Interior Lighting:
Lighting for the truck bed is very high up on my list, so I was surprised it took me until now to get it set-up. I previously came from basic LEDs ran off AA batteries in my camper shell, so this time I wanted to hardwire them to the truck. I ran 12V power from the main battery (via the Auxiliary Fuse Block) into the truck bed. This consisted of wrapping and zip tying wiring underneath the truck, then drilling a hole near the taillight into the bed. From there I tucked all the connections and controls into a small junction box. I used a simple on/off switch, BuckPuck (Great idea via @Vice_Chief) with a dimmer switch, and a voltmeter. LED connectors and wiring bridge the gap between the side LEDs and the tailgate panel LEDs. The voltmeter helps as a way to keep track of the battery and the junction box has more room for future additions (USBs, upstairs lights, etc). Future plans are to add in a larger dimmer knob and quick disconnects to run the system off a Goal Zero (via a 12V cigarette lighter wiring harness).
Parts:
- LED Lights - 12V, 4000K
- LED Connector Kit
- BuckPuck LED Driver - 1000ma with Potentiometer (dimmer)
- Junction Box
- Other - Voltmeter, on/off switch, 18 AWG copper wiring, ¼” wire wrap
Tested the system for a week in Baja and the only issue that popped up was the LED strip ends unsticking. So the plan is to add a stronger double sided adhesive to the ends to fix. Otherwise the system worked great and provided plenty of light inside and outside of the truck bed!