LED under bedrail lighting

watching tv i just saw a commercial for the new GMC with the lighting in the bed and im thinking i want to do something like that in my truck with red LEDs. where is a good place to get 36 or so feet of red LED strip for a decent price and decent quality. also where could i put the switch? is there anything that i can install that would work with the tailgate. when the tailgate goes up they go out tailgate down the come on type of deal? good idea or bad. i don't want a switch in the cab and i never drive with the tailgate down. if its that big its on a trailer. thanks for any help.

I bought a set from Recon and had them on my old truck. Got them wired up to interior lights so anytime they cut on the bed lights would come on as well, worked well for me but not be what you're looking for. I'm not sure if Recon is still making those POS lights anymore but this go-round I plan on buying these lights and mounted them under the rails. Should be plenty of light.

LovetheTide said:

I bought a set from Recon and had them on my old truck. Got them wired up to interior lights so anytime they cut on the bed lights would come on as well, worked well for me but not be what you're looking for. I'm not sure if Recon is still making those POS lights anymore but this go-round I plan on buying these lights and mounted them under the rails. Should be plenty of light.

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Those rock-lights are stupid bright for how small they are.
I've got one on each corner of my wheeler, in place of the bump stops. Low speed conditions they throw enough light to use as driving lights. I had the wires for my lightbar get cut on the trails one night, and used the rock-lights to get me back to the trailer.

I know this isn't exactly what u want but it should be plenty enough light to light up a bed. They come in 20" strips that u can piggy back and made do.

This should at least enough to get your mind rolling

http://www.superbrightleds.com/moreinfo/complete-led-strip-kits/motorcycle-engine-led-lighting-kit/1447/

And u could use a door contact switch to turn them on and off when u open the tailgate, tried to find u a link but can't find it

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/1568207944/Light_Touch_Electric_Guitar_Micro_Pressure.html

Micro Pressure release switch

i actually thought of a refrigerator door switch to be honest. ill try to find one of those though. that seems like it might last a little longer than a plastic fridge door switch. im thinking about just getting some ebay red LED stick on strips just to see how it works. i dont want to spend $60 for 20 inches of light. if it works and i like it maybe ill invest some more in it but im looking at keeping it at a weekend project budget level for now.

If you can't find a switch let me know I have plenty... I can send you 1 or 2

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will do. thanks for the help so far guys.

this is what this project is gonna start out using. we have used these and run them on subwoofer amplifiers before so they flash with the beat of the sub. it was cool but with the amount of power of the sub they would get really hot and blow some led's eventually. im just gonna grab a roll of this stuff for now and go from there. just gonna use speaker wire as thats what we used before and its cheap and works well. what switches do you have mcdaniel? what do they look like?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Red-3528-SM...=US_Car_Lighting&maxbid=3.76&autorefresh=true

When I said door contact switch, I ment the ones in the older car doors. You could drill it into the stake pocket so u won't break it off loading something in the bed

ill look around and find a switch. thats a good idea for the old car door switch. ive got about 2 weeks before the lights show up anyway.

The ones I have are the same as the link. Smaller then 1"

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oh ok. let me see what i can find in the junkyard as far as a switch goes. im gonna look for one from an old car or something. shipping would probably cost more than the switch is going to.

It would be less then $5

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yea i can probably get the switch for free. i know enough people with junk cars sitting around just gotta ask and find the right one. ill let you know though. it would be really sad if the switch cost almost as much as the rest of the lights and wiring. have you received that little key thing yet?

No but as soon as I do I will post up a review.

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Put the pressure switch on the tailgate, not the doors.
Chances are if your in the bed of the truck, the tailgate is down.
It's also a pain in the ass to have your door open so you can hook up to a gooseneck at night.

Yea I'm putting it on the tailgate. I think you miss understood backwoods

dsberman94 said:

Yea I'm putting it on the tailgate. I think you miss understood backwoods

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10-4.
For some reason I read the second post (the one where the guy tied his into the interior lights) and thought that was the most recent post. :doh: