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This isn't really meant to be a how-to but I'd be happy to answer questions about how I installed these.
There are four 20" weatherproof LED strips in Natural White color because it's the brightest (http://www.superbrightleds.com/morei...ht-strip/1466/). The strips are self-adhesive, but I didn't think they'd stick too well to the Line-X, so I screwed some 5/8" wide aluminum strips to the bed with self-tapping screws. Ran a fused hot wire from the battery (around the front of the engine bay, then down the drivers side frame rail) so it's always on.
They are rated at 80 lumens/ft for the Natural White and draw 89 mA/ft. I've got less than 7 feet of lights, so that's just over 0.6 amps.
The strips were $12 each. I probably spent another $25 or so on the switch, wiring, and the aluminum strips. For about $75, you can't beat the results. Light output is fantastic!
Awesome work, I just ordered the same bed cover and I've been wanting to do the same LED setup as you have. Interesting how you've used 4 strips rather than the one long strip that I normally see on DIYs like this. How have the lights held up since you posted in 2013?
Still going strong. Had an issue last winter where we got a ton of snow and the wiring to the switch got so weighed down by ice, that it pulled out of the switch. I went back and soldered everything up and it's been solid ever since. They are apparently supposed to be all weather lights. They're pretty well protected under the rails - I wouldn't hesitate to use this setup with or without a bed cover
Yeah, I'll get some more pics soon, if my BakFlip cover isn't frozen to the bed rails...
The strips have adhesive on the back - it's just like a big long sticker. You could probably just stick it to the side of the bed if you don't have LineX. I was just worried that they wouldn't stick too well to the rough texture of the bed coating.
As for wiring, there's a red and black wire coming from the end of each strip. I zip-tied the two sets together and ran them through a grommet in the side of the bed. I had to drill a hole and add the grommet. The wires just go between the inner and outer bed panels back to the switch.
Oh, and BTW, I went with the copper color strip because it was the only one available at the time with the natural white LEDs. The strip also comes in black or white.
This was a great mod. You can also gets 16' lengths on Amazon for 8 dollars. There is a video on f150 LEDs that shows what wires to tie into in the sills. I like the LEDs so much I added some to the bottom of my running boards and the all come on with my cargo lights.
