Shell wiring

First, because a picture is worth a thousand words and makes my post interesting, here’s my truck.



Question:

I have a snugtop sport hi-liner camper shell on order for my 2020 trd off-road DCLB. The camper shell dealer said he’d tap into the left tail light wire to power the shell 3rd brake light but also mentioned running power from the battery directly - not sure why now that I think about it.

I’m pretty sure I want to avoid extra wires running from the battery and unneeded tapping and splicing. Or maybe these guys know what they’re doing and this is actually the best way, but I find that hard to believe.

So, What sorts of cables and adapters can I use to run power from the trailer plug on my truck to the camper shell, eliminating the need to splice and tap into tail light or battery directly?

 

I think installers use a pre-made plug-and-play harness, not a tap, to hook into the tail lights but you may want to ask the dealer about that. If the dealer doesn't use a pre made harness, it's easy to find one at any auto parts store; it's what's used for aftermarket tow lighting kits.

Snugtops come with an LED dome light standard and strip lighting as an option. My Snugtop Rebel came with a mini 20 amp fusebox with a couple circuits and two USB outlets. Running a cable to the battery is the easiest way for the installer to get always-on power.

My only complaint with my dealers installation is that the installer, not surprisingly, used a cheap 14 gauge wire with shody routing to the truck battery. I plan to reroute and replace that wire when I get around to installing a small auxiliary battery under my hood. If I had to do it again I'd run my own power wire to the back before having the cap installed.
(Edited for clarity)