My Shell Interior Lighting Project

So recently I had a Leer 100XQ shell put on the truck, and as anyone with a shell knows, They are dark inside. So I wanted some light.

It seems that most people go with either LED strips on the roof, or LED strips under the bed rails. While strips on the roof are great, they blind you while you're looking inside. And for my personal taste, they look a bit cheap stuck on the carpeted roof (it is a very cheap option though so no big deal.)

I wanted something very bright (don't we all) that I didn't have to be blinded by every time I look in my truck bed. I also wanted something that turned on automatically when I opened the glass door.

I'll start with a finished picture, and then if you stick with me, I'll show you what I did!



This won't be much of a "How-To" but it was a very simple process and I will gladly answer any questions if I can!

I AM A MOBILE ELECTRONICS CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL INSTALLER (MECP) SO I AM CONFIDENT IN MY OWN ABILITIES CONCERNING 12VOLT WIRING APPLICATIONS. HOWEVER, I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANYTHING IF YOU CHOOSE TO FOLLOW WHAT I DID. IF YOU ARE NOT CONFIDENT IN SOLDERING OR MAKING SECURE 12V CONNECTIONS, PLEASE ALLOW A PROFESSIONAL TO DO THIS FOR YOU.

I'll start with a parts list as well as current pricing, before tax and shipping.

2- Oznium Diamond LED Strips, Cool White - $14.99ea.
https://www.oznium.com/diamond-led-strip

1- Oznium Magnetic Switch, Straight - $5.99
https://www.oznium.com/magnetic-switch

1- 1/2"x36" Aluminum Flat Bar - $2.68
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt-1-2-in-x-36-in-Aluminum-Flat-Bar-800217/204604762

1- fairly large magnet (maybe the size of a small pack of Juicy Fruit gum) - Free, had laying around the garage
(this may not be necessary but I wanted a magnet stronger than what was included with the switch)

Finally, miscellaneous things.

A few pieces of adhesive lined heat shrink. This is a good kit if you don't do much wiring.

$9 Ginsco 270Pcs 3:1 Shrink Ratio Dual Wall Adhesive Lined Heat Shrink Tubing Tube 6 Size: 3/8",1/4",3/16",1/8",3/32",1/16", 2 Color KIT Black Red

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073R69KNB/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Enough 2-conductor wire to reach whatever you want to tap your power from. I used 20awg because my run was only about 4 feet. If you are going to the engine compartment, I would probably use 18awg just to be safe. These strips only pull about 1.5 amps so no need for anything crazy.

2 short screws
I used 1/2" pan head self tappers, but anything that can screw into your shell will work fine. Just keep them short so they don't come through the shell.

Some good quality super glue.
To glue the strips to the aluminum bar. These strips get very hot very fast so use good adhesive that won't let go from heat (or cold, if you're up north.)

Tools

Drill
Philips bit
Saw with metal blade
Heat gun or butane torch (for heat shrink. Please don't use a lighter because you will burn your shrink and it will look bad)
Soldering Iron and solder

This project could be done without soldering, or without heat shrink, but I personally wouldn't do it without both. If you don't want so solder your connections, just cover them in heat shrink. If you want to use electrical tape to cover them instead of heat shrink, solder the connections so they are good and strong.



I won't go into too much detail about everything because there isn't much to say.

Here is how everything looks when assembled.



I cut about 10" off the flat bar (cut to fit both strips plus half an inch on each end for screw)

Strips power/ground get soldered together, and then soldered to about 1.5 feet of wire. The magnetic switch has about 1 foot of lead, and that plus the 1.5 feet of lead we added to the strips gave me enough length to put my switch body off to the side where the latch is so it's out of the way.



My magnet is mounted on the glass door right next to this


So, when magnet is close to switch (lid closed) then lights are off



When magnet is away from switch (lid open) light comes on



So here is a very crude path that our 12v power will take



12v power in from bottom, red wire. will go into red side of switch, come back out white side of switch, back into red 1.5' lead into lights, then out through black ground from lights into black ground of main power

(in the picture, red, yellow, green, blue)

I mounted the flat bar with strips attached just below my 3rd brake so the light points inward and not at my face.



Ran the wiring into the rubber weather stripping, over to the drivers side and down under the bed rail.

So glass lid closed, no light



Glass lid open, light



If you have any questions, feel free to ask!

 

Dude that is outstanding and likely my next mod thanks so much.

 

Very well done, I particularly like how you placed the lights without having to use velcro or mess with the carpet headliner.

 

Thanks! I’m pretty happy with them. These strips are extremely bright. I’ve got another one ordered and will be using it as a lamp for my work bench (I do car electronics installs so a lot of bench work)

Because of the density of the LEDs and how crazy thin they are, they get super hot very fast. That’s why I opted for the flat bar aluminum to mount them. It is serving as a heat sink to get them relatively cool now

 

Yeah I hate Velcro and avoid it if I can. I wanted these to stay put and not have to worry about them falling down over time. Let me tell you though, it hurt screwing into that brand new shell. But she’s a truck and I’m going to use her like one.

 

Yeah I have thought about using the screws that secure the side windows as a way to secure the lights, but then you just end up with shadows along the sides of the bed. Well done on thinking through the problem.

 

Good to know thanks. I think im gonna do something similar and drill holes and mount the bar to my already screwed shell door lip right by the current led push button light that isnt bright enough. Then just reuse the screws and place leds just above so i dont have to redrill anything and it looks oem. Plus i can tap into my third brake light and current led light wiring and just splice in.

 

I got mine used and drilling through for yakima tracks was tough but it worked out great. They wanted like 3-400 for install from a place i was like for tracks thats crazy.

 

9 months and still going strong!

 

Nice work

 

Been a lot of new shells I’ve seen lately so figured I’d bump this back up

 

Where did you tap in for the 12v power?

 

My project was a bit more intricate than most people will do. I added a small SLA battery in the left cubby and tapped a 10awg wire down at the trailer wiring. This has a 40A charging circuit when the engine is running (to charge and run electrical systems on trailers) and I am using that to keep the small battery charged up. My light is running off that small battery. I did this because down the road I want a full battery bank in the back for camping so I was just prepping for that. Also will keep the shell light from draining my truck's battery if it gets left on by accident

For people not interested in a dual battery setup, I would personally just run a set of 14awg or 16awg paired wire up to the battery and put a fuse in line. It's an easy wire run up the frame rail to the engine compartment

 

Got cha what size fuse you think would be good enough if I choose the same led light as your set up? 3amp?

 

Yeah if you are doing 2 of those diamond strips, 3A would be perfect.
If you want to keep it super clean and do it right, pick up a 15-20ft roll of ¼” loom and cover your wire run so it A) looks factory when run along the factory wire runs, and B) will protect your wiring under the truck from dirt and rocks and the rough environment that exists under a truck

 

Ok thanks man I order it now, I have an itch to mod the truck this weekend