[nminute]

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

 

[Fluxaholic]

Good solution to the bed light problem. I know PT is gonna love this.

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?

 

[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.

 

[PiercedTiger]

Good solution to the bed light problem. I know PT is gonna love this.

:clap:

Nice to see someone has the same thinking as me and also nice to know my idea works out well. I can only imagine what it would look like with the set I was looking at that would put one along the cab end of the bed. I bet it would light it up even better! Enough to work at night even! :lol:

 

[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.

 

[deff808]

Wow, nice application! Not ricey at all.... Its there for a reason!

 

[tooblutacoma06]

Those look sweet! I would like to do that as well as mount one tube under each door so when a door gets opened, the lights would automatically come on so you can see where you are stepping out of the truck. I think it would be pretty simple to wire them up to the door pin switches. You guys think that would work?

 

[tooblutacoma06]

I looked on ebay and found this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=014&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=330099504988&rd=1,1

It's pretty much the same thing that was posted by PiercedTiger but here you can see the remote and everything. I would put the two shorter tubes in the bed and wire those to a seperate switch and then put the other two under the doors so they can be turned on via remote. This is a pretty exciting idea I think. Good lookin out PT:thumbup:!!

 

[PiercedTiger]

I looked on ebay and found this: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=014&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=330099504988&rd=1,1

It's pretty much the same thing that was posted by PiercedTiger but here you can see the remote and everything. I would put the two shorter tubes in the bed and wire those to a seperate switch and then put the other two under the doors so they can be turned on via remote. This is a pretty exciting idea I think. Good lookin out PT:thumbup:!!

Thanks! :clap:

The problem is, they have flash patterns. I assume that means a controller box somewhere that they all plug into. I could be wrong, but I can't imagine all 4 tubes having RF recievers in them to work with the remote. That being said, you probably could not split the set up between 2 different switches. You may be able to run less than all 4 at once, but I doubt you could do 2 on 1 swtich, 2 on another. I don't know how these wire up, but my old neons had to be wired in series, looping around the car. LEDs may be different. I don't know for sure yet.

 

[tooblutacoma06]

Thanks! :clap:

The problem is, they have flash patterns. I assume that means a controller box somewhere that they all plug into. I could be wrong, but I can't imagine all 4 tubes having RF recievers in them to work with the remote. That being said, you probably could not split the set up between 2 different switches. You may be able to run less than all 4 at once, but I doubt you could do 2 on 1 swtich, 2 on another. I don't know how these wire up, but my old neons had to be wired in series, looping around the car. LEDs may be different. I don't know for sure yet.

Yep, you are definetly right about the controller box. I thought about this too. I'm sure the whole system is configured to work at the same time, i.e all 4 tubes plugged in at once and turn off and on together. Now that I have thought about it, I don't think that I would be able to split the tubes up either. I could contact the seller and see what they have to say, but chances are, they won't know squat about it. So maybe I won't get the one with the remote. The remote would just be nice to have sometimes, but I think I can survive without it.

 

[PiercedTiger]

^It's not just the remote. i know there would have to be some sort of circuits in each tube to controll strobe, pulse, fade, chase, etc, but they still need a box to sync all 4 I would assume. So unless you can find a plain, on/off, set then you won't be able to split them. I'd be happy with that myself as I don't plan on turning my truck into a disco ball, but I didn't see any that were just on/off.... unless..... :whatthe: I wonder if you could eliminate the controler box, and just run a fused and switched 12v line to a distribution block for the tubes.... I wonder if they would just function as on/off like that.

:lol: Depending on the controller/wireless remote box and your electronic skills maybe you crack open the box. Possibly even separate the wireless switching part from the flashy/controlly part and still use the wireless remote.

 

[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.

 

[misterwc930]

All I see are Xs

 

[nminute]

All I see are Xs

Sorry...got it fixed.

 

[mjonags32]

CBRBob from customtacos had a clean sey up too. He got these LED strips from ebay and used 3M tape to stick it under the railings. He also put some under his hood.

The hood lights turn on when the hood gets propped open.

http://customtacos.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84114&page=2

I'm going to be doing this mod soon also. LEDs are just kind of expensive.

Thanks to CBRBob :clap:

 

[Fluxaholic]

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?

Also, I'm guessing from your wiring diagram and the low current draw in LED applications that you were able to avoid using a relay. Since your power is coming directly from the battery, it looks like you can turn the lights on even with the ignition turned off. If that's the case, are you worried about leaving them on by accident? I was a little paranoid about that, especially with my tonneau cover, so I wired mine so that I could only turn them on with the ignition.

 

[Fluxaholic]

CBRBob from customtacos had a clean sey up too. He got these LED strips from ebay and used 3M tape to stick it under the railings. He also put some under his hood.
The hood lights turn on when the hood gets propped open.

http://customtacos.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84114&page=2

I'm going to be doing this mod soon also. LEDs are just kind of expensive.

Thanks to CBRBob :clap:

I already installed my own bed lights last month (backup lights mounted in the storage cubbies with DPDT switch in the dash and a pin switch in the tailgate), but the LEDs under the hood are a simple but fantastic idea. I'm definitely going to add these. Thanks for the link and thanks to CBRBob.

 

[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.

 

[PiercedTiger]

X2! I may have to add some under the hood too! As it is I have to use my 500W work lights or a flashlight to see anything under the hood in my barn! :lol: I'm hoping to add some more light to the barn, but that'll require a lot more electrical work and money than those LEDs.