So I got tired of having no light for when I back up or if I'm camping/out on the trails. I had scene other people install auxiliary backup lights so I thought I would too. Now I had already tried replacing the reverse lights, painting the plastic divider chrome/metallic but still nothing. So I purchased some small 6 light LED lights to use as auxiliary backup lights.
Truck-lite 81360's
Front::

Back::


Well having a tow hitch that isn't used for now I figured I would mount the lights there. It keeps them up out of the way (I haven't dug the hitch into anything......yet) and this kept me from having to drill anymore new hols into my truck.



Well after quickly running some wire I decided to test the light output and see how much of the back I illuminated....



Here I am across the street at the start of my neighbors drive way


Same as before but dead on


Here's a view from the bed with the lights on and then off



And here is from the end of the cul-de-sac.

All in all I think this will work great for camping. As for my test drives.....it was awesome. I could backup and see where I was going just as clear as if I was going forward. The best feature is that the lights can be easily "swiveled" to adjust the light pattern pretty easily.

Here the lights are angled out to the sides


and now angled straight back


All in all I am very happy with my Yota's new addition.

-=Morphine=-

 

nice mod, i may have to think about doing this one, i hate the stock reverse lights u might as well not have any wiht the stock ones

 

very nice

 

even thought they're LED's, i hope you used a relay. more voltage = more light. (though, not AS noticeable with LED's.)

 

Looks great, and I was just planning to do the same-ish thing. Shaeff, can you expand on the relay thing a bit? And Morphine, where did you order form TruckLite or elesewhere?

 

I ordered the lights from a gentleman on ttora. He got them at work and claimed they were not bright enough for his intended use plus his plans had changed for what he wanted the lights for. As for the wiring and relay...I plan on using a relay for sure. Currently I just powered them on with a quick line, ground and switch. I needed to see how bright and if the aiming from the hitch would be too high. I will wire these lights correctly and not how they appear in the one photo I posted with the wire hanging down.

-=Morphine=-

 

here's mine. i love 'em
i also love being able to flash people when they flash their brights at me

 

wiring using a relay will allow more power to the lights, thus making them brighter. the stock reverse light wires are small, and i see people (not the OP) mounting 100w backup lights on there, and getting less than half the usable light they could because they're underpowered.

you need to run a positive wire (10g) straight from the battery to a relay. hook the relay up to a GOOD chassis ground, and switch the relay on using the reverse light wires (or switch, your choice).

this way, the new backup lights will get power through a GOOD wire, straight from the battery, and be able to put out their max possible light, all the while not frying your stock wiring that's meant for an 1156 bulb.

 

Got it. In some posts elsewhere people had suggested you didn't need to do this if you ran through a fuse block, but that's only going to make sense if you're using a weeny light. In the meantime TruckLite has a great site.

 

i am doing the same mod this week. really needed more light this weekend. trees have the ability to hide in plain sight.

 

I have 8 lights very similar to that Im going to use for rock lights and back up lights/anti tailgater lights.

 

How do you hook them up to the existing reverse circuit. I know about relays, but I don't know how to find the reverse light from the bundle of wires going to the tailgate of my 4Runner. Any way to do this without cutting and testing?

 

Nice to see some cool reverse lights. They really help on the trail or anywhere for that matter. The only thing I see though is them being ripped off if you wheel even just light wheeling I bet you'll rip them right off.

Another cool place you could put them is on the bumper where the license is. You could mount them at an angle and they would be a bit more protected and still out of the way of the license plate.

Just an idea. They look good

 

Get a test light Toss the truck in reverse with it in the on position. Make sure your ground is good, then go and start poking wires, When it lights up you have the right one. Then get a connector and splice it in.

 

Nice job. I mounted mine in my bumper.

 

Yeah my aux. backup lights have proven to be a great mod on my truck.

And, James, I think you missed your calling designing Toyota trucks.

 

I assume the copper has to be exposed for the test light to work,right?

 

Wait, I googled it a test light has a sharp tip the pierces the wire.

 

ok so it's a defroster switch but it still does the job right? OEM is the way to go.





Fun stuff!

 

Very nice, I wanna put some like that inside the cargo area, drilled in with the highest rear speakers. Check out Scofco's ride for pics of how it looks. Thanks for the write-up!