Come on and pony up the pictures of the back of your step side.
I just put a step side bed on my truck and I don't know where the lisence plate or L.P. light go.

 

They were placed on the rear bumper.

 

Is that the only way?
My bumper doesn't have provisions for mounting the LP on the bumper like a style side has.

 

i thought they went under the drivers side tail light.

 

I think fdude64 has it right. That's how my '79 F100 was set up when I bought it in 1987. I rebuilt the pickup box (non - standard, it's an old beater work truck) and the braces I added to sturdy up the rear interfered with the licence plate, so now my plate is fastened to a piece of mud flap hung below the bumper. I tried fastening it to the bumper, but the plate was getting beat up pretty bad (being on an old work truck).

 

the left tail light should have a clear lens on the bottom of it for illumination of the plate.

 

If it was placed on the driver's side tallight, someone did that. It didn't come that way from the factory.

The license plate isn't centered on the Flareside, it is on the driver's side. It has its own bracket that bolts onto the bottom lip of the bumper. It has its own light to illuminate the plate.

 

Here's a pic from an original Ford brochure:

 

the guy that we bought my truck from put a rear step bumper on the truck so my license plate is in its own spot on the bumper just like the styleside.

 

prrcatenary - Your picture is pretty clear. Actually, that's what mine now looks like after I changed it myself.
What year is that brochure?
Jermafenser - Quite possible that somebody changed it. However, I found some Ford publicity photos in the excellent book "Ford Trucks Since 1905" by James K. Wagner that show the plate under the driver side tail light (and above the bumper) as mentioned by fdude64 and as found on my truck when I bought it. The pics were for the 1976 and 1969 model years. I wonder if both setups were available?

 

That's from the cover of the Ford Truck Accessories brochure from '78 or '79.

 

Look in my gallery , stock location , there is a lic frame thar bolts to the rear bed panel and has its own lic plate light built in , 2 bolts that thread thru panel into lic frame , 77 flareside .

 

Some trucks were sold without a rear bumper. Those trucks were equipped with a tail light on the drivers side that had a light on the bottom to light up the license plate. The brackets are still available from a number of sources,l and are pretty inexpensive. The bracket bolts to the tail light housing.

 

Maybe. How did they obtain the pictures? That's one question...

Might be. I know nothing about the bumpsides...dentsides forever!

 

there is a nice tail pic of my 75 ford ... uh what a very good times