Dual Switched bed lights w. dash indicator light right up

So this is my frist attempt at a write up, and I borrowed knowledge extensively from many members, and since there were quite a few people who answered all my questions I figured I would attempt to pass along some of the info. I gathered.

The idea for this came from the sticky of wiring up bed lights, but I also wanted a switch in my cab, so I didn't have to run back to the bed every time I left them on. This also meant that I needed an indicator light in the cab so I know when they are left on.

The first picture is a basic layout of everything I used. From the top down I have
wire loom (you need more of this than you think)
Misc. connectors (both spade and butt sized to your wire)
Heat shrink tubing
white wire is hot wire from the lights
Middle row is my inline fuse
Relay
red wire is hot wire going back to the lights
and the lights installed in the cubby's
Bottom row is my LED indicator
black wire is the ground for the LED
my two switches and misc. other wire.
not pictured is the add-a-circuit that I ran back from my switch to a hot circuit in the fuse box

second picture is the lights installed in the truck. I ended up drilling and grounding the the frame inside the wheel wells, hot wires were routed under the bed with many many zip ties

Third picture is the switch I mounted in the storage bin (installed on the drivers side to keep the routing of the wires as simple as possible)

Fourth pic is the switch installed in the cab, with the green LED indicator light installed next to it. (I could not figure out a way to run lighted switches with this set up, if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them)

last pic is where the wiring comes out of the loom in the engine bay. The large red wire in front is running to my fuse, then on to the battery, the red wire behind goes into the wire loom and under the truck for my hot lead to the lights. The white wire is running to my switch circuit in the cab. The black wire in back is my ground.
The green wire you can see is actually coming from the switch in the bed, back to the fuse box, completeing the circuit with the add-a-fuse in the fuse box

 

Also here is the general wiring diagram I drew for it.

If anyone is planning on doing this, here are some things I learned the hard way.

Plan out your wiring before you start doing anything else, and have extra wire on hand, the amount that you are running back and forth between the two circuits ends up being more than you would think. (or at least more than I thought)

The switches I used are SPDT on/on switches, basically they are the same idea as a 3-way switch in your house, but for 12v. They are hard to find, I ordered them online, and they ended up being 6 bucks each.

After searching 4 different stores I finally found an add-a-circuit for the mini-fuses in our trucks, a large autozone had them, check there first if you are having trouble locating them.

That's all I can think of at the moment, I am camping all next week, so they should get a good testing. The whole purpose of the lights for me is for camping and hunting, and the dual switch idea is mainly just because I wanted to see if I could. (although the legitimate reason is so I don't have to slam my cab doors when I'm hunting to turn them on or off)

If anyone has any questions feel free to hit me up.

 

I wonder why no one has stickied this... This is a great write up on how to actually do it. I have been wanting to do this exact thing but had no idea on how to start. I found this thread on accident. Great job man

 

bought a new truck and couldnt remember how i did this the first time, so reviving my own zombie thread. edited the title so it made more sense too

 

Are those SPDT switches?

 

yup, but only with on/on function. no center off function