Truck Bed Upgrade

Wrapped up two projects this past weekend and wanted to share the outcomes. These really improve the quality of life and make the best use of the bed space for my needs.

Project One: Shell Lighting

(final shot first)



Running lights in the camper shell is nothing new but I gave a little bit of extra effort to meet my needs. The shell in question is a Snugtop Rebel with the windoors, but it only came with a push button dome light and it wasn't great for output. The LED strips are activated by a magnetic switch that is placed near the window frame on each side. I used these:

$17 SpzcdZa 5Set Magnetic Reed Switch - Normally Open/Closed NC/NO Door Alarm Window Security Contact Switch for GPS, Alarm or Other Device, DC 5V 12V 24V Light

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PRQRQH4. The result is that when a windoor is opened, only that side will light up.



Additionally, I've never liked being blinded when camping and losing all night vision, so red LED lights were definitely desirable. I was able to find an LED brake light kit on Amazon that met these needs (

60" 2-Row Tailgate Light Bar, LED Tail Lights(Turn Signal, Running, Brake, Reverse Backup) - Waterproof 5 Fcunction led Brake Light Strip with 4 Way Flat Y-Splitter Light Bars for Trucks Pickup

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07R1XVMH7/). With a little clever cutting and soldering, we can even make these lights switchable from white to red. Here's a diagram, hope it makes sense:



Currently the switch in the panel is only a two position switch so it only toggles on/off. I'm also in a DCSB so I never sleep in the back so there's no override to turn the lights on when the windoors are closed. But it would be as simple as adding a second switch to ground both LED strips. I also found that the running light is enough brightness and you don't need to use the brake lights. Here's a shot showing both the white and red turned on:



Two other things were very helpful during the install:

Strong-Adhesive-Backed Mounts Cable Tie Mounts Wire Tie Base Holders， Screw-Hole Anchor Point Provides Optimal Strength for long（50pack）

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07JMSWNC8/

$9 16 Feet Length 0.75" Width Hook and Loop with Strong Self Adhesive Tape Strip Fastener（Black）

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XQJ4XKH/

These helped to secure and route the wiring and the LED strips to the carpeted headliner. They don't hold much weight individually, but then again, the components themselves don't weigh that much. I also put the velcro backing on the strips themselves so I have freedom to move them if I need to.

Project Two: Air Inflation System

This has been an ongoing project and one that I'm happy to finally document now that it's finished. So for me, inflating and deflating tires has always felt like a chore and something I felt could use some improvement. This solution is certainly not the cheapest or simplest, but the time savings are undeniable. The heart of it lies with a few components you can buy ready-made:

1. Expedition Essentials Bedside Compressor Mount + Extension Harness (thanks to @Scoobnoob1103 for the smoking deal on marketplace)
2. Rago Fabrication remote air line kit:
3. ARB Twin Air Compressor (or any other compressor you can fit in the bed cubby)

You can probably already guess where this is going. The ARB twin is mounted in the BCM and powered by the extension harness. Then the Rago mounts are used to run air hose to the wheel wells. I opted for 3/8 ID hose with 1/4" NPT fittings to increase air flow. The end mounts also use universal coupler parts so I can attach a longer air hose at the wheel well if I need to reach another vehicle. These are then capped with dust protectors (

$18 Dixon Valve K4DC Nitrile ISO-A Interchange Hydraulic Fitting, Dust Cap, 1/2" Coupling, Black

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DE8V4G4) to keep the parts from seizing. Front passenger wheel well:



Rear passenger wheel well:



I then use 4 hoses with male air coupler ends and haltec lock-on chucks (

$15 Haltec H-5265 Standard Bore Lock-On Air Chuck,Gold

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01938M8MW) to connect to the tires themselves. This reduces the amount of hoses needed and if you see the photo from the lighting project, they coil nicely to fit into one medium quickfist. See how they connect:



As if that wasn't lazy enough, I've also build a control manifold to help with filling. This requires cutting the bed cubby door, but if you've already installed the compressor mount you will have done plenty of chopping already. These are the parts you see below:

• 1/4" NPT bulkheads:
  $13 Legines Brass Bulkhead Fitting 1/4" NPT Female Bulk head Pipe Fitting Bulkhead Coupling（3/4-16UNF) 0.98" Male, 15/16" Length (Pack of 2)
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074FT9JJG
• Check valve:
  $10 Control Devices P2525-1WA Brass Ball Check Valve, 1/4" NPT Female x NPT Male
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007GDXA60
• Aluminum manifold:
  $10 Interstate Pneumatics FPM44S Aluminum Rectangle Pencil Manifold 4 Way Outlet 1/4" NPT Female
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002RRRIOK
• Oil filled pressure gauge:
  $10 MEASUREMAN 2-1/2" Dial Size, Oil Filled Pressure Gauge, 0-160psi/kpa, 304 Stainless Steel Case, 1/4"NPT Lower Mount
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZHJYDN2
• 1/4" NPT to Schrader adapter (in case I need to use a gas station compressor):
  $11 Milton S-684-4 1/4" MNPT Male Tank Valve, includes Protective Caps (Pack of 2)
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001PLI4BA
• 2x ball valves, one to inflate, one to deflate:
  $8 Beduan 1/4" Brass Mini Ball Valve NPT Female x Male Shut-Off Valve
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PMPXC5X
• Extra air coupler to run hose from bed:
  $6 Milton Industries S-765 HI-Flo V-Style -FeetA,M,V-Feet 1/4" MNPT Brass Body, Single
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BVYSY2

Then behind the door, a few 360 degree swivels ensure that the air hoses don't hit the compressor, and air couplers let me detach the cubby door fully.

• Swivels:
  $10 WYNNsky 1/4" NPT 360 Degree Swivel Air Hose Connector, 1/4" Industrial Swivel Air Fittings
  https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07DCHQ93F

From here, the process for inflating or deflating tires becomes very simple:

1. Connect all hoses
2. If deflating, simply open both valves until you hit the desired pressure. 3/8 ID hose makes this very quick
3. If inflating, open the second valve only and turn on the compressor
4. Disconnect all hoses
5. You get the benefit of not having to open the hood or crouch by each tire, so less back pain and fewer people stopping to see if you need help!

This was a really fun project and I've gotten a few positive comments before, so it's good to finally share this work. Let me know if you have any questions or comments!

 

Nice work. Any concerns about that manifold getting knocked around by crap in the bed?

 

That inflation system is fuckin nice man.

 

Somewhat, but the mounting is super solid. Only the door will flex when it’s closed. If anything would break it would be the glass on the gauge or one of the ball valve handles

 

Wow great setup!!

 

Wow nice upgrades, still trying to figure out lighting for my shell.

May i ask what you do for work?

 

Software developer lol. Why do something manually for 10 minutes when you can spend 6 hours automating it?

 

For anyone still interested, I got a chance to test out the system fully tonight, excluding the time to connect hoses.

Air down 37psi to 15psi: 3m 37s
Air up 15psi to 39psi: 7m 30s

Keep in mind this is with all four tires connected so it’s a good volume of air to be working with. Connecting and disconnecting the hoses adds about another minute to these times, but even then you’re looking at less than 15 minutes total whenever you hit a trail.

 

Yeah, but the real kicker is that you don't ask yourself (or someone else) that question until you've done it manually 50 times.

eta: Or at least that's the way my brain works.

 

@RedZeppelin Do all of the tires fill up to the exact same PSI? I'd assume this is the case if because the system is and not closed to each individual tire. SLICK setup. I've now decided to run my single ARB in the rear.

Where did you pick up your ARB harness extension? I've seen a few but not sure which to snag!

 

OP: I plan on doing something very similar, only with the addition of an air tank. The air tank will be the two rock sliders and my own custom rear bumper. All interconnected with ports at each tire like you have.

 

Working on my own setup using OPs as inspiration. Still need to install the chucks at each wheel. Haven't had a chance to is use it yet, but I'm loving how it's looking so far!

 

Nice! I did a custom setup too! Over here

 

I tried an inline reg a few months back and just couldn't get it to consistently work. How's yours?

 

It works great! I have the ARB 1 gal tank,

Husky 1/4 in. Air Compressor Filter

water separator, ARB manifold, and then the regulator before the quick connect

 

That might be the difference, I wasn't running a tank in front of the regulator. I think the pressure differental fluctuated too much.