LED Bed Lights

So I wanted to wanted to light up my bed at night so I could see what is in it. I looked around at kits and for what they cost and how crappy they were I decided it was best to come up with my own solution.

I first bought a BlueSea fuse box with a 100amp breaker and wired it in like so many of you have done before. I then ordered 16 feet of HitLights Waterproof LED Ribbon from Amazon for $15.99. They attach to the bed rail with 3M tape that came already on the LED's. I cut them to fit under the lip of the bed rail and used 14ga wire between rails to run power.
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Now, I didnt want to go with a switch that didnt look right in the truck. I found this scion switch. Looks good and only needed a little work to get it to fit.
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The tough parts was running the wires through the fire wall and to the back of the truck. I grounded the switch to the fuse box and the LED's to the back of the bed. I found heat shrink to be my best friend.
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The whole project cost me about $100 which was cheaper then any kit, gives off more light then any kit, and I got a fuse box to run my other accessories.
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Looks good. I've been thinking of doing this. I did cheap driving lights in my old truck in the side pockets. But I like the clean look of led's. Is it possible to just use an inline fuse like with the cheap driving lights or is the fuse block a must?

Steve

 

You can really use anything (inline fuse, add a fuse, etc.). The draw is extremely low. I opted for the fuse box cause I'm going to be adding some off road lights soon and I wanted to keep the wiring as clean as possible. I didnt do that in my old truck and I had wires just going every where. It was an awful mess.

 

nice build-a-kit. that looks pretty sweet and definitely a cool idea for a reasonable price

 

I have the same fuse panel and breaker waiting to go in.
Side note: What size bolts did you use to bolt that panel to the body?

 

I have 15 feet of LED light strip that only pulls 2 amps. There are a few good how to's in the lighting section. I'd like to do something like this with the hood, bed, and door lights:
http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/lighting/267483-led-lights-under-truck-2.html#post6591525

Good job OP!

 

I couldnt even tell you what size bolts they are. I just happened to come across them in the garage and they fit perfectly.

 

Scubbed

 

sub'd

 

very, very nice job !

 

Looks good man! I just did my own, and wired it to a contact switch. When the tailgate is dropped down... the lights turn on... when it's up.... they go off.....

What size fuse did you use for the bed lights????

 

subd

 

I'm using a 15amp fuses for the time being because that what I have on hand at the moment. Its a 24 WATT ribbon so you would only need a 2 amp fuse.

 

Looking great! Very clean!