Driver's side bed cubby with AC outlet on the inside

[Don806]

Anyone else who does this, remember to re-connect the outlet underneath the truck after dropping in the cubby. That way you don’t have to be crawling around in the driveway in the dark to check and see if you did it

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[yds]

Anyone else who does this, remember to re-connect the outlet underneath the truck after dropping in the cubby. That way you don’t have to be crawling around in the driveway in the dark to check and see if you did it

that last pic of the wires on my op was taken crawling around under the muffler same as you ended up doing.. I think the harness is too short to plug it in before the cubby is in the hole.. there may not be any way around having to get under to plug it in..

I noticed you did the AC outlet flipped 180 from the way I did it, any issues with the harness reaching the plug on the back of the AC outlet that way? cuz my way the plug in the back faces forward and your way it's facing toward the back of the truck..

your mod came out looking nice! maybe Ford will catch on and start offering this mod as an option? would be cool if Ford at least had the template for where to cut and drill injection molded on the back of the cubby to make the DIY surgery more foolproof..

 

[Don806]

I don't really want to admit why I did the plug opening the way that I did...........maybe something to do with the wife suggesting it........but it made the reaching the plug under the truck TOUGH to get plugged in, it reaches but not a lot of slack, not 100% sure it can stay that way...........if it works loose, it's getting flipped around. The cubby being squared rather than rounded would be a little more helpful in getting the opening perfect. Only thing I'm not happy with was the price of the extra bolts...........$3.75 EACH and you have to buy 4...........I didn't open them once I realized that.......local hardware store had exact match for 89¢ each and only had to buy 2 of them. This should reduce the dirt/water spraying on the back of the driver's taillight also, at least that's what I'm hoping for. One of the lights is due today, hoping to have the wiring done and at least one light back in this weekend.

 

[yds]

I don't really want to admit why I did the plug opening the way that I did...........maybe something to do with the wife suggesting it........but it made the reaching the plug under the truck TOUGH to get plugged in, it reaches but not a lot of slack, not 100% sure it can stay that way...........if it works loose, it's getting flipped around. The cubby being squared rather than rounded would be a little more helpful in getting the opening perfect. Only thing I'm not happy with was the price of the extra bolts...........$3.75 EACH and you have to buy 4...........I didn't open them once I realized that.......local hardware store had exact match for 89¢ each and only had to buy 2 of them. This should reduce the dirt/water spraying on the back of the driver's taillight also, at least that's what I'm hoping for. One of the lights is due today, hoping to have the wiring done and at least one light back in this weekend.

I oriented the plug the way I did cuz I figured it'll be better to pull the AC outlet spring door with my fingertips when I'm standing at the back of the truck.. cuz the other way around opening that spring door is not so natural for the hand and the spring door is then on your knuckles as you try to plug something in.. I think the harness reaching the plug with more slack that way was a happy accident for me..

but based on your experience perhaps I oughtta put a note on the OP to not listen to your wife and leave the orientation of the AC outlet exactly the way it is in the pics cuz reasons..

 

[Don806]

she said "that way you can see when you're plugging something in while standing facing the bed from the rear".................I made a comment about another type of rear, and she asked what was wrong with me, and I then told her that was a good idea and that's how I'm going to do it........Now if the plug under the truck works loose later, I won't hesitate to let her know that it turned out to be a TERRIBLE IDEA!!!!!!

 

[Maverick Life]

inspired by this video, I ordered a Ford NZ6Z-60286A72-A Compartment along with a pair of extra bolts W505424-S450B.

since my Lariat Lux came with the factory 120V AC outlet and LED light, I transplanted the AC outlet to inside the cubby and moved the bed lighting on/off switch to the DIY wiring cover.

not shown, I ordered a DIY wiring pigtail from eBay -- this same pigtail also fits the plug for the factory LED from that bed panel. this allowed me to get rid of the factory LED and reuse that plug for LED strips I mounted on both sides of the bed. that on/off switch now controls the third-brake-light bed lights as well as the aftermarket LED strips.

I used painter's tape on the og panel to cut a template in the tape for the opening to cut in the cubby. I then transferred the painters tape template to the back of the cubby, drilled a hole in each of the corners, and cut the opening out with a boxcutter using the drilled corner holes and a metal ruler to keep things lined up. I then inserted the outlet from the back and used the outlet itself as a template to drill the holes for the bolts.

this last image shows the plug above the muffler which connects to the factory AC outlet. to reach the back of the cubby, the wires going straight up needed to be unclipped from the hole in the metal there. I used a plastic crowbar shaped tool to rip that clip out without scratching up the paint.

Love this mod. Thanks for write up!

Do you think there's room inside the cubby to relocate the outlet to the inner sidewall of the cubby instead of the back - like in a vertical orientation? ...or is it too cramped? I was kinda surprised there was enough room for the hookups behind the cubby; I just assumed the back of the cubby plastic went as deep as it could toward the body panels but then again - still waiting on my truck so everything is gauged from photos.

Also - factory SIBL or something else?

 

[mcc63303]

Did the cubby come with a bottom panel similar to the passenger side that keeps wheel crap from penetrating the taillight area?

If not, how well does the cubby function for blocking crap from the wheel getting on the taillight?

Thanks

The "cubby" will not prevent debris. I made a thread for a cover to prevent the mud/debris being thrown up behind the driver side taillight. Do a search "custom fabricated cover" to find the thread.

 

[yds]

Do you think there's room inside the cubby to relocate the outlet to the inner sidewall of the cubby instead of the back - like in a vertical orientation? ...or is it too cramped?
[...]
Also - factory SIBL or something else?

I got the factory SIBL..

I forget what exactly pushed me to decide on the back wall instead of the sidewall.. I think the cubby wouldn't fit the opening with the outlet pre-mounted to the sidewall.. the location and orientation I picked is the most functional way to do it.. if you flip the outlet over it causes issues as discussed a few posts up with Don806

TL;DR if you try to improve on the mod you might not have enough wire harness to reach the outlet in the back -- where I put it the wire harness does reach but there's no slack left over..

 

[pghDL]

Just wanted to say thank you for providing the inspiration to do this mod as well as the idea to transfer the hole using masking tape. I did this to my maverick today and it came out great! I love having the extra storage cubby!

 

[BlackhawkBen]

I kinda really like this, very tempted to copy,. Good job!

 

[Telemachus]

Absolutely anything you can stick on that side to protect your driver side rear brake light from all the muck and crud that gets thrown up in there is well worth it.

You will see what I mean when you do this mod.

 

[blueworm]

What size bolts did you use for the back of it? I assume you had to source that?

 

[Don806]

What size bolts did you use for the back of it? I assume you had to source that?

not sure what you are asking, since this thread is pretty old?

 

[yds]

What size bolts did you use for the back of it? I assume you had to source that?

I reused the original bolts. however I did have to source the washers and locknuts to go on the back of those bolts. not sure where I sourced them, but it's easy enough to take one of them bolts to a hardware store and pick up a set of locknuts and washers to fit them bolts.

 

[KathyG]

Wow Jerry! Really nice mod and write up - thank you! I had gotten the extra cubby and bed lights a while back and was planning on doing this mod - you made it easy with photos and tips - love the painters tape template! Your workmanship is very nice and clean.
Good 4th of July weekend project for me. Thank you again!!

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