I haven't had any luck finding any topics on this so I am wondering if anyone has thought of or has done the following:





I'm thinking this will be nice for when you pull into a camp site after sun down. Just open the hatch and you've got light showing you where all the potential bed lumps (rocks) are, as well as having a brighter light shining down on you as you unload. Dumb, good idea?

 

looks like a good idea to me...you'll just have to figure out how to mount them in nice and tight, so the won't get smashed up...and these would also be great for loading trailers and even hunting...great idea!!!

 

seems like a winner to me.

 

Ya I've still gotta take the inside paneling to see what kind of room is in the door. I will probably have to make a custom mounting bracket.

 

go for it and keep us updated as you do the mod...

 

I like the idea! Keep us posted!

 

I will definitely keep everyone up to date. I probably won't be able to start it until after the new year.

 

I remember thinking about a month ago how well thought out my neighbor's bmw 3 series wagon is when he had his hatch open and they had 2 to 4 inch round red safety lights mounted where you have your first pic. I never woulda thought about throwing actual lights on it. Just a thought, would ya need to angle those down a bit to light the ground rather than 7ft. in the air

 

I was thinking of pointing them up. I have a two story tent

Yes I was thinking the same thing. It is already angled a bit on the door but it would need a bit more. I took all the trim off the other night and it is a tight fit. I may have to go with slimmer lights. It will also require taking the glass and window mechanism out. I also need to consider weather proofing the lights since there is the potential of water getting down there. Why can't it be as easy as it looked in my head?

 

I have put some thought into the second picture light positioning. I thought about getting another light just like the one already in the cargo area to mount there. There is not much room behind the plastic cover but with some slight modification one could make it fit. The wiring would be easy and the color match would be OEM. What has held me back is that it is not terribly bright to begin with, as well as worries about something in the cargo area rolling around, breaking it, then being stuck with a hole in the door. Perhaps LEDs are the answer.

It sure would be nice to have some extra light there when returning to the car in the dark after a long day of fishing and trying to change out of waders. Keep us posted on any advances.

 

Dude, Thats a good Idea! I'ma do this to my tailgate that's got a couple rust holes in it in that area! I'll just cut the rust out and put em in!

 

you should put some of those led lights like on the back of trailers not sure if theres clear ones, but the sit really flush and have gromet they sit in

 

I have looked at LED's too. I just haven't found anything I like yet or that will fit. I took most everything off the door and found that there is really only about two to three inches width to play with. It is a tight fit. It will also most likely require taking the whole window mechanism out. I think it will still be worth it

Goin,
I am thinking the same thing. It is just too dark back there with a little 4 amp buld with a frosted lense. Give me more light!

 

I would recommend a flood type lense...Driving/spot lenses IMO would be about worthless at a campsite/tail gate party...

 

hahaha... you said HUMB DAOLES... I like that one. Like I often say,
"IF CAN, CAN. IF NO CAN, NO CAN"
Aloha Plenny,
Mike

 

the tao of pidgin

 

There is very little room between the plastic trim panel on the rear gate and the metal barrier that covers the window mechanics. In addition, there is a lot of wiring and an ECU back there to control the rear window, rear wiper and keyless entry. You want to avoid the heat of an incandescent fixture back there.

That said, here is the LED setup I completed a few months back:






The light output is impressive! (The photo was taken in complete darkness.) Because it's LED, it draws very little power. The light turns on automatically when I open the rear hatch. The switch will turn it off if you want to leave the hatch open without running the light.

 

That is absolutely sick! The light output is great. Paddlenbike - Please, please, please do a writeup and list where I can source these parts. This is exactly what I want to do. It looks to be smaller than the OEM option I mentioned above in the thread and looks better, not to mention produces a ton more light.

I saw your thread a while back about the floor lighting and was very impressed. Eventually I will be doing that mod as well.

 

You gotta be kidding me! That light output is unreal!

 

So you tied it into the other cargo light right?