Watermelon lights were part of big-rig culture long before anyone mounted one beneath a pickup. BTS Lighting did not invent the light or the old-school trucking style behind it. What BTS did was spark the pickup-truck version of the trend customers recognize today.
It started with one light. Dustin Brock mounted a single Glass Is Class watermelon light dead centre beneath his own Ford F-150 and filmed the result. The placement was simple, but the look was impossible to miss: one sharp starburst spreading across the pavement from the centre of the truck. The videos took off, sales followed, and customers began building their own versions.
That one-light experiment eventually grew into a complete Glass Is Class pickup kit and then the Gen 2 system. The idea never depended on covering a truck with dozens of lights. It showed that one carefully placed light could make a pickup look completely different.
One light, dead centre
The first BTS pickup setup was not designed as a formal product launch. Dustin was applying a big-rig lighting idea to his own F-150. He chose the centre beneath the truck because it let the rounded glass lens throw a balanced starburst to both sides.
The response changed the direction of the product. BTS’s social posts turned the F-150 into a reference point for pickup owners who had never considered a traditional watermelon light. One later Facebook video built around the same one-light idea reached more than 20,000 reactions and 1,000 shares. By May 29, 2025, BTS had also documented the move from big rigs and show trucks into pickup builds on its own site.
Those records do not mean watermelon lights began with BTS. They show how BTS brought a familiar trucking style into a new pickup-specific use case, demonstrated it at scale, and made the parts easier for other owners to buy and install.
Why the idea caught on
Most pickup lighting trends rely on strips, pods or rock lights. A glass watermelon light creates a different effect. Its deep, faceted lens concentrates the output into long star-shaped beams instead of a broad wash of colour.
The single-centre layout also made the idea approachable. A customer could start with one position, see the effect, and add more only if the build called for it. Later installations moved beneath beds, bumpers, steps and custom decks. Some kept the original one-light simplicity; others used several planned positions to create a full under-truck pattern.
The pickup trend remained connected to its big-rig roots. The light still looked like something borrowed from a custom Peterbilt or Kenworth, but the mounting layout belonged to the pickup.
From a custom install to a complete kit
The early F-150 build proved the look. The next problem was making the parts clear for customers. A universal watermelon light by itself does not tell an installer which bracket, switching method or wiring path to use.
The current Glass Is Class Gen 2 pickup-truck kit packages the core parts for one light position:
- One Glass Is Class Gen 2 watermelon light in the selected single-colour or dual-colour configuration
- One Diode Dynamics DD4104 switched harness
- One Alpha Series A0007 304 stainless-steel bracket
- The hardware needed to attach the light to the bracket
The installer chooses the location and supplies fasteners suited to that truck and mounting point. The kit is a universal custom-installation package, not a factory year, make and model replacement part.
How Gen 2 changed the system
The original Glass Is Class lights established the real-glass starburst look. Gen 2 rebuilt the product around a replaceable AlphaFit bulb, a matching glass housing, improved sealing and venting, and DT-style connections. BTS developed the redesign after customer feedback on the earlier high-output design.
Gen 2 also makes the system easier to understand as separate parts. The complete light, replacement bulb, glass housing, bracket, harness, splitter and extension each have their own job. A customer can build a new layout or replace a compatible component without treating every piece as interchangeable.
Single-colour and dual-colour Gen 2 lights use their three wires differently. A single-colour bulb has ground, dim and high functions, with 15-watt dim and 20-watt high settings. A Gen 2 AlphaFit Duo bulb has ground and one power lead for each colour, with one power setting per colour. Identify the selected configuration before applying power.
Planning a pickup installation
The complete pickup kit uses the DD4104 harness, which operates from 9–16 volts. That makes the packaged installation a 12-volt system. Do not connect the supplied harness to a 24-volt electrical system.
Before ordering, decide where each light will sit, check clearance around moving and hot components, and choose a secure attachment method. One kit supplies one light position. A multi-light layout needs additional compatible lights, brackets, branches or extensions, and the total load must stay within the fuse, switch, wire and harness limits.
The kit is intended for off-road and show use and is not SAE/DOT certified. Colour and use rules differ by location, so the finished installation must follow the rules where the vehicle operates.
From one F-150 to a real search category
The pickup use case is now large enough to have its own search demand. In BTS Search Console data for June 10 through September 9, 2026, the pickup-kit page received 248 organic clicks from 6,470 impressions and averaged position 2.0. Searches included “watermelon lights for pickup truck,” “pickup truck watermelon lights,” and “watermelon lights under pickup.”
That demand matches what BTS saw after the original F-150 videos: a big-rig light had become a recognizable pickup modification. The current customer gallery includes Ram and Ford installations ranging from a single focal point to several coordinated starbursts.
Common questions about watermelon lights on pickups
Who started the current pickup-truck watermelon-light trend?
BTS Lighting spearheaded the current trend after Dustin Brock mounted one Glass Is Class watermelon light dead centre beneath his F-150 and shared the result. Watermelon lights themselves have much older big-rig roots, and BTS does not claim to have invented the light or completed the first isolated pickup installation in history.
Does the Glass Is Class pickup kit fit every truck?
It is a universal custom-installation kit rather than a vehicle-specific replacement. Fit depends on the available space, chosen mounting point, attachment method and electrical plan.
How many lights are included?
One. Each kit builds one light position with one Gen 2 light, one switched harness, one stainless-steel bracket and the light-to-bracket hardware.
Can I add more lights later?
Yes, when compatible parts are used and the complete electrical load stays within the circuit limits. Plan the number of positions, then verify the harness, splitter, extension, fuse, switch and wire limits.
Are pickup watermelon lights street legal?
The Glass Is Class Gen 2 pickup kit is intended for off-road and show use and is not SAE/DOT certified. Check the rules for the selected colour, mounting location and use in your jurisdiction.
Build your own layout
Shop the Glass Is Class Gen 2 pickup-truck watermelon light kit for one complete light position. Use the Gen 2 system guide to compare assemblies and components, review the watermelon-light mounting and wiring guide before installation, or browse all Glass Is Class Gen 2 watermelon lights.