[nminute]

Finally got some lights installed in my bed so I thought I'd post up some pics. I used LED strips that were designed as running board lights. They seem to cast just the right amount of light in the bed and aren't blinding.

 

[nminute]

Yeah, they are sealed up pretty well. I dabbed a little silicone where the wires enter each strip as an extra precaution.

 

[nminute]

cool as hell man. what brand are those? how did you wire them up?

I got them from JCWhitney when I was ordering some stuff for one of our work trucks.

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/...Id-100000348319/Pr-p_CATENTRY_ID:100000348319

Seemed like a good idea, and the price was right. If they don't work out I'll probably mount some lights in the cubbies like others have done. I drew up a basic wiring diagram, but I left it at work...I'll try to post it up tomorrow.

I'd like to see some daytime shots to get an idea of the lights' profile and how they fit under the bed rails. Are they far enough out of the way so that you don't have to worry about them getting banged up by cargo?

I'll take more pics tomorrow. They are fairly well protected by the bed rails. I would have to say that unless you were really careless in loading your truck you'd hit the bed rail first. The LEDs are also encased in a flexible plastic tube, which provides some decent protection from bumps and bangs.

 

[nminute]

I thought about putting one across the cab end of the bed, but I thought it would blind you when you dropped the tailgate. Would be good for surprising your buddies! I plan on mounting some rear-facing lights on the cargo rack I have back there for doing work, setting up campsites, getting revenge on tailgaters, etc.

 

[nminute]

Here are some pics of the clearances between the LED strips and the bed rails. The bed rails protrude 1" from the wall, the LED strips protude 5/8"-3/4" from the wall, so they shouldn't take too much abuse from cargo. As I said before, there are a number of things your cargo would bump into before you'd hit the LEDs (ridges in the bed, bed rails, etc), and even if you did there is a plastic lens that would absorb minor impacts.

It's a little hard to see, but I the box in this picture is laying flush against the bedrail, with about 1/4" space between the box and the LED strip.

Wiring diagram I drew up for the bedlights. I used a DPDT switch because I will be controlling my backup lights with the same switch.

 

[nminute]

All I see are Xs

Sorry...got it fixed.

 

[nminute]

^Wow that is a nice setup. I wish I would have looked at that before I started mine, probably would have tried to tuck the strips up closer to the rails. I like how the bedrails control the diffusion of light. May have to follow his lead on the underhood lighting!

 

[nminute]

nminute, it looks like a good clean install, and I agree that you're probably not going to have any problems with cargo hitting it. Did you use just the one bracket in the middle of each LED strip for mounting?

There is one mounting screw on the ends of each LED strip...the bracket in the middle is for additional support. They probably aren't necessary. In fact, had I seen CBRBob's setup before I started, I would have excluded the middle bracket in order to get the strip closer to the bedrail.

 

[nminute]

I was thinking about using zip ties wrapped around the LED bar with the end sticking up between the rail and side of the bed. Then run another tie down that end so the locking part acts as a block keeping the tie from pulling down, and then cutting the extra off each one. 3M tape would work I suppose, but I haven't had good luck with it in the past. Temperature changes and water here tend to make it come loose. The zip ties would also elminate any screws that might rust or come loose.

That's a good idea...with the salt and winter weather we see up here, I could definitely see the screws rusting. Using rivets in place of the screws is another idea, and still relatively reversible if you ever wanted to change things.