Adding auxiliary lighting to a truck is one of the most satisfying upgrades you can do, and in this project we walked through a complete Vision X CG2 light pod install Tacoma owners can tackle in their own driveway. We installed two Vision X 4.7 CG2 LED light cannons on the A-pillars of a Toyota Tacoma, and the whole process turned out to be far more approachable than a lot of people expect. In this write up we recap exactly what we did in the video, the tools we grabbed, how the no-drill bolt-on brackets attach to the factory hood hinges, and how we routed the wiring for a clean, factory-like finish.
Why We Chose the Vision X CG2 Light Cannons
The Vision X CG2 light cannons are race proven off-road lights forged in the fire of off-road racing competition. For this build we mounted two of the 4.7 CG2 LED light cannons, and together they push a combined 10,500 lumens. That output gives you a ton of medium distance lighting coverage at the flip of a switch, which is exactly what you want when the pavement ends and the trail begins. These are not floodlights meant to wash the ground right in front of the bumper, they are designed to throw useful light out to that medium range where you need to spot obstacles and pick your line at night.
One of the biggest reasons we like this setup is the design. This is a no-drill bolt-on kit that comes with the wire harness and brackets, and it mounts to your factory location to provide a clean factory-like appearance. If you want to compare individual units, the 4.7 CG2 Single LED Light Cannon is the starting point, and for a matched pair like the one we installed, the CG2 Multi-LED Light Cannon Kit is the way to go.
Tools You Will Need
Before we dove into the install, we laid out everything so we would not be hunting for a socket mid-project. Getting your tools organized up front makes the entire job go faster and cleaner. Here is what we used to make our lives easier during this build.
You are going to want a 10mm deep dish socket on a ratchet, a 13mm socket on a ratchet, a sharpie or a pencil, a set of flush cuts or dikes, some zip ties, and a set of open end box wrenches. And even though we said this is a drill-less kit for the light mounting, to install your switch on the interior of the vehicle we used a stepper drill bit to mount it nice and flush. That is the only place drilling comes into play, and it is a single clean hole for the switch.
Step by Step Vision X CG2 Install
With the tools staged, we moved on to the actual installation. The whole process breaks down into a few clear phases: prepping and marking the hood, mounting the brackets, attaching the lights, wiring everything up, and finally setting the interior switch. We will walk through each one just like we did in the video.
Mark and Remove the Hood Hinge Bolts
The first thing you want to do is pop your hood to access the hinges. The nice thing about this kit is that it utilizes the factory hood hinges to mount the lighting brackets, so there is no drilling into your fenders or sheet metal. Before you touch a bolt, mark your hood location with a sharpie or pencil. This is a step you do not want to skip. Marking the position means that when everything gets put back together, your hood is properly aligned and closes exactly the way it did from the factory.
Once you have your alignment marked, remove the hinge bolts. It is going to be nice to have someone help you hold your hood so it does not slide down while you are working. With a helper steadying the hood, you can take your time and keep everything under control.
Install the Vision X Brackets
Once you have removed the hood bolts, install your Vision X bracket over the hood hinge and reinstall the bolts. Before you tighten anything, make sure you have the bracket properly aligned. Take a moment to confirm the position looks right, then go ahead and cinch it down. Once you have everything tightened up, you simply repeat the process on the other side of the truck.
Mount the CG2 Light Cannons
After you have your brackets installed on both sides, it is time to mount the lights. This part is straightforward. You simply install your light utilizing two open-end wrenches, one to hold and one to tighten. Get the light positioned roughly where you want it, then snug down the hardware. You will do a final aiming adjustment later once everything is wired and working.
Wire Up the Harness
Once you have your lights installed, it is time to wire everything up. This kit comes with a complete wire harness to make everything clean and easy. The first thing we recommend is laying the harness out to where it is going to be placed so you can see how the runs will fall before you commit to anything. Then you hook everything up, and the final step is cleaning up all the excess and zip tying everything into place.
We started by hooking up the positive and negative leads of the wiring harness to the battery. For the negative, you can mount it either to the battery terminal itself, or you can ground it to where the main ground for the truck is. We chose to ground it to the truck’s main ground point because it is a little easier place to mount it. Either option works fine, so go with whatever is cleanest for your setup.
When it comes to the relay, there are a couple of different ways you can mount it. We personally taped the relay and the fuse box together and mounted them right to the existing mount for the relay and fuse box. Taping them together first makes life a little easier and keeps everything consolidated in one neat area, which makes the whole install look tidier and simpler to service down the road.
Once you have got your slack wrangled and you know your distance, connect the pigtail to your light. We like to lay the harness following where the factory harness runs and zip tie it right to it. That keeps everything nice and clean and hidden, so your engine bay does not look like an afterthought. If you enjoy this kind of clean routing work, our Tacoma LED Light Bar Install Guide covers similar techniques for a bigger light bar project.
Feed and Mount the Interior Switch
Now that you have all your wire laid and connected, the last thing to do is feed your switch wire through the firewall of the truck and mount your switch. After you have fed the switch wire through, locate where you want the switch to live on the interior. This is where that stepper bit comes in. We used it to drill a single clean hole so the switch sits nice and flush.
Once the hole is drilled, connect your switch wires and you should be good to go. That is the only drilling involved in the entire project, and it is a small price to pay for a factory-clean switch location inside the cab.
Final Thoughts and Aiming
And that is it for our Vision X CG2 light install. Take the time to go out at night and set your lights up to your preference, since aiming is where you really dial in that medium distance coverage. A few minutes tweaking the angle makes a huge difference in how the beam lands on the trail. Other than that, enjoy off-roading at night with your new lights.
If you are still shopping around and want to see how these compare to other options, it is worth browsing a broader selection of Off-Road LED Pod Lights and Off-Road Driving Lights to make sure you get the beam pattern and output that fits how you drive. The Vision X CG2 cannons we installed here strike a great balance for a Tacoma A-pillar setup, giving you a clean look during the day and serious reach at night.
Frequently Asked Questions
What lights are used in this Tacoma install
The video installs two Vision X 4.7 CG2 LED light cannons mounted on the Toyota Tacoma’s A-pillars.
How much light output do the CG2 lights produce
According to the video, the two CG2 light cannons combine for 10,500 lumens of medium distance lighting coverage.
Does this Vision X kit require drilling into the truck
The light mounting itself is a no-drill bolt-on kit that uses the factory hood hinge locations, though a stepper drill bit is used to mount the interior switch through the firewall.
What tools are needed for the installation
The video recommends a 10mm deep dish socket, a 13mm socket, a ratchet, a sharpie or pencil, flush cutters or dikes, zip ties, open end box wrenches, and a stepper drill bit for the switch.
How are the Vision X brackets mounted to the Tacoma
The brackets install over the factory hood hinge bolts after marking the hood position, allowing the hood to be reinstalled properly aligned once the bracket is in place.
