Truck bed light install

[Chriscac0812]

Hey all,

I'm wondering who here has installed some truck bedlights. I am looking for basically the simplest way possible, as I really don't have electrical experience at all. I saw one video on YouTube of taking the tail lights off and feeding the wire through that way.

https://www.amazon.com/Nilight-TR-0...+maverick+truck+bed+lights,aps,78&sr=8-5&th=1

I am hoping for something in the style of this, but I really am wanting to make this as idiot proof as possible. Hope this makes sense and would love to see what you all have done to hopefully get me in the right direction. Thanks.

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[Don806]

Hey all,

I'm wondering who here has installed some truck bedlights. I am looking for basically the simplest way possible, as I really don't have electrical experience at all. I saw one video on YouTube of taking the tail lights off and feeding the wire through that way.

https://www.amazon.com/Nilight-TR-05-Waterproof-Splitter-Extension/dp/B07KXR799K/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2GHRIBR8HHR5T&keywords=ford+maverick+truck+bed+lights&qid=1701712574&sprefix=ford+maverick+truck+bed+lights,aps,78&sr=8-5&th=1

I am hoping for something in the style of this, but I really am wanting to make this as idiot proof as possible. Hope this makes sense and would love to see what you all have done to hopefully get me in the right direction. Thanks.

you have XL, XLT, or Lariat? Wondering if you have the OEM light/switch in the bed of the truck already? I have XLT with the OEM light/switch, and put in a bed cubby on the driver's side, so I lost the light. I used the OEM light and switch to run the bed lights I put in the bed, made it real simple, just plugged into the light wiring. Used the 12v pigtail that came with the truck. here is a link to the lights.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09289V9JS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

 

[breal]

Hi Chris,
I installed the Nilight kit you referenced. It can be daunting if you haven't done anything like this beforehand. Just give yourself plenty of time.

In preparation of the installation, I had to buy a Flexbed pigtail (I had already used the Ford supplied one to add 12 volt and USB/USB-C powerpoints on the passenger bed cubby).
I bought this pair and I had previously purchased a mini heat gun, marine shrink wrap and solderstick kit for the connections.

I laid out the Nilight components in the bed to help visualize how and where to install it. I knew I wanted to connect power on the driver-side near the tailgate. I also wanted the wire to run under the bed to the passenger side strip light.

By removing the driver-side taillight, you can pull back the Flexbed connector (as seen in @Don806 first photo) to use your Ford furnished pigtail as the final connection.

I fished the wire end from inside the bed through a convenient hole above the tail light. Having a spray-in bedliner and bed rails for Elevate Rack and a hard folding tonneau made affixing the strip light tape very slow going. I took my time and cleaned the surface as I moved to make sure I had good adhesion. When I got to the front of the bed, I chose not to cut the strip, but to continue to keep the strip intact.

I repeated the process on the passenger side and ran the connection underneath between the spare tire and bumper to the driver side wires. I then used the placed the shrinkwrap over the wires then used the solderstick to join the wiring to the pigtail and heated the shrinkwrap to finalize the connections.

Finally, I connected the pigtail to the Flexbed connector and started the truck and it worked!

Good luck on your project however you choose to tackle it!
Cheers!

 

[TrailMaster]

I'll probably go this route.

https://www.ford.com/support/vehicl...01?name=hack-your-truck-bed-liner-electrical/

 

[FamousAmos]

I went the other end of the gamut (read "cheap" and "easy"). I bought a box of "tap lights" or "push lights." I have put one inside the driver side door, as no lights come on when I open the door. And that black interior is DARK. I am also going to install a few in the bed area & cargo box when it warms up enough to go outside and experiment with placement of the lights. They each run on 3 AAA batteries. My only concern is how they will hold up in the cold weather. It is in the 40's now, and my 80-year-old bones don't fiddle with cars in that temperature. It is very seldom that I am in the bed area in the dark, knock wood. I HAD to do something in the cab, with its pitch blackness when the door is opened.

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