New tonneau and LED bed lights

[Recontango]

I know tonneau covers arent the best looking truck accessory, but I find them extremely functional. I put on a Truxedo duece (I have had several), because I like the ability to open up the front 1/3 as well as roll the whole thing up and out of the way. I then installed some LED strip lights under the bed rails to help me see under there at night. Here are a few pics.

I ordered a simple LED strip light kit from Amazon

I redneck shrink wrapped (electrical tape) the control box and attached to the back of the bed pillar with two sided automotive tape

 

[0212353]

looks sweet

 

[4x4Hemi]

Looks sweet! how does one go about wiring those up? i havent looked into it so what kit did you use and how does it turn on and such?

 

[LB3711]

sweet. i need to do some sort of lighting under my cover.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Recontango]

Looks sweet! how does one go about wiring those up? i havent looked into it so what kit did you use and how does it turn on and such?

I posted a few more pics and install info here in an album:

http://www.ramforum.com/members/recontango-albums-bed_lighting_install.html

It was really pretty simple. I just hooked into the hot lead going to the trailer plug (red and purple wire). You can turn them on/off/adjust colors and such with the included remote. This particular kit was from amazon, I am sure there might be better ones out there but this one was only $24:

Amazon.com: Lycheers 16.4 Ft RGB Color Changing Kit with LED Flexible Strip, waterproof, 44 Button Controller + Remote and 12 Volt Power Supply Lights Lighting ideal for Chrismas, Party, Indoor/ Outdoor decoration: Patio, Lawn & Garden


You will have to get an adapter however to plug into the control box for the 12V power and unfortunately I can only find them in 10 packs:

Amazon.com: 2.1mm x 5.5mm Male CCTV Power Plug Adapter 10 Pack: Camera & Photo

 

[spankis]

I had a similar setup in the bed of my Ranger.

I used this switch:

Plasmaglow 11010 Blue Stainless Steel LED Activator Switch (On/Off Version) : Amazon.com : Automotive

It's waterproof, and requires a hole that is around 3/4" in diameter (Ranger had one so no holes were drilled for install). It also lights up when activated, which can be handy, and can be had in a variety of colors.

Here it is where I had installed it:



I used 20" led light bars in the back, with nothing in the front:



^^These boys were $20 a piece from oznium.com, and I only used 2 because I figured I'd destroy anything in the front of the bed when stacking firewood against it. There are better options out there now, from superbrightleds and others, and I plan to install a set in my ram here soon.

 

[WhiteExpress]

Looks nice. I've considered lighting my cargo box a few times.

Funny, it's NEVER been an issue for me though. Likely why it hasn't been done!

 

[4x4Hemi]

Sweet thanks man! so what im getting is you just plug it into the red and purple wire from the trailer plug and then what do you need the adapter for? sorry im not so amazing with this stuff, trying to get better! lol

 

[Recontango]

Sweet thanks man! so what im getting is you just plug it into the red and purple wire from the trailer plug and then what do you need the adapter for? sorry im not so amazing with this stuff, trying to get better! lol

No worries man, it is all trial and error...

You tap into the red/purple wire behind the 7 prong trailer plug from underneath the truck for the power wire, I used a simple wire tap connector. You then run a ground wire to a bolt or something underneath to use as a ground. Both the hot wire (red in my pictures) and the ground wire (black in my pictures) go into the adapter (green and black thing) that plug into the control box (white box that I covered in electrical tape). The control box sends the power to the LEDs via one cable and has a second wire that contains an infared eye for the remote control. If you have any other questions, let me know, I am happy to help.

 

[4x4Hemi]

awesome man thanks! much simpler for me haha this is going on the list of things to do

 

[Birddog]

A spring loaded single pole single throw normally closed switch mounted between the truck bedand tailgate would do the trick. That way when you open the bed the switch will close and complete the circuit for the bed lights. They just won't work while the bed is closed unless you install a bypass switch. Sorry for the terrible drawing but I did that on my phone wearing a cast on my broken hand. Lol

 

[Big Boi]

Can the led lighting just be hardwired into the truck? i.e. skip the adapter?

 

[BAILEY1]

Very nice! Good job!

 

[BlackedOutHemi]

Can the led lighting just be hardwired into the truck? i.e. skip the adapter?

You can hardwire it to the cargo lights if you'd like, that way they're your switch, but that would require running a lot more wire.

 

[Recontango]

Can the led lighting just be hardwired into the truck? i.e. skip the adapter?

Not for sure what you mean, but if you are taking about the box where the IR adapter is connected you need it to convert the power into the four leads going to the LEDs. I do have it "hardwired" into the power lead going to the trailer plug, but still use the remote to turn them on and off. You could use a power lead that is switched, such as the cargo lights as mentioned above to turn them on and off instead of the remote but you would still need the little converter box to go from 12V power lead and ground to the little 4 prong plug going into the light strip.

 

[SilsHemi]

Nice mod. Good job!

 

[MyFirstHemi]

Looks good!