I'd like to mount a rechargable Maglite in the cab but, I'm struggling with a place to mount it. I've searched and have found a mounting location or two but, I thought I'd toss this one out to the current model owners to get a little more specific insight as to where you guys have mounted flashlights.

I was thinking that I could use the power seat control circuit and tap to that considering that it's always hot but, I'm worried that the Mag could potentially drain the truck's battery -- thoughts?

 

have 2 stramlight chargers mounted under the middle of the from seat 60/40 bench on the metal upright

we use 2 types of streamlights old style sl-20 and new style sl-20x they use different chargers

I think the mag lights and the streamlights use the same battery stick, at least the old cross over sheets showed them using the same one we have no mag-lites only stramlights

we have several multi outlets in the trucks
2 3 outlets are mounted above the chargers just above the chargers

chargers are always plugged in and hot we have left the lights in then chargers for days with no ill effects to light of truck battery

we have done this for many years plus we have had many trucks with 2 radios in them on allthe time

if truck will be not be used for a period of time we will remove the lights and shut radios off

I might add we have been doing this for 25+ years in the Dodge trucks that we have had

the ford fleet is new, so we so not know may occurr, but we have been doing this with our f150's since early march of this year

if not in the chargers, the streamlights are either in the door pockets or on the front seat

my f150 is the first we bought, it has the 2 chargers, 2 radios, 2-3 outlets
and I normally have 2 or more additional items charging in the truck, so far no problems
the truck is driven 35 miles to work and 35 miles home 5 days a week and usually cranked at least once a day on the weekends for errands on the farm but it has several times been parked from friday evening to monday morning with out being cranked

no problems so far

the dodges all had modified electrical systems with 2 batteries, we are just now starting the changes to the fords not many places to hang an extra bettery

 

Been using mag lights for about 14 years. No problems. No battery drain. I have one plugged into my work truck as we speak. I also have a streamlite plugged into my Supercrew.

Not much help for you on the mounting. Both of mine are just floating under the back seat for now. Like you I'm not sure where to mount.

I thought about the tranny hump on my work truck. But the Screw has me stumped as to a good location.

Good luck.

 

Hey RP,

This is a really good mod to try. My first reaction would be in the bed of the truck and tie it into the hot wire you already put back there for the LEDs. Then mount it near the opening of the bed, just as you go around the edge. (Sorry, tough to explain). I believe there are some holes already there in the metal so you wouldn't have to drill into anything.

Other then that, I would say mount it to the bottom of the seat that is above the tire jack. If it's towards the back of the seat (depending on length of the flashlight), it should be able to fit if I recall correctly.

Where did you plan on finding a maglight we can put in our trucks?

If putting it in the cab, I would consider tapping a switched 12v instead of a hot 12v. That way the switched 12v would only have power to the maglight when the truck is on and running. This way you don't run any risk of draining the battery. The battery of the flashlight should be able to hold charge when the truck is off.

Duke

 

I didn't know that they made rechargable mag lights. How much do they run, and are they as bright as say a 3-4 D cell battery light?

 

mines not rechargable but i have it between the drivers seat and the center console, right at the base of the seat where the tracks is. I only have a 3 cell led mag light it fits there really good and never slides out.

 

Last time I saw they were around 100 bucks if not a couple more. I used them for years at the F.D. I have a 4 cell that I keep in my F-150 and the rechargable is everybit as bright as the 4 cell.

Ive had my maglight for several years now. I found a xenon replacement bulb at Sears for about 3 bucks, and it makes a good bit of difference.

Here is a link for the light:

http://www.galls.com/google/style.ht...FL070&cat=2833

 

This sounds like a good mod to do, but I normally keep various flashlights on my person throughout the day - I keep a Streamlight Jr. Luxeon LED flashlight in the overhead console (LEDs = ungodly long battery life), and a Surefire E2E in the glovebox (relatively short battery life, but it makes D-Cell Maglites look stupid in terms of light quantity and quality).

 

I've got a 3D Mag that I also keep in between the seat and console. Like FX4life said, its a perfect location. My wife bought me the LED 3D Mag and I LOVE IT. Heck of alot brighter than the regular Mag. I also keep a Spotlight and "Big" 4D light in my toolbox. Flashlights have always turned me on....

Never really thought about a rechargeable, since I keep fresh batteries in my lights at all times.......

 

I have been thinking about doing this also. Here are a couple spots that I have thought about mounting mine. Between the drivers door and drivers seat, here is it out of the way and wont get kicked or knocked out of the base unit, and it is also very close to a power source since my seat is powered. The second place (atleast for me since I have a Supercab) is under the single seat in the rear, right in front the of the factory mounted jack. The only bad thing about there is that I would have to run a wire back to this location since there is nothing close.

 

Geez...RP and all of his light additions. What's up with that?

Hey RP,
Did you get your KR stuck in a mineshaft or are you expecting a total sun blackout?

I don't know, maybe you are trying come out of the dark ages.

I think I see what is coming next....full under-carriage lighting!!! It would be great for detailing the cat-back and driveshaft in the middle of the night.

Hmmm....where else could a light be added?

Fuel door....inside the air filter....under the seats....behind the dash...inside the rail compartments...I am sure there was something I missed.

Have fun!!!

 

On a serious note, a charger will charge the batteries hard until they are full. Then there will be a small amount of maintenance charge. It would probably take a few months to drain the truck battery.

You figure about 1500 miliamps per hour when completely dischared and probably 15 milliamps when charged. Do you leave your cellphone plugged in? It's about the same.

 

The rechargable Mag-Lites cost about 100 bucks. They use a 5 cell Ni-Cad battery that delivers about 7.5 volts. The Halogen bulb is pretty darn bright but has a rather short life of about 40 hours ($5 EA). Don't touch the bulbs as they'll get black burn spots on them just like Halogen head lights. I use these at work, and they will give you 100% output for about an hour and then die rather quickly. They trickle charge (about 15 hours), so they don't drain your truck's battery. Generic battery packs are pretty cheap on ebay (2 for $19).

You need to mount the bracket to metal as it takes quite a bit of force to get the flash light out of the charger. We have them bolted on the bottom of the dash by the doors on our trucks at work (power spliced into the fuse box). The Super Crews have them mounted to the back of the flow through console between the front seats with metal beef up plates inside the console and wired into the back of the 12V accy outlet. The ugly charger can be removed from the base plate if you want to "clean up" the interior of your truck for whatever reason.

 

Thanks guys... not sure what I'm going to do at this point but, I really appreciate the help!!

The power seats are 'always hot' aren't they? Wonder what type of juice the maggie pulls?

 

Yes the seats are always "hot". My future bro-in-law is a WI state trooper and he as 2 rechargeable Maggies in his squad. They stay plugged in all the time, along with his laptop. He hasn't had any problems with them draining the battery that I know of.