It was luckily very simple. I used some electrical fish pulls to pull a red (+) and negative (-) wire through flexible conduit. I ran that from my engine compartment back to under my bed & up to the stake pocket where I mounted the switch. Take a look at the wiring diagram in the first post.

 

If you use a lighted switch like that one won't the switch be constantly drawing power, even when off? Or is it only lite when the switch is on?

 

Nice driveway.

What did you use for the light strips?

 

When i first installed it, the light was on all the time. For whatever reason, now it only comes on when the light is on (which is nice so that it doesnt drain the battery, although i'm sure it would take a LONG time of the truck sitting for that to happen)

 

Here's what i ended up using. You can cut in half and both ends have factory wire leads so you essentially end up with two 8' strips which is plenty for the bed. Just seal the ends with silicone. $20 does your entire bed (plus cost of wire & switch which are cheap).

These have a nice warm yellow color that match most of the factory lighting so you dont end up looking like a 3/4 ton "import" that you'd otherwise have with the white/blue lights out on the market.

 

When I wired my switch and bed lights, I tied to running lights. I figured if I need lights, it must be dark and therefore I will most likely have the light on. No chance of leaving the lights on during the day...

 

Nice setup. I would love to add this and agree, the majority of the times I would be using it, the truck would not be running.

 

Saw a new F150 and the inside bed LED lights caught my attention. They turn on with a waterproof flush mounted pushbutton switch in the bed. The LED lights are also flush mounted in the front of the BED on the sides (by the tailgate) The switch also turns on the cargo CHM light so you don't have to go into the truck to turn that light on anymore.

Kinda thinking of looking at a way to adapt that to a SUper Duty. And it worked with the truck off and no key in the truck. (New F150s are push button start, no ignition per se)

And it is on a timer... So I think that solution fits ALL of our needs. I am happy because you can't leave it on and everyone is happy because it works without the truck running or key in it.

 

Where did you pick up the power for the step lights. Under the dash or at the mirror and what color were the wires on each side?

 

My truck had a factory wire terminated on both sides of the truck for added step lights. I believe all 6.7 lariats, king ranch & platinum came with it. It's located near the parking brake cable on the frame with a plastic cover over the end. Same location on the passenger side of the truck.

 

Nice lighting set up. How did you attach the LED strip to the under the bed rail? Velco or double sided 1/2" tape? I was thinking going with 4 foot LED bars but the flexible LED strip looks like a better option. Strangely enough, I thought of doing bed lighting. I just never got back to the idea and forgot about it. My friend suggested it too. Thanks for posting up. It rekindled an idea from the past.

Good job!

 

The LED strip lights are the way to go. They come with 3M sticky tape on the back and stick well to the underside of the bed rails. If you have a spray bed liner, be sure to remove any bed liner splatter that may have gotten on the bottom side of the bed rail. The 3M tape will not stick to the bed liner material. I used a wire brush to remove any splatter and so far so good. To be sure, i ran a bead of clear silicone on both sides of the LED strips just to make sure it would fall down over time.

 

Very nice job on the bed lights. I was actually thinking of doing something like this when I get my truck (on order) I thought I would be the only one with them lol. I think they are good idea and with them under the bed rail they are out of the way and not blinding as if they were mounted on a headache rack.

 

Nitro, I found the factory plugs on my 2015. They were on the frame rail towards the rear of the back doors. Thanks for your assistance. Will rep when I get to my regular computer. Mike