There's nothing in the world as disconcerting as the screech of locked brakes coming from behind as we sit motionless behind the wheel. It doesn't matter if it's at a stoplight or at the end of a line of unmoving traffic; it's still a sound that'll relocate one's heart from the chest to the throat in an instant.
What do you do with that funky unfinished looking curl at the end of your bedside rails? There are many things you could do, however one of the smarter things you could do would be to fill them with light-super bright LED lights at that. Mar-K makes its easy-to-install hole caps with LED lights for GM and Dodge Stepside and Ford Flareside pickup beds. With a minimum investment in both time and cash, you can perform a quick and easy upgrade that not only looks great but increases your safety by adding a bit of additional lighting to the back of your truck.
Of course, we all have the option of adding what are commonly called third or high-mounted brake lights to our classic pickups but often many designs tend to look a bit cheesy and nearly all like tacked on afterthoughts (in all fairness though, if you look long and hard enough there are some designs out there that are nicer and more fitting than I've insinuated). For those of us with Stepside- and/or Flareside-style beds the folks at Mar-K Quality Parts offer some really neat little LED light assemblies that fit easily and unobtrusively into the ends of our bedside rails. Like Mar-K's unlit machined billet endcaps the lighted hole caps create a nice finished look to an otherwise neglected portion of many a pickup bed.
Here we'll take a look at these cool little LED-equipped caps and also at just how easy their installation and wiring is too. I can think of nothing that will increase a classic trucker's safety and peace of mind while adding a great little detail for such a minor investment in time and greenbacks.
These LEDs are accessory lights designed to be connected to your existing rear lighting system. The bulbs are 12-volt, 19-LED, 1157-style dual-intensity for the red and amber LEDs and 1156-style single intensity for the white LEDs. The lighted hole caps provide additional lighting at the rear of your truck. Keep in mind that they're not intended to replace your existing taillight/brake light system; they're just an added way to improve both looks and safety. And though it's only common sense I feel obligated to mention that the red LED are for brake and taillights, the amber for turn signals, and white for backup lights only.
*A note about using LED lamps for turn signals and hazard flashers: If your turn signals flash correctly without the LED lamps, they will still work when you add the LED lights to the circuit. If LEDs are the only bulbs used in the turn signal circuit, then LED lamps used as a turn signal may not flash at the correct rate with standard thermal flasher units found on most pickups. This is due to their extremely low current draw. These installations will require either an electronic flasher designed for LED bulbs or a "heavy-duty" flasher to be installed for proper flashing rate. These hole caps contain polarized LED bulbs meaning that they will only illuminate if wired correctly. Be sure to follow instructions that are specific to your make and model that are included with your hole caps.
