My DIY Bed Lighting Solution

[quangdog]

I could have sworn I posted this way back when I published the video, but I searched and searched the forum and my old post history and could not find it... so: after seeing a few posts about various bed lighting solutions, here is my DIY version. All the parts are super cheap, and while the specific way I installed things took me most of a day, if you wired in to a different source and skipped the switch, installation could be much easier. I had reasons for doing things the way I did, which I explain in the video.

Hopefully this is useful to those who are considering various options for bed lighting. I absolutely LOVE how well these things work.

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[DukeCanBuildit]

Another great video tutorial Kimball. Bookmarked!

 

[Dr3wDrop]

Why did you choose to ground behind the taillight and not run a negative wire in the loom with the positive wire from the battery? Just curious.

 

[Bob902]

Absolutely fantastic. Even a caveman like me might be able to do this without setting my truck on fire.

 

[micl9]

Good video Kimball!
Good choice on running a Batt wire. I used the stock aux power plug in the rear which shuts off at the worst possible time!
I plan to rewire with a relay so they come on with the cargo lights, which come on when you unlock the truck.

@Dr3wDrop - Common practice to only run the hot line and use the chassis as the ground path. Also safety, if the wires get melted, for ex, you have a direct battery short and a melted wire back to the battery. and a fire hazard.

 

[Dr3wDrop]

Common practice to only run the hot line and use the chassis as the ground path. Also safety, if the wires get melted, for ex, you have a direct battery short and a melted wire back to the battery. and a fire hazard.

Gotcha. I have always run a BUS bar to the negative battery terminal and ended my wires there rather than body mounts.

 

[quangdog]

Why did you choose to ground behind the taillight and not run a negative wire in the loom with the positive wire from the battery? Just curious.

Great question! Mostly, because by grounding behind the light I would need to run much less wire - saves both time and wire. It's also perfectly fine to run a ground all the way back to the battery, I just thought it would be easier to do it the way I did.

 

[micl9]

Gotcha. I have always run a BUS bar to the negative battery terminal and ended my wires there rather than body mounts.

For wiring Audio equipment I would agree with that approach. But lighting, as Kimball said, save money on wiire.

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