Looking to add more light for the bed and I want a clean install. Anyone wire up extra bed LEDs to operate off the existing switch in the bed?

 

Anyone ever do this? Plan on hooking my canopy dome light (LED) up this way. I can find the switched 12v source but easier if someone else already has....

Mike

 

I popped mine out and attached an LED light (while still using the factory bed lights) that pulled approx 1 amp (+/- 12 watts) of power. The truck disabled the circuit and I had to toggle the ignition on/off for it to work again. This happened a couple of times, so I left it alone.

What you should get out of my experience is that you'll need a fairly low power LED light if you want to use it on that circuit. I know that 1 amp kills the circuit....but I didn't try any other lights. You might try something around 2-5 watts and see if that works....because 12 additional watts was too much.

I ended up running a dedicated power wire from the cab for my extra light.

 

add a relay

 

Easy to access the switch. I installed a bottle opener right next to my switch. Pop the tail light out and you'll have easy access.

If power draw is an issue - simply use a relay an run your own power leads to a reliable source.

I plan on installing under bed rail LED lights if I end up buying a travel trailer.