LED Lights for the Awning

[Seangie]

This one was a no brainer. We needed some light under the awning so I went with LED.  The roll cost 27.00 (hitlights on amazon) The wire cost 3$ and the silicone adhesive was 2.99.  Its very bright and I am going to add a dimmer to it.  The only downside at this point is that I don't have a way to roll up the power wire (its run through the awning arm) for the lights when I roll up the awning so I have to plug/unplug the wire each time we roll up the awning.  I'm sure there is some kind of contraption that would let me leave the lights plugged in (like some kind of electrical wheel)  but I just haven't found that yet.

Working on interior LEDs this weekend-









-Sean

Fulltiming somewhere in the USA
1984 Eagle 10S
www.herdofturtles.org

[Nick Badame Refrig/ACC]

Hi Sean,

I did my awning a couple years ago. Amazingly bright!!

Nick-

[Seangie]

Nick - your awning looks awesome.  What brand/type of awning is that?  Also - do your lights roll up in the awning? If so - do you have to plug/unplug them?

-Sean

Fulltiming somewhere in the USA
1984 Eagle 10S
www.herdofturtles.org

[BRUISER]

look great

I did LED under my awning also.. mine are multi colored but also have white.. and come with a remote to dim them or change the colors

here it is in blue

[Utahclaimjumper]

  How do you handle the bugs these things draw??>>>Dan

[luvrbus]

I did the cargo lights from a Chevy pickup for my awning lighting

[belfert]

  How do you handle the bugs these things draw??>>>Dan

I've read a number of times that LEDs won't attract bugs like regular lights because the light spectrum is different.  I have not personally tested this myself.

[luvrbus]

The guy with blue LED lights will have bugs only color bugs do not see is red I have been told true or not I don't know but my LED white lite lantern will attract bugs for sure the June bugs love it

good luck

[Oonrahnjay]

Nick - your awning looks awesome.  What brand/type of awning is that?  Also - do your lights roll up in the awning? If so - do you have to plug/unplug them? 

     Yeah, your lights look great, Sean, as do Nick's.  But what this thread has shown me is that there are two ways to do this -- have the lights mounted on the bus itself or on the awning.  One of the "what's best for the individual bus converter" things, I guess. 

[BRUISER]

The guy with blue LED lights will have bugs only color bugs do not see is red I have been told true or not I don't know but my LED white lite lantern will attract bugs for sure the June bugs love it

good luck

I usually leave the lights on blue or red. But if we are sitting outside under awning then we use white and we have not had any issues with bugs

[Seangie]

     Yeah, your lights look great, Sean, as do Nick's.  But what this thread has shown me is that there are two ways to do this -- have the lights mounted on the bus itself or on the awning.  One of the "what's best for the individual bus converter" things, I guess. 

Bruce - I contemplated this as well as my lights can't be used unless the awning is all the way open.

A good thing is that my lights can be at different angles as the ebd of the awning rolls out.  Either down at the ground lighting some of the area outside the awning or angled up when I roll up the awning a bit. 

My decision was based on - if I had the awning rolled up then I probably wouldn't be outside as the weather is the only reason it would be rolled up.  I didn't really think about having to plug/unplug them until after I installed them.  That's kind of a pain and it would be nice to just turn them on or off.

Eventually Ill probably put some kind of spot or a type of low profile light for direct light to use for purposes of needing light at night on the outside of the bus.

-Sean


Fulltiming somewhere in the USA
1984 Eagle 10S
www.herdofturtles.org

[BRUISER]

     Yeah, your lights look great, Sean, as do Nick's.  But what this thread has shown me is that there are two ways to do this -- have the lights mounted on the bus itself or on the awning.  One of the "what's best for the individual bus converter" things, I guess. 

I put mine on the bus side so it was easier to wire and not have to worry about the strips when rolling up the awning. Mine stays wired all the time and I just use remote to turn them on and off from inside or outside the bus. Mine also run on 12 volt or 110 when plugged in.

[Oonrahnjay]

I put mine on the bus side so it was easier to wire and not have to worry about the strips when rolling up the awning. Mine stays wired all the time and I just use remote to turn them on and off from inside or outside the bus. Mine also run on 12 volt or 110 when plugged in. 

     Sounds good, simple and the electrics are easy.  I can see how someone might want more light out near the outer edge of the canopy for outdoor cooking, sitting, visiting with friends, reading, etc., but I think this is how I'll do it.