Bed Lights?

[72longbed]

Anybody know who makes/sells a light string setup that could be mounted under the bed rails to light up the cargo area? I'd like to be able to turn it on from the bed area or from inside the cab. Any ideas or info would be great.

Thank you,

72

[Longhorn Man]

I have thought about this in the past (many years ago when into the mini-truck scene) and the best I was able to come up with would be the neon lights you see under the import tuner cars. They could be mounted up under the rail and in quite a few differant colors.

[67cst]

us stepside guys get the shaft on a cool idea once again!

[Longhorn Man]

or, you could look at it like this;
step sides are so cool, they don't need all these stupid tricks to look good...LED's and bed lights are over rated. (can you tell I wish my GMC was a short step?)

[72longbed]

I don't want anybody to misunderstand or "color" what I'm trying to do here, I'm looking for clear plastic exterior light housings strung together to FUNCTIONALLY light up the cargo area of my truck. The purpose is to be able to indentify items in the bed when loading or unloading at night, NOT to be a 'kiddie tuner FREAK' trying to get a 'look' on.

Just wanted to clear that up.

72

[chevykid1969]

look at lowes they have all sorts of outside lighting things.

[72longbed]

Automotive application??

[PA70C10]

For yor lights they don't have to be automotive, just 12 volts. The home centers have a lot of under counter lights that could be wired into a switch in the cab.

[BOSS]

Rope lighting would work for it i think.You should be able to get it at a electrical supply,not too pricey and you can cut it to what length you need.I also believe it is 12 volts.Let us know what you come up with and dont forget the pics.

[Martin64]

How about getting a cargo lamp off a late model and mounting it to either the cab above the window or in the bed. You can also go to a camper/trailer parts store and find round them in round or rectangle. They are mounted near the outside of doors of camper/trailers as a porch light . They light up a pretty good area and they have toggle switches right on the housings and they come in 12 volt. Or you can use "tap-a-lights". No wiring needed you can move them around where you want 'em.

[dtlilly]

Yeah, rope lights are what they are called. Many conversion van companies used them in the 80's. I would try J.C. Whitney for these, I believe they sell them in the clear plastic sheathing.

[Longhorn Man]

For that matter, the factory 69 - 72 cargo light puts out more light than any late model unit I have ever seen.

[Dave Reed]

Look at sema's website. I lost all my bookmark's when a virus ate my last puter. I know when you scroll through there products pages they have links to what you are looking for. I have seen many ideas for customization. I also check a lot of rodder pages. Everything is universal on their cars.

[72longbed]

Thanks everybody for the info and ideas, now I know where to get started looking. I'll put something together and post the results.

Thanks again,

72