2020 OEM Tacoma bed lights

Hello,
I have a 2015 DCSB TRD O/R. After reading posts on these or LED strip lights I decided to go with the OE style lights. I ordered a set of OEM bed lights (part #

$63 PT857-35200 Toyota Genuine 2020 & Newer Tacoma Led Bed Light/Lighting Kit PT857-35200

PT857-35200) which I plan to install in my ‘15 and they arrived this morning.

I’m going to power them directly from the battery with an inline fuse near the battery for safety. I’m also going to install a waterproof on/off button or toggle switch in the bed. This way I can turn them on and off directly from the bed. I will ground them somewhere in the rear of the truck.

I’ve noticed in the LED light strip kits that they come with a 5 amp inline fuse and I’m going to wire these the same way.

Looking at the plug-in wires that the OE lights came with they look to be 20 gauge thickness. I have a 40’ roll of 18 gauge and a 40’ roll of 16 gauge wire.

Questions:
Which gauge wire is better/safer to run from the light to the battery?

What amperage fuse is best to run with this setup? 5 amps, 10 amps?

Do I need to buy a different gauge wire?

Sorry but I’m not very familiar with amp ratings and wire gauges.
In the pics below I have a piece of 18 gauge wire next to the wires in the OE kit.

Thank you.

 

18 gauge should be fine. Do you have a template to cut out the OEM bed lights?
I have the same lights but haven’t installed them in my 2019.

 

I don’t. I’m going to have to make one. I bought a small pack of poster board at Walgreens for $3.49. It’s the best that I can come up with.

 

The OEM cargo light fuse is 7.5 amps. Now, that circuit could include the cargo light that's in the high-mounted brake light housing (in some models), so that if all you have are the 2 bed lights, you could probably go with 5 amps.

 

Yesterday I installed and wired the lights. My wife cut out the templates for me and I was able to power my grinder and dremmel with the stock power outlet for the cutting. I’ve read where people state that running some tools off of the power outlet can damage the tools but that hasn’t been my experience. I’ve cut plenty of 2 x 4’s with a small table saw and have used the grinder for other stuff. Never even tripped the switch. Just take your time. It is a bit slower under load than running it off of household power.

I used 18 gauge wire (+ & -), ran both wires to the engine compartment and used a 5 amp fuse near the battery. I used heat shrink connectors and where I didn’t I wrapped the connections in 3M electric tape and put small black zip ties on the ends of the tape wrap so the tape can’t ever unravel itself. I also used wire loom.

I know that LED’s are brighter but I decided to go for an OEM look and these are bright enough for me to see what’s in the front part of the bed. These are perfect for my needs.

 

Nice install. I'll probably do something similar. Have you though about adding something like this to kill them after a set amount of time? I don't want to forget and leave them on so maybe set it for like 15 mins?

$10 Automotive Digital Timer Relay Board DC 12V 20A 1500W Relay Module with Dual Time Display, Timing Relay Switch ON-Off Control Support Cycle of time Time Delay for Car Vehicle (DC 12V)

https://www.amazon.com/Automotive-D...081TQBNSH/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

Wow good job and great out come. I don't know if I would have the confidence to go cutting in to the bed.
I have a 2020 and those lights are nice and simple to install. I like the switch in the bed too makes sense.

I have an SR5 so no power outlet but I'd like to put in a 12v outlet so I can use my compressor back there for bike tires and air mattresses. I'm thinking use a hole saw to cut in to opening.
How easy does the bed material cut?

 

Looks good OP

 

Nice Job, looks factory.

 

Thank you and no I haven’t. Thanks for the link!

 

Thank you! I was a bit nervous as well. It cuts easily. Kind of like cutting thin wood. One thing I haven’t mentioned is to WEAR A MASK for your protection when you are cutting. You don’t wanna breathe that composite bed material in.

 

Thank you!

 

That’s EXACTLY what I wanted. Thank You.

 

Looks great -- sucks that you didn't have the stub pre-wired in your truck. The new updated version of the bed lights are significantly better than the ones my old 2016 TRD OR had. I'd recommend buying an accessory fuse block from the folks over at Overland Equipped so you can safely add electrical circuits to your truck. They have different models that attach to their bracket that enable you to add a different number of circuits.

Here's what mine looks like in my Pro, which I painted black and mounted two breakers and the marine fuse block:

 

Thank you & thank you for the suggestion. That looks super organized. Nice job.