline Rally is built for. It's a programmable running-board light that can handle warning, traffic-director, scene, alley, and ground-lighting functions in one long fixture. The whole bar is true tri-color, so the color capability runs from one end to the other instead of stopping at a few selected modules.
For a light duty vehicle, that gives you a long warning surface along the side of your truck or SUV. It also provides a way to put directional and work-lighting functions where they make sense on the vehicle.
What makes Rally different
Rally comes in 65-inch and 77-inch versions. The 65-inch model uses five modules. The 77-inch model uses six. Both are about an inch tall and an inch deep, and both use a T-rail on the back for bracket mounting.
The mounting system is worth paying attention to; Rally uses compatible brackets rather than asking you to drill through the light itself. The same basic bracket approach is used with the Sector traffic advisor, with vehicle-specific brackets available for installations that call for a cleaner fit.
That gives the upfitter some room to work. You can plan the mounting around the running board, the body line, and the vehicle instead of making the light dictate the installation.
The other important detail is the true tri-color construction. Every section of the fixture carries all three color diodes. That's what allows Rally to sweep smoothly from one end to the other when it is running a traffic-director pattern.
A standard multicolor light stick may have colored sections assigned to different parts of the bar. Rally is built so the color can travel through the fixture. That makes the directional effect look like one continuous movement instead of a series of separate blocks.
One bar, several jobs
Rally is programmable through the Redline Commander. Along with warning, traffic-director, scene, alley, and ground-lighting modes, it also includes 106 traditional and soft flash patterns.
The point is not to run every available function at once. The point is having choices when the vehicle's job changes.
A firefighter may need red and white while responding, red warning at a scene, and steady white light around the running board after the vehicle is parked. Rally can be programmed for those different operating modes. A utility or service vehicle may need amber directional work along with scene or ground lighting. The same platform can be configured around that job.
You can set the light up for red and white response, red-only parked or scene operation, and steady white for scene, alley, or ground lighting. Those modes follow the way a vehicle is used over the course of a call.
Why the running-board location works
The running board gives you a long, low mounting position along the side of the vehicle. That matters for two reasons.
First, it gives the warning system a side-facing presence. A roof lightbar handles the high
part of the vehicle. A running-board light gives you warning down along the body, where it can be useful to traffic approaching from the side.
Second, it puts work light close to the ground. That's handy when crew members are walking around the vehicle, grabbing gear from the bed or trunk, or working near the vehicle after dark.
Rally can be used on the side of a rescue truck, a utility body, or another vehicle with a suitable running-board or side-mount structure. The length gives the installer a continuous lighting surface without having to place a row of separate light heads along the body.
That can simplify the look of the installation. It can also simplify programming because the warning, directional, scene, alley, and ground-lighting functions live in the same fixture.
Light-duty vehicle applications
Pickup trucks
A pickup gives Rally several useful locations. It can run along a step or side rail, mount along a service body, or work with a headache rack where the vehicle has enough uninterrupted length.
Use warning modes when the truck is working near traffic. Use scene or ground-lighting modes when the truck is parked and the owner needs light along the side of the vehicle.
The 65-inch model is the place to start on a shorter running board or a pickup with limited usable length. The 77-inch model makes sense when the side rail or body gives you more room and you want more of that area covered.
Measure the actual truck before ordering. Wheel openings, steps, bed hardware, toolboxes, and existing brackets all affect the usable length.
SUVs and personal response vehicles
Rally can give an SUV or personal response vehicle a long side warning surface without relying on a series of small light heads. The low profile keeps the installation close to the body, while programmable modes give the owner more than one way to use the light.
A personal response vehicle may use red and white while moving, red when parked, and steady white for scene or ground lighting. The right setup depends on the vehicle, the jurisdiction, and how the owner intends to use it.
The running-board location is also useful when the roof is already occupied by a lightbar or other equipment. Rally adds side coverage without asking the installer to keep stacking equipment on the roof.
Utility and service vehicles
A utility vehicle may spend much of its life parked beside a roadway or working next to equipment. Amber and white configurations can make sense for those applications, depending on the vehicle’s operating requirements and local rules.
The running-board format gives you a long warning and directional surface along the body. Scene, alley, and ground lighting can help the crew work around the vehicle after dark.
For a utility upfit, think about where the work happens. If people are moving along the side of the body, Rally puts the light in the same neighborhood as the people using the vehicle.
Contractor vans and work vans
A work van can use Rally when the vehicle needs side warning and useful work lighting in one installation. The long fixture can follow the side of the vehicle or a suitable lower body structure, while the programmable modes let the owner choose between warning and work-lighting functions.
Check the doors, steps, body seams, and available mounting structure before selecting the length. A clean installation has to leave room for the vehicle to operate normally.
Why true tri-color matters
The phrase true tri-color can sound like a technical detail until you watch a traffic advisor sweep across a long light stick.
When every section contains the full color set, the pattern can move smoothly through the fixture. You are not limited to fixed red, blue, white, amber, or green sections in specific places on the bar.
That flexibility also helps with inventory. The available configurations are red/blue/white and amber/green/white. A tri-color bar can be programmed for the colors the owner intends to use. A dealer can carry a common platform for different light-duty vehicle applications instead of stocking a separate fixed-color bar for every market.
The selected color configuration still matters. Confirm the part number, the intended operating modes, and the local requirements before the light is installed.
Rally compared with a row of separate lights
A row of individual warning heads can solve a running-board problem. It also creates a row of housings, wires, brackets, and programming decisions.
Rally takes a different approach. One long fixture gives the vehicle a continuous lighted surface. The T-rail mounting interface keeps the brackets behind the light. The Commander handles programming. The same fixture can cover warning, directional, scene, alley, and ground-lighting jobs.
That is where Rally can be the better product for a running-board installation. The value is not a claim that every vehicle needs one long bar. The value is having one purpose-built platform when the vehicle needs long side coverage and multiple operating modes.
The true tri-color construction is another difference. It lets the directional movement travel through the fixture, which is difficult to recreate with separate light heads unless the entire system is carefully coordinated.
For a dealer or upfitter trying to keep the installation clean and the functions organized, that is a meaningful advantage.
Choosing between 65 and 77 inches
Start with the running board or side-mount structure, not the vehicle’s overall length.
The 65-inch version measures 64.8 inches overall and uses five modules. The 77-inch version measures 76.8 inches overall and uses six modules. The 65-inch model draws up to 4.7 amps at 12V. The 77-inch model draws up to 5.6 amps at 12V.
The shorter model is the better fit when the running board is interrupted by a wheel opening, step, door, toolbox, or other hardware. The longer model covers more of a continuous side section when the body gives you room.
Leave space for the brackets, cable routing, door swing, and service access. A running-board light should not make it harder to open a door, reach a toolbox, or climb into the vehicle.
Installation checklist
Before ordering or installing Rally, confirm:
- The usable running-board or side-mount length
- The 65-inch or 77-inch model
- The selected color configuration
- The compatible bracket or vehicle-specific mount
- T-rail orientation and bracket spacing
- Cable routing and access to the Commander
- Available current and fuse requirements
- Warning, traffic-advisor, scene, alley, and ground-lighting modes
- The operating colors required by the owner and jurisdiction
- Clearance around doors, steps, wheel openings, and body hardware
- Current certifications and installation requirements
The Redline Rally makes the most sense when the running board is already part of the vehicle’s working space. It gives that space a long warning surface, directional movement, and useful scene-light functions without filling the side of the vehicle with separate light heads.
For pickups, SUVs, utility trucks, service bodies, contractor vans, and personal response vehicles, Rally gives the upfitter another way to build the lighting around the job. Measure the space, decide what the light needs to do, and program the bar to match the way the vehicle is used.
