rear facing stop light and truck bed light on F150

[larryqp]

I just purchased a 2016 F150 Supercab, to replace my 2009 Ford Ranger. The F150 will be the new platform for my Hawk. The hawk will be permanently bolted to the truck bed and never to taken off. So here is my question:

Behind the cab of the F150 is a red stop light and two clear "truck bed" lights. I'm thinking once I mount the Hawk the lights will just illuminate the wall of the Hawk. Has anyone ever run a set of wires from these lights to each side of their camper facing down and rearward. My thought is they would light up the ground around the camper when I used the key remote to unlock the truck.

I would remove the bulbs, solder wires to the terminals and then but small LED lights to mount on the camper.

All thoughts and comments will be appreciated

Thanks

 

[WjColdWater]

Congrats on the F-150 purchase great rides. No advice on your lighting question. Any chance you could post details on your set up once completed? Enjoy your setup!
Wayne

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Larry, my 2¢... removing the bulbs sounds good, but I’m not sure about extending wires to the camper sides. I think you might be better off by just wiring a couple of circuits from the campers DC bus.

 

[Machinebuilder]

That’s an interesting idea. I’m going to have to think on it.

I am not sure I would do anything that is not easily reversable. Odds are you will replace the truck at some point and then possibly need the lights working again.

I know on my truck those lights illuminate the inside of the bed, when my campers not on.

 

[PaulT]

+1 on what Wandering Sage said.

Look at how and where FWC mounts their downward facing corner lights on the Hawk. If your Hawk does not have these, they should not be too difficult to add. On our Hawk, they are the most used outside lights we have. They illuminate the ground around the camper and truck at night, prevent tripping, and enable us to find the camper if out for a stroll in the dark.

One advantage is that they do not annoy nearby campers as you do not see the lights themselves but just the illuminated area close to the truck. They provide enough light while sitting under the awning to have a "candlelight" meal.

Paul

 

[larryqp]

Good comments.
My thoughts were that since these existing lights on the truck cab come on when I unlock the truck with the remote FOB, then as I approached the camper, new downward facing lights would activate and light the area at the sides when I unlock the truck, plus they are on a timer of sorts so they go off after a a short time.

I do plan to wire an amber 12 volt LED, salvaged from the wreck, on the side of the hawk above the wheel, which will then illuminate our tire table.

The reversible point is well made, maybe I can attach wires without soldering.

To WJcoolwater: I plan to start a post under the FWC section to document all the mods to the F150 and the new Hawk, as I do them.

 

[ntsqd]

I like the idea, the execution could be tricky. Depending on the bulbs soldering to the contacts on the base of such a donor bulb might be difficult to impossible. How would you seal where the wires come out from under the lens?

Might be easier to go with remote control lights wired to the camper itself. Would mean another fob though. Vision-X "Tantrum" lights come with just such a controller. I bought a set w/o realizing this and they won't work for me.

 

[TrapperMike]

I did something similar on a truck I used to have. I had a cap on the back and wanted a light in the cap, The lens of the light on the pack of the pickup cab stuck out a ways. I drilled a small hole in the bottom of the lens and spliced into the cargo lighting, removing the cargo light from the lens. I do not remember what I sealed the hole with, but it never got water in the lens. Ran the wire to the rear of the cap and installed a light. To turn on, all I had to do was hit the cargo lamp button in the truck. If I forgot to turn it off, it would go off by itself several minutes later.
When I sold the truck, I just removed the wiring from the cargo light lens and reinstalled a bulb. Worked well for the 10 years I had the truck.

 

[oldhotrod]

I don't recommend messing with the brake light, trying to feed wires out through the lens is asking for water trouble, there are better ways to do the thing, for example, there are relay kits that attach to the battery and can use a light signal wire to trip the relay and feed back to the lights, all in the engine compartment and wires under the truck. Look at...
Advanced accessory concepts
http://triggercontroller.com/tablet/index.html