USMCBuckWild
Full Access Members
I like to see where I am going, especially at night. Its an understatement to say the factory reverse lights leave alot to be desired. I wanted more light, but I prefer subtle looking. I didn't want to hack holes into my bumper, I can't stand lights that hang down from the bumper, I certainly didn't want to drill holes in the roof for high mounts. So my fruitless search led me to design my own.
My 2012 EL Limited happened to have fitted rear mudflaps when I purchased it. They are made from a rather thick plastic and are relatively rigid. I also have a couple of very cheap surface mount LED lights from Amazon in the garage.
(https://www.amazon.com/KAWELL®-10-3...rd_wg=Bnd5V&psc=1&refRID=SSASB0DDZP2EMFEBKDPD)
So I says to myself "Self, why can't I slap those little flood lights onto the Mudflaps? It will be subtle, easy, no harm to the truck if I screw it up, and provide light where I want it." So I removed the mudflaps, took some measurements and layed out the lights. They have a decent grommet in the rear of the aluminum housing with about 8" of wiring. I used some marine grade shrink tubing to reinforce the wires and provide better resistance to water and debris. I wasn't satisfied with the small mounting hardware, so I broke out the 5/16 tap to match a couple stainless bolts and washers I had laying around. I just tapped the mounting holes already in the housing. I drilled a 7/16 hole that was quite snug on the wire, then a couple 3/8 holes to mount through. Ran the bolts from the tire side and snugged the light up with a touch of loctite. Wiring was simple, ran extensions over to the trailer wiring plug. The center wire provides reverse light power. I ran back in the harness and made a simple junction with a waterproof shrinktube butt connector in case i have to change them later. Drilled and tapped a hole in the trailer wiring plug bracket for the ground.
All in all, took about an hour. I'll try to get pics posted up. They provide excellent light where I need it to backup. I'm pretty satisfied with them.
My 2012 EL Limited happened to have fitted rear mudflaps when I purchased it. They are made from a rather thick plastic and are relatively rigid. I also have a couple of very cheap surface mount LED lights from Amazon in the garage.
(https://www.amazon.com/KAWELL®-10-3...rd_wg=Bnd5V&psc=1&refRID=SSASB0DDZP2EMFEBKDPD)
So I says to myself "Self, why can't I slap those little flood lights onto the Mudflaps? It will be subtle, easy, no harm to the truck if I screw it up, and provide light where I want it." So I removed the mudflaps, took some measurements and layed out the lights. They have a decent grommet in the rear of the aluminum housing with about 8" of wiring. I used some marine grade shrink tubing to reinforce the wires and provide better resistance to water and debris. I wasn't satisfied with the small mounting hardware, so I broke out the 5/16 tap to match a couple stainless bolts and washers I had laying around. I just tapped the mounting holes already in the housing. I drilled a 7/16 hole that was quite snug on the wire, then a couple 3/8 holes to mount through. Ran the bolts from the tire side and snugged the light up with a touch of loctite. Wiring was simple, ran extensions over to the trailer wiring plug. The center wire provides reverse light power. I ran back in the harness and made a simple junction with a waterproof shrinktube butt connector in case i have to change them later. Drilled and tapped a hole in the trailer wiring plug bracket for the ground.
All in all, took about an hour. I'll try to get pics posted up. They provide excellent light where I need it to backup. I'm pretty satisfied with them.
