Plug and Play Brake Light taps

@Puppypunter Please add me to the list. I joined this forum to place an order. Let me know if I qualify . Not sure how to pay or make this request official. What a newb, huh?

 

Hello, I am new to TW. 21 TRD OR AG manual on 'order' and very excited. Will likely be getting a topper and am looking forward to using your tap. Do you have the ability and interest in modifying a factory tailgate power lock harness to output taps for the lock/unlock for the topper lock pop? That way the folks at the top store won't have to splice and/or run a separate loom all the way to the front. I would be willing to be the guinea pig and order and have sent to you an OEM tailgate lock kit.

I just think this would be best to show up with the third brake light tap and lock pop tap ready to go.

Thanks again!

 

Please add me to the growing list. The softopper has gotta have it's lights. ;-)

 

Yeah we can do that too. See examples in the idea hole. It T’s off the intercept where the OEM tailgate lock harness connects from body to tailgate.

 

That's great. Thank you. I also saw a tap for the bed lights. Would be really clean to run the topper LED rope light from the factory circuit.

 

Puppypunters idea hole

 

We can do that too. I will send some bed light connectors to Johnny. I owe him a care package.

 

alrighty.... When this thread started I had NO idea I needed a brake light tap, fast forward a bit and I realize that once I put the bed rack on and the RTT I would need to mount a brake light on the rear bed bar since the factory one is now blocked. So, I order one of the taps in anticipation of a new project. A custom 3rd brake light, yes I know you can buy one cheaper than what it will take to build the one. But designing and building my own custom brake light is a good excuse to expand my CAD skills, and to try out some resin casting.





Yep this is the idea that spun up in my head as a direct result of this very thread.

 

I've got a custom idea for you based off this design. I've been looking for a 3rd brake light that has mounting holes in the back of it so that I can screw it (forever) to the underside of my RTT. Here's an example of the location:


The holes in the back I'm talking about would serve the purpose of a right-angle bracket that attaches to the tent. On the wire-side we could make a water-proof connector to allow the harness to be removable. It'd be a very short wire run to the connector.

Johnny's harness would be configured in this way: From Johnny's brake tap we would run the wires up to a flush-mounted connector in the bedside. Like a Deutsch:


Then the wire harness portion would plug-in to the flush-mount connector in the bedside and then run to the brake light. It'd keep everything very removable.

Any thoughts? Maybe this should go in the hole.

 

so your thinking of having a removable jumper from the light and the bedside connector? If the light is going on the underside of the RTT , guessing to the floor? would the screw not need to go through the top of the light?

I like the idea of that flange Deutsch connector.. gonna have to work that into the bed. could also provide a nice delivery point to run 12vdc up into the tent through a floor mounted outlet of some sort

 

Correct! It'd be thru-bolted through the floor (underneath the mattress; like the mounting rails). The bolt could go through the top of the light, but I imagined it would be easier to attach a bracket to the light and then use some new holes in the bracket to do the mounting. That way thru-bolting is easier. Here's a crappy photo:


You're a step ahead of me with the 12V You could easily make a tap from the trailer connector or elsewhere to give some power into 2 pins on the flush-plug. Then your wire harness would have two connectors on the other end: one to the brake light (from Johnny's tap) and one to a USB charger or something that goes into the tent.

 

in that case a molded in rail connector on the top .. think DIN rail style. would be good. screw a short piece of DIN rail down and then slide the light onto that and lock it into place

 

Yesssss! I think it'd sell. At least one. To me.

 

something like this on top


the 3 holes could get a a heat set thread insert either in the light top or the mounting "foot"

 

I have been prototyping something like this with the deutsch connector. This one has turn signals, brake, parking, reverse, ground, and a constant to be ran back to the battery.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/puppypunters-idea-hole.711584/page-13#post-25655184 The deutsch come in 2 (though not black, but I have a guy with a 3D printer solving that hopefully), 3, 4, 6, 8, and even a 12. I was planning on kind of do these as a built-to-order kind of thing. They can do everything listed above, as well as:
-lock/unlock (if you have tailgate lock installed and want to add a pop & lock for a topper)
-bed light tap for a cargo lamp to come on and off with the bed lights. Can do a plug and play solution for 16-19 with the bad lights added, or a 20+ with or without the bed lights. Soppyse I could do it without the OEM option if the user wanted to run the wires and tap the bed light signal.
Could also use the battery tap for really anything (like an RTT) up to about 7A. (Limited by wire gauge really. Can arrange for more power to be ran, but deutsch size 16 will only accept 14ga wire in a solid type, 13A per connector. So you can get creative with a larger gauge and a bus bar or something).

 

I was thinking out loud to myself this morning of maybe doing an aux +12V terminal in the taillight cavity. For compressor and then as a tap for all rear power via relay or otherwise. Not sure how horrible that idea is, but all those studs are sitting there waiting to be used.

 

Adding

Yeah, like at @daveeasa and @caribe makaira are pointing out, I can absolutely add a lock/unlock. I have already made a stand alone lock tap, so I have the parts for it ready to go. And yes again to tapping the factory bed lights for a adding a rope light. It would turn on/off just like the OEM bed lights would (or in addition to them). So you would need a tap for brake+, bed light+, ground, lock, and unlock. So a 6 pin receptacle. I haven't actually gotten to the "business" part of this, so no idea on pricing yet. But I plan on doing that part soon. Since these will be kind of built custom to the user, I will probably just do an ala carte kind of thing. Let me know if this sounds like something you'd be interested in.

@VTCAL Added as well

 

@Puppypunter Please add me to the list as well. Thanks!

 

Added. Hope to send out PMs tomorrow for this round.

 

PM's sent for this batch. Get them while they're hot!