Ideas for LED's under awning 2015 Sunstar

[RVHERE]

I have seen LED's up against the house under the awning and in the round track at the edge of the awning. Where can I get either style and what do you recommend. How do they wire up ? Thanks, Chuck
PS I don't want a LIGHT show just some soft lighting when we sit outside . Thanks

[BPoland]

I have installed the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) SMD 5050 LED lights under our Newmar Bay Star. The nice thing about the RGB lights with a simple controller is you can change the color to suit the mood. I have also heard that certain colors don't tend to draw bugs,although I'm not convinced that is true. This past weekend I installed another set of the same type of lights on the rail where the awning attaches to the coach. You can buy the LED stips on Amazon, 16'4" for $10 - $20. Make sure they are waterproof. I believe it either IP63 or IP65 are waterproof. For the controller (that's what allows the color change and the ability to dim the lights), there are two basic types. IR - InfraRed or RF - Radio Frequency. IR, is line of sight, like your TV remote control. There is an IR receiver that must be mounted so that it can pick up the signal from the remote. The RF type doesn't need line of sight and most will work up to 90 feet away. There is also RGBW which adds a white color. Most of the LED light strips come with adhesive strips already applied, but most have found that this type of adhesive doesn't hold up well. Most use 3M double sided molding tape. I have never heard of the 3M stuff coming off unintentionally. Also you will have to decide whether you want 120 volt or 12 volt. If you ever do any boon docking, 12 volt would be better. Choices and more choices. Hope this helps.

[BPoland]

Here's a shot of the awning rail lights.

[beaverfever]

your neighbors will love you. not

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by RVHERE

I have seen LED's up against the house under the awning and in the round track at the edge of the awning. Where can I get either style and what do you recommend. How do they wire up ? Thanks, Chuck
PS I don't want a LIGHT show just some soft lighting when we sit outside . Thanks

RVHERE
Well Sir, you've got lots of options. When I did mine, it was sort of, "I didn't know any better and, I just did what I did" type thing. Long story short, I was given (for fathers day) an LED Awning light strip. It's marketed by Dometic and, is about 39" long. Well, it can be added to, with more "add-on" segments. So, I purchased three more for a total of almost 16' of LED lights, and, mounted them just under the awning, when it's in the rolled up position.

That way, I can use them with or without the awning extended or, retracted. This was an expensive kit, with all the add-on segments etc. It is however, a very high quality kit. And, it came with a dimmer. So, I can read a book at midnight sitting under the awning or, I can dim it to the point it's barely visible.

Now, since then, I've goofed around with LED light strips on numerous occasions. I now have them under the coach, under the awning, under the entry steps, and, under the kitchen and bathroom kick cabinet kick panels. All of them work flawlessly. And, I get many, many nice comments about them.

And don't worry about the neighbors. You'll figure out how bright you want yours and, dim them to your liking and, it won't even effect them at all.

Now, powering up your under-awning LED light strip might be a bit of challenge. It all depends where your closest power is. I had to run mine through some window valances, into a cabinet and down a wall to get to power. It turned out just fine. You can't see the wires at all.

Anyway, it's fun to goof around with this stuff. PM me if you'd like info on how I did some of this stuff.
Scott

[BPoland]

Originally Posted by beaverfever

your neighbors will love you. not

Just an FYI. The pictures show them at their brightest. I don't keep them that bright. I don't use the blink option, or the color change option. Since the underside of my awning is brown, it tends to absorb the light anyway. The lights mounted under the coach are more for back lighting the area and the steps. I keep them pretty dim. It is not my intention to turn my campsite into a 70s - 80s light show.

[0rion]

I did pretty similar to the others on my 5er. I ran the wires into the basement area and jumped them off of a light in there for 12v power.

I used this controller with RGB lights and bought an extra roll of wire to extend the harness. Easy and cheap to do.
20 Key Wireless RF Remote Controller 12 24V for 5050 3528 RGB LED Strip Lights | eBay

[Sweetbriar]

Here's what I used (all from Amazon). Of note is my awning is not powered. Should work for a powered awning but if you have a wind sensor all bets are off since the awning could roll up with the power cord in place which might cause problems.

Amazon.com: E-Goal Mini LED Controller Dimmer with RF Wireless Remote Control DC 5~24V 12A R107: Musical Instruments
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o08_s00
Amazon.com: The Orignal MPD Waterproof Accessory Lighter Socket Power Outlet Recepticle 12 Volt Marine, Motorcycle: Automotive
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o08_s00
Amazon.com : SUPERNIGHT DC12V 5M 16.4Ft Cool White 5050SMD 300LED Waterproof Flexible LED Light Strip lamp White Tape Version : Patio, Lawn & Garden

I installed the 12VDC outlet on the sidewall of the coach powered off the storage compartment lights. Cut the female end off the DC extension cord and wired in the smaller plugs to attach to the led strip for easy connection at the awning roller. Also used the plugs with the RF controller, which I can remove should it fail. The controller is wired into the extension about 6 inches from the male end. The LED's are peel and stick work great and do not interfere with rolling up the awning.

When I get to a camp site I unroll the awning, plug the extension cord into the lights at the end of the roller, feed the cord down the awning rail and plug into the coach. The extension cord is long enough so that when I lift the awning I have plenty of extra wire. The RF controller will dim the LEDs and I can control the lights from inside the coach. The plug on the awning roller is hot glued in place which has held all season and 4000 miles.

Wish I had images of the set up but it's worked pretty well.

[mccrob]

Would like to have them either on the roller or under the awning but can't figure how to wire them. Don't want to drill a hole in the side of my coach 😠

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by mccrob

Would like to have them either on the roller or under the awning but can't figure how to wire them. Don't want to drill a hole in the side of my coach ��

Well, without being to sarcastic here, one, you don't need to drill a hole to run a 2" pipe through, all you need is a tiny, around 1/8" or even smaller. That's all I did. The coach is still there, it didn't sink in a rain storm, it doesn't flood and it hasn't rotted all because of 3/32" hole for the wires on my under-awning lights. And, I dabbed a tiny bit of black silicone around the wire entry point so, not even an ANT can get in there.

Like stated, much of it depends on just how close your power is to where the wire entry point is. There's not many coaches running around with 12VDC power, just waiting to be used, up or near the awnings, on the outside of a coach. So, you're either going to have to drill through the coach and conceal it on the inside or, you're going to have to come up with another way of getting power to it. Pretty slim choices here.
Scott

[RodK]

Attachment 107642This is what I did this year. I tapped into the porch light. I got a 16 foot roll of leds from ebay. I used clear silicone around all the edges to make sure it stays put ( I don't trust the 2 way tape ). It cost me about $30 cdn for everything and we are vert happy with how it turned out.

[RodK]

Here is a pic showing how I tapped into the porch light.

[Joedean]

Steve
How did you get power to the lights under the awning? Did you drill a hole through the outside skin? If so, how did you seal or weatherproof?
Joe

Scott,
I just found your reply above.
Thanks
Joe

[tourdasouth]

I mounted the LED light strip to the bottom of the awning housing (stationary piece the awning rolls into) It is a 110volt system with IR remote to control 16 colors. The wire that needs to be plugged into 110v is attached to the very top of the slideout (the end side) with silicon adhesive. The wires move in and out with the slideout. The power adapter case (where the 110 wire plugs in) is velcrowed to an entertainment cabinet. I just plug in the wire and it fires up.