Hole under rear seat for routing cables

[wxmn6]

I am a volunteer firefighter and I do snowplowing so I runs strobes. I am planning on installing strobes in the front and rear of my truck. I plan to route the strobe cables under the truck and run it along the frame and run it through the floor UNDER the rear seat, not where people will be stepping on. I looked under the truck and found only a couple of holes but that is where the people will be stepping on. I want a hole right under the seat so that way it is concealed from my view. There are no hole. What do you guys do when you have this problem?

[IndigoDually]

I am up to 2 holes now to hold all of the antenna and other wires. I used a hole saw to drill a couple of 1" holes for this. I drilled them behind the back seat so I can easily add more wiring by pulling up the edge of the carpet.

John

[Maverick]

Does your truck have a Snow Plow Prep Package on it? If so then you have a hole with a grommet in it in the fire wall to the left of the big harness on the drivers side. It will have a nipple on the end that you cut off and can feed wires through. I got my plow control, driving lights, pyro, boost tube, amp wire, and a few others running through mine. My high idle is through the big grommet as I didn't know about the other before hand.

[wxmn6]

IndigoDually, what kind of hole saw did you use? It would have to be designed for cutting through metal instead of wood. Is it better than spiral drill?

Do you install hide-a-flash strobes? If so, what kind of drill bit do you use for drilling through plastic lamp case? I usually use 1" spade bit but do you know if it is better to use spiral bit or hole saw for this situation too?

Maverick, yes my truck do have snowplow prep. I could use the hole on the firewall for routing wires to the switches that I plan to install on the lower part of dash panel, right next to the Jordan brake controller. I then could cover the silver switch with a black rubber switch cover tab which help conceal it and to make my truck look neater.

[IndigoDually]

I used a regular hole saw bit from any hardware store or Home Depot. I also used it for drilling the taillights and front marker lights for the hideaway strobes. The hole saw will cut a little cleaner especially if the surface that you are trying to drill is not flat.

John

[Kennedy]

A step drill would also work well, and can be quite handy for other uses.

[mdrag]

wxmn6,

I would NOT use the spade type bit to drill a hole in the headlight casing. The plastic is too thin and you'll likely end up an ugly hole with pieces chipped out - or the casing will crack.

I'd use a hole saw or step bit. Many hole saws are made to drill soft metal, but some are only for wood and won't last long if you try them on metal.

[IndigoDually]

I must have a good set of hole saws because I have drilled 1/4" steel with them and not had any problems.

John

[hoot]

There is a little trick I know for drilling plastic with standard "jobber" type drill bits. Jobber bits are your standard type twist drills for drilling metal.

What you do is you take the sharp edge off by ever so lightly grinding or stoning the sharpness off. That will stop the bit from grabbing and pulling, often breaking the plastic. Test it on a piece of plexiglas. It works great.

For the larger hole in sheet metal I use high quality "Greenlee" brand electricians holes saws. A little kerosene or cutting oil and run slow.