I saw a 54 PU with a 3rd brake light mounted on the back of the cab just over the top of the bed which looked pretty neat.
Since the lights on my 52 are mounted low and small I was wondering if anyone has played around with this idea.
Looks like a flat mount horizontal LED lamp with a seal that would bolt on with two small attachment holes would work.
Your ideas.
TractormanBill

 

I might consider an LED strip light just under the tailgate either centered or full width. Driver following would much more likely be looking at the end of the bed than the back of the cab. Maybe something like this:
https://www.superbrightleds.com/more...Specifications

 

I think the whole point is to mount them high. On the front of the bed, with a bracket that puts it just under the window, is very visible. They also make ones that hook on the bottom flange of the rear window, under the rubber, and just hang down. They can be wired from inside or outside. Pretty popular with the hot rod crowd.

 

I agree with both answers and the cool Leds. I always wanted to place the 3rd brake like into my "FORD" script on the tailgate and the "BARS" be turn signals. Or, I saw the 3rd brake light embedded in the upper top middle of the tailgate. Just some ideas. Have fun!

 

I dont have any pictures, but i saw a truck at the ford carlisle show that the guy made a wooden tailgate that had the ford script engraved in it that was also a third brake light.

 

I would put it up high on the cab so when the truck is loaded it will still be visible..because trucks are supposed to haul stuff!

 

Nice builds drptop and maybe someone will show us their 3rd brake lights.

 

Here is the mount for mine. Sits in the bottom of the rear window, haven't installed the light yet.



Light will bolt to the top of the mount with the two little screws sticking up.

 

After I got my truck back from the body shop all nice and fixed up in 1999, I driving with my son who was 7 at the time. Some guy in a car was right on my back end. I said, "My biggest fear is someone is going to rear-end me." My son who was very observant said, "Dad, I thought your biggest fear is drowning?" True, because I am not a good swimmer.... matter of fact years ago my then girlfriend/now wife had to pull me out of a pool to save me!

So I have been thinking about a third brake light for some time to give tailgaters more notice that I am slowing down. I looked at LEDs like the one linked above, had the school's electronics shop draw something up with LEDs.

But over two years ago I had a brainstorm. I had an old 6 volt turnsignal lying around. I attached a wire with a male end for a ground. This wire plugs into a female lead that is attached to a screw in the back of the cab. The hot wire has a male end on it. I haven't completed this yet, but this plugs into a long wire that would go through a hole in the floor of the cab and be spliced into the wire going to the brakes.

The threaded stud of the turnsignal/now brake light is firmly attached into a suction cup that is used to attach those plastic candles to windows around Christmas time. I drove the truck with the brake light suction-cupped on the rear window tonight to see if it will stay on over or bumpy streets with some sharp fast turns and quick stops thrown in. It held. Would it hold in the heat and humidity of our summers? don't know.

For this pictures I had the hot wire attached directly to the battery.















The only old turnsignal I had lying around was this 2-sided light. Since I didn't want a sunburn on the back of my head from the amber light, I put aluminum foil inside the amber lens.

This is removable of course since when I want to be stock I can pull it off.

What do you think? Too hokey? not cool? As I said in another thread, I am a "thrifty" (read cheap) Pennsylvania Dutchman!

 

Is this a multiple choice ? I would prefer to mount the light outside the cab below the window or on the bed front cross section with a bracket.

 

The whole purpose of the high mounted brake light is to allow the driver behind the guy that's behind you a little advanced warning of when traffic in your lane is slowing or stopping. When ppl black out their rear window, it defeats the advantage the high mounted brake light allows.

 

I had a car that the inside-mounted 3rd light had lost its gasket to the window. At night when I put on the brakes, it filled the whole cabin with red light. I think they need to be outside.

BTW -- to Fixnair's point on tint --- On a Bonus Built cab, if you put film on the rear glass, at night it can create a "hall of mirrors" effect, bouncing light from the front back to the windshield, because it's vertical. The inside rear view mirror becomes pretty worthless.

 

Rimrock.....great idea and l like all ideas for low cost and using what is available to us. Maybe a top flat mount on the back window with an LED that changes from red to white depending on the braking or backing up mode??? Another idea is cutting to length a rear above the bumper LED mounted in the cab rear window??? All the posts to this thread are nice!

 

How about a third and a fourth, using bed roll lights (mid fifty has these in LED). Alternatively, but still in bed rolls, using a pig tail with LED lights, inserted in silicone tubing to fit in bedroll.

 

Could be brake or backup lights! =)