Adding a box light

[87Bob]

Has anyone added a cargo box light to a 85? If so what did you run into?

[bigblock73]

What is a "box light"? Are we talking a third brake light, or something else?

[bigtruck81]

most likely a cargo light

[Mickey_D]

I like the idea that I suggested a while ago of running LED strip lights along the under side of the bed rail. I'm seriously thinking of doing that when I swap out the body on the '81.

[piecesparts]

On my truck, I put in the round license plate lights on each corner of the bed. I drilled the large holes with a hole saw and then wired them to the license plate light wiring harness. This allows me to see under my tonneau cover at night and let the Security guard see in my bed when I enter my work place. The lights are shielded on one side and they can be turned to illuminate the bed and not shine in your eyes. They are on, when the lights are on, but could be wired to the dome light circuit with the use of a relay.

[87Bob]

I was refering to a cargo box light, the one on the back of the cab. My 85 dosen't have one.

[75gmck25]

I picked one up from the junkyard, including the switch, wiring and connectors, and it was fairly easy to install.
- You will need to cut/drill a hole where the light mounts, but the hole just needs to be big enough so the light will mount flush. Exact location is not critical.
- Then drill another hole where you want to mount the switch on the driver's side door pillar. Again, exact location is not critical.
- Then fish the wires down from the light, between the two layers of the cab and pull it out in the corner behind the driver's seat. From there you just plug it into the existing wiring and into the switch. I cut the connectors off the wires, fished them through, and then put the ends back on using crimped connectors. This made it a lot easier to push the wires through between the two layers of the cab.

Bruce

[77gmcjoe]

I added a cargo light to my '77, but just wired it directly into my dome light. I figured that even if I had put the switch inside, it'd probably be on all the time anyway.

[piecesparts]

I purposely ditched my cargo light and replaced it with a brake light fixture off of a Nissan. The orignal cargo lights always looked bad and was a mess to keep clean. The cargo lights were of no use to me and the brake light helps me keep LITTLE old Ruthy "I can't see well" from hitting me in the rear end. I used the Nissan light because it was clean, neat and easy to mount. It foloows the lines of the truck well and works great. If I want light in the bed, I install just that light in the bed and not on the cab.

[Srubydo1986]

u mean glove box light