cstewart

In short, it really bugs the hell out of me that my truck didn't com with cab lights. In my honest opinion, all diesel trucks should come with marker lights I guess I always felt that was one key indicator to seperate the diesels from the gassers...outside of the obvious . Plus, I really don't know if there is anything better looking than a truck burning ONLY running lights at dusk...(this is probably a biased opinion from working in the trucking industry).

Either way, I have looked at putting some on my truck...however, (although the cost of the lights is little to nothing) the labor is crazy expensive. Everywhere I have looked wants roughly $500-$600 for the work. Anyone on here had any experience (buddies, etc..) that have put these in aftermarket (success/ nightmare stories?)

As always, I appreciate the look and any comments/ suggestions!

rockcrawler304

I agree with you but I am also glad mine came without them. For me it is just 5 more bulbs to keep an eye on and 5 more places for water to get in as the truck gets older.
My brother in California had his removed when he got the truck painted. In Cali it is 5 more bulbs that can get you a ticket if one is out!!

cstewart

^^^As always, a very solid point that I have not considerd...
This is certainly something to consider!

My main concern (especially as an aftermarket mod) would be leaking, faulty wiring, etc...
In some respects, the headache might not be worth the reward. However, it still burns me up that they didn't already come with the truck .

Overall, this mod would be a significant expense that would (in my opinion) add "eye appeal" only...hard to spend that kind of money when it adds no HP or reliablility.
Wait a minute...am I finding "myself" talking me out of this mod?
Dang-it "Rock"....your suppossed to be telling me what a great idea this is!
Thanks for the look brother....!

SpeedyWS6

It all depends on the truck they are on. My 2wd quad cab would have looked a little goofy with a 4" rear drop and cab lights. On the other hand I love the look of them on my 4wd mega cab.

Reading your sig I vote yes.

cstewart

Yeah...this "mild irritation" for me is like most things ("hind sight is 20/20").

That said, as much as I love my truck there are a few things I would have "picked" differently.
Short list:
Mega cab
manual tranny
4.10s
cab lights
solid back window

Again, VERY HAPPY with my truck (especially the fact that it's paid off). But you know, grass is always greener...

Hintonc393

I put them on my old truck. I am not sure about the aftermarket kits but the set I got from the dealer had a paper template that made it a lot easier. I would not even try to do it with out that template. I think I paid around a hundred bucks for the whole deal. I used black RTV on the bottom of the lights and the bottom of the gaskets, never had a leak.

cstewart

I give you MUCH props for taking this project on yourself... .

I believe I would suffer a mild heart attack knowing I was about to cut into the roof of my cab (again, not having any experince with this...maybe I can talk one of my buddies into "piloting" thier trucks for this project?). That said, how tough was the electrical work involved?

Hintonc393

It's not a hard install, the guy at the dealership will never take as much time with it as you will. I bet most of those guys have never put a set on either. The trick is to take your time, I bet I spent an hour just making sure that the template was exactly where it should be. It will have alignment marks for the windshield and a measurement for both sides at the top of the doors. The electrical was not hard at all. I tied into the factory harness, I think it was on the passenger side A pillar. That is not where the instuctions said to pick up power from but it was much easier. My last truck was a mega cab so the roof was very long, made it a pain in the butt.

kerry.king

I put putco l.e.d. cab lights on mine. Took me about 3 hours total. Easy peasy...

rockcrawler304

Chas... Just remember that is another $500 to $600 towards your trans upgrade!!

dezeldog

When my oem's cracked and started leaking I bought the oem's again, sprayed them with night shades and 3 coats of clear....reducing after each coat. I also put a bead of rtv on the new gasket and on the screws as well and never have had a problem in over four years. HTH

JIm

cstewart

D*mnit Chad, there you go again being the voice of reason! That said, I'd rather hang Christmas lights off my cab than have that fund suffer any further....
Further to your point, I played with SW3 the other day...total waste of time. Truck does great in SW2, but hammer down in SW3 and it's as if she is saying, "Seriously? Is this your first day...you know we're not equipped for this right?"

With respect to everyone that has already responded. I certainly appreciate the suggestions/advise! In all, this sounds like a good project for when I run out of higher priority stuff to address. I just simply don't see me growing a pair big enough to go grinding away at my roof (again, props to those of you that have taken this on...)

8Lug_hotrod

I'm right there with you. I've been wanting to add cab lights on my truck for a few years now but never pulled the trigger. It seems like everytime I go to buy the recon led lights I talk myself out of them. Anyone know if the recon lights come with a template like the factory ones do? I know they come with the wiring. Or would anyone who has put the factory lights on their truck have the template handy?