Third brake light / cargo light *pics*

Integrated cargo light in the third brake mod.
Hey. Haven't seen anyone do this so i thought i'd share. Some of you have done great jobs with aftermarket lights in the bed but i wanted something a little more factory looking. Materials:

-Light (I used one off the a chevy colorado. I looked at all the trucks with them and liked how they looked the best. Some mount at weird angles too, so they'd never work)

-Switch (I used one of the ones on ebay with the yellow LED's that fit into our slots.

-Add a circuit

-Wire

I put the add a circuit in the power door locks slot because it's on whether the truck is or not.


Ran the red wire to the supply on the switch, grounded the switch on one of the bolts down behind the kick panel, and ran the load wire down next to the seat under that cowling to the back panel with the seatbelt on it. That panel has a 10mm bolt that you need to take out to get it off. (just chased the brake light wire the whole way. Above the headliner and out through the hole.

The light was tough to get off, it has an adhesive gasket which i carefully ran a razor behind to cut off so as not to scratch or dent the metal around it.
Measured the new light to determine the size hole i'd need to fit it in there. (had to cut about 1x3 inches off each side) This part was really scary. It's tough to cut into your truck. Used a dremel cutting disk. (Be careful, its easy for that disk to grab and want to run up your paint. I just used masking tape to mark the hole i needed and cut inside it.

After the hole was cut i cut off the plug from the new light and from my truck and wired the grounds together, the brake light wire, and then the new wire which powers the white lights. (i wedged something against the brake pedal and tested the wires to determine which was which.)
I just used black RTV silicone and ran a bead around the back of the light to seal it to the truck. Drilled 2 small pilot holes for the screws and just screwed them right into the metal.




Don't mind the dents in the roof. they were there when i bought the truck, apparently used as a bench for a fatass. also sorry about all the salt. its snowed a ton here in the last week.

Love this mod. used it tonight while sawing on the tailgate. Really bright and had it on for like 2 hours with the truck off and no problem. let me know what you think!

 

Well done, sir!

 

That's nice! Great job!

 

Sweet. i might have to give this one a shot some time. great write up

 

Great mod.

 

great job!...I was going to do the same thing to my truck a couple years back, but pussied out once stuff started breaking..lol

 

I always wondered why all trucks dont come with this done. I mean its so simple. Good job though, thanks for posting.

 

Looks great and it definitely looks oem-ish.

 

Great Job!

 

haha nvm found this thread...looks mean! and i was right!

 

Awesome, got ballz man. The only thing I might have done diff was put it upside-down... I think it'd flow with the truck's lines better. Still, awesome job!

 

Awesome mod! I miss not having a cargo light. It's one of those things that you never realize just how useful it is until you've had one.

 

I know what you mean but it's not flat, it has an angle to it to compensate for the fact that the roof isn't flat there. if it was upside down it would point up in the air. thanks though!

 

Nice. This needs to be added into the mods sticky.

Don't think I have the nards myself to cut into my truck, but great work.

 

Looks GREAT.....

 

Thanks Bryan. This is an awesome mod! I also agree that this sound be stickied.

 

Nice job Bryan! I was stopped @ a triffic light behind a Colorado last night and was thinking... Toyota should have cargo lights like that. Definitely got more nads than I do to go cuttin on my truck.

 

this should go on the mods thread.. great job.

 

Wow. Nice job Man! looks great!
Curious why you put the 3rd brake light in so the contour sides go up instead of down?
OEM light light goes this way,/ \ and the new light goes \ /
Was that so it would fit?

 

Yeah. Someone said the same thing on a different thread. And yes, the light is designed to fit on the back of the truck where it's contoured upward, so the light has a 30 degree or so bevel to it to make it point straight back and not up. Had to shop around to find one that mounted on a similar angle as the tacomas actually. all trucks have different shapes back there.
So yes it is angled differently than OEM, but I didn't have a choice, and actually like this way better. On cars, \ / tends to be more sporty and aggressive than / \.