Auxiliary LED reverse lighting continued. Prepping the brackets.

Simply put, these lights HAVE to work, and they HAVE to be out of the way when backing up, especially off road.

Now when I was considering how to add additional reverse lighting to my truck I will be completely honest, hanging LED fixtures were not at the top of my list. I was originally considering adding some of those 6" oval LED fixtures cut in to the rear bumper. Mostly for clearance sake. But I could see a minor bump in traffic causing damage, and honestly, I was having a very tough time finding sufficient quality fixtures for my application. Most of them are either REALLY expensive, or to be polite, severely lacking in build quality.

While I was looking for insipration, I came across F150Online.com member lakemarykid's beautiful Oxford White / Pueblo gold 2 tone 2007 F150 FX4 Supercrew. The job he did on the install looks great, although he is only powered by a dash switch.

http://www.f150online.com/forums/5096930-post3080.html

Now the brackets he used are something used in commercial construction, not readily available to the average DIYer, so I had to take a different approach, but then again, what I used followed the same idea at least...

Yes, there was some DIY to it...

Step #1. Look around the shop and see what I have on hand. The aluminum angle I was planning on using appears to be all used up, so option #2. Use flat steel and make it the shape I want...

Step #2. I know I want a 1.5 x 1.5 L section with 5/16" holes for the bolts, so I take the 1.5" wide steel stock and measure up 1.5" up, using a sharpie mark a fold line, another 1.5" up and mark a cut line...

Step #3. Secure the stock in the bench vise, and using my 4.5" angle grinder, Harbor Freight cut off wheels, and of course safety glasses, respiratory, and hearing protection, made my cut.

Step #4. Repeate step #s 2 and 3 for the second bracket.

Step #5. Using a straight edge and sharpie, mark center of each half segment so there are two X's on each piece. 

Step #6. Using a punch and hammer, dimple the center to guide the drill bit.

Step #7. Secure the work pieces, and drill a 5/16" hole at each dimple.

Step #8. Using a file, clean up all cut lines, corners, and drill hole edges, insuring that a 5/16" fastener can easily pass through.

Step #9.  Using a machinists vise, secure the work piece such that the fold line is just at the top of the jaw, and squared to the jaw. Lock the jaws down so the piece can not move, and using a large, broad headed steel hammer bend the pieces to a 90 degree angle.

Step #10. Using a disposable cloth paper towel, shop rag in a box type of rag, and at least rubbing alcohol if not a stronger solvent that does NOT leave a residue, thoroughly clean all surfaces.

Step #11. Scuff surfaces with sandpaper, clean off any dust / residue then prime, and paint with at least 3 coats of rust inhibiting paint. You can also use plastidip if you'd like.

Your brackets are now ready! You can go ahead and bolt the light to the bracket using the provided bolts, however I would suggest instead sourcing up stainless steel replacements, and an additional pair of 5/16 x I think it is 1" stainless steel bolt, flat washer, and nylon insert lock nut to secure to the frame of the truck...

So you want to know where to find the bargains?

Harbor Freight 4.5" angle grinder. If you have a HF close, these are so cheap even if it breaks after a year or so just toss it and get a new one... Mine is an older B&D I bought at Walmart, the HF grinder seems to be better made...

4.5" metal cut off wheel for the angle grinder? Yeah HF has those too! I have used the ones from the big box stores, and the HF ones actually seem to hold together better...

I could give you a link to online ordering the flat stock, or easier yet, aluminum angle but get the stuff locally. It will be cheaper. Shipping on that stuff with eat you up!

Center punch. Yeah Amazon has those cheap. The HF ones I have tried are junk. The Stanley is okay, great considering it is dirt cheap and likely to get lost before you dull it... I have them in my Amazon affiliate store.

If you are like me and like to have the big box of crayons to color with as it were, and like having your bits etc... come in large sets, probably THE most impressive set of bits I have used to date are the DeWalt pilot point bits. They do help make drilling metals much easier. The DW1969 29 piece set is on Amazon at the lowest price I have seen recently...

For a lower budget option, you could try the Warrior 29 piece Titanium Nitride bit set from Harbor Freight. Mind you, I have not tried them out yet so I can not attest to their quality, or even usefulness. If anyone wants to donate a set for testing I would happily accept and test the snot out of a set of these...

Most of the items needed for this project have arrived already. I have 2 items left to have come in, One was due to an error in my observation. They are...

#1. The Tow Read 118136 Universal plug mount bracket. I thought I didn't need it, but I was wrong. It happens...
#2 12 volt illuminated rocker switch with green LED. I figure instead of the high dollar switches, which mind you are ultra cool, but pricey, that LakeMaryKid used, I figured I would color code. Keep the Red LED rocker for the front off road lights, and use a green LED rocker for the rear reverse / flood lights.

Package tracking says I should have all that stuff in hand tomorrow afternoon, so I should be moving forward with this project, and some work on the Saturn this weekend...

So stick with me, and enjoy as I document how the project all comes together!