A little LED project for us LED FANATICS

[FIRE UP]

Gents,
My son bought me a Dometic LED light kit from his place of work, an RV repair facility here in San Diego. It consists of an LED stip with SMD LEDs on it and it's 39.5" long. You can wire it up with a 110VAC adapter, wire it direct to 12VDC or, through a 12V receiver for use with remote control that comes with the kit. It also has the ability to dim if desired.

Well, I unwrapped the kit and put on the kitchen table and plugged it in. WOW, those things are seriously bright. And that's only one, 39.5" strip. The makers say you can have as much as NINE of those stips tied into it. Well, I splurged and had him get me three more, 39.5" strips. So, all total, I've got a grand total of 156" of light, just under the awning. I had to figure out just how I was going to power this little light strip up prior to commiting where it was going to go. I found 12V constant power, in the switch tower, right beside the passengers seat.

So, I then decided to center it with center of the length of the awning. I drilled though the coach, and poked the little, double 20GA wires through it to the inside. I had removed the large day-nite shade and, the upholsterd window dressing for running the wires. I ran them over to the upper front right cabinet where I drilled, very close to the wall, and into that cabinet. There I mounted the receiver for the remote.

From that point, I ran the wires out the bottom and close to the wall, down the same steel beam/wall stud that the passenger seat belt shoulder section attaches to. I tucked the wires into the plastic fascia that covers that steel stud. Then, at the bottom, I ran the wires the short distance into the section behind that switch panel that resides beside the passenger. I then tied it into a 12VDC power outlet that's used for various battery/cell phone/camera/Lap top chargers. That outlet is hot all the time so, we can sit outside the coach, enjoy whatever level of light we choose, without having anything else on.

Man, with four strips hooked in series, and full brightness, that's pretty darn good lighting. And, it's a "Warm white" not the Daylight that I would prefer. But, in the pics below, they were taken in pure darkness and you get the idea of how it works. Now, keep in mind, this strip, is about 3/8" in height with very small, SMD LEDS about every inch. So, there's a zillion of them putting out some high quality light.

In the pics below, it looks like I've got a couple of 8' florescent T-8 bulbs there. Nope, those tiny LEDS are putting out that much light and, with the push of the button on the remote, you can take it way down to a very dim, mood light, just enough for you and the DW to enjoy the evening. Yep, it's a bit on the pricey side, that's for sure but, I figured what the heck, I'm only going to do it one time.

Here's the link to the kit I got.
http://http://www.ebay.com/itm/Domet...2f6704&vxp=mtr

[NLOVNIT]

Sweet! Any problem w/drawing bugs?

Lori-

[FIRE UP]

Lori,
Well, it's only been up and running for about 4 hours and, it's at home, alongside the house. We don't have much bugs at this time, where we live in the So Cal area so, I'm not noticing any bugs, in the time I've left it on while doing other things on the coach.
Scott

[ChiefJohn]

Nice job! -- I've never been keen on the idea of outside lights, but to each his own.

[FIRE UP]

Chief,
I'm not a real big fan of light when camping either but, that's the real vantage of this little kit. I can sit there, in the evening, in the dark or, reach into my pocket and, vuallllllla "LET THERE BE LIGHT"!! Or, dim it down to a mood of choice or, off. So, it's kind of cool in either direction.
Scott

[Wayne M]

Link doesn't work.

How about a daylight picture on the install.

[FIRE UP]

Gents,
Sorry about the link not working. Because of the structure of this particular site/forum, the editing portion is only available for up to an hour after the original post is posted. After an hour, you're not able to edit your post. So even if I wanted to send a better link or a different one, I can't without creating a new answer to my own post. Sorry again.

Anyway,
You asked for pics of the unit installed in day time pics, well, here ya go. Any questions?

[cbeierl]

Scott, I would seal that hole (for the wire) with a little silicone the keep any water out.

[FIRE UP]

Originally Posted by cbeierl

Scott, I would seal that hole (for the wire) with a little silicone the keep any water out.

Chris,
Roger that Sir. I wanted to make sure everything was fine and developed no issues after startup. (like it usually does with my projects) I've got a new tube of black, sitting in my tool box just waiting to be opened.
Scott

[tbomn]

You have to love those LED strips. I have one, very similar to yours, that I have installed under the steps. I have a step light that comes on with the patio light, so I just cut in a connector to the light wires and hooked the LED strip into that. Lots of nice light at the steps now..

[denochs]

You said "a little pricey". Care to let us know about how much pricey is?

Love the look and concept you achieved.

Dave

[FIRE UP]

Dave,
I posted a link on here earlier and it didn't work so, I'm trying it again. It's the same exact starter kit that I used. Then, I did the "Add-on" strips. The kit, on Ebay, is $60.00 and, I've not found the additional LED strips on ebay just yet. You can get them, and the starter kit from Camping World. Just type in:
Dometic LED light kit. And you'll find all you need to know.
Dometic Universal LED Light Kit Model LED2001ACR WW New | eBay

The Add-on strips are around this price:
Add-On LED Light Strip - Dometic LED2001ADD.WW - Patio Lights - Camping World

My son got them for a reduced price of course because of employee discounts so, the starter kit was gift for my birthday and I paid for the "Add-on" strips. Three of them for a total of 156".
Scott

[SylviaCub]

Originally Posted by FIRE UP

... so, the starter kit was gift for my birthday ...
Scott

Happy Birthday, Scott.

Neat project. I'll have to "book mark" the idea.

[Duner]

Here's a thread on the same subject that got me started on a LED conversion last month. This finally broke the cost barrier that held me back for several years ...... I did all 4 indoor florescent fixtures for $23 delivered. Takes about 2-3 weeks for delivery from Hong Kong.

You get 16.5 ft strip that you can cut in increments every 3 inches. They are easy to solder so I see no need to buy the connectors.

Before I cut up the strip, I temporarily taped the 16 ft LED strip up under my 18 ft awning so I could see what it would look like at night and appearance during the day. Obviously I liked what I saw and now have one waterproof strip on order for the patio, and another non-waterproof strip for the incandescent lighting fixtures in various locations.

If you google "5050 led" on irv2, you'll get a huge list of folks converting to the led strips.

[Wayne M]

Scott,
Thanks for the daylight pictures.

Only suggestion that I could make is for anyone doing this to go to an electronics store and by some rubber grommets for the holes before the wires are inserted. It would keep any friction from the wire rubbing on the sharp aluminum/surfaces. Putting silicone in and around the holes should also help as an after process.

Thanks.
Nice job.

[FIRE UP]

Wayne,
Thanks for the nice comments and, you're welcome for the daytime pics. It still amazes me that those little tiny yellow dots, (SMD LEDs) put out so much light and yet little to no heat what so ever. As for the grommet, I thought about that when I was doing the job but, the hole I drilled for the wire to penetrate the siding was so small and, the siding is quite thick there that, there was no grommet that would work in that application. I have a whole series/assortment of grommets and it just wasn't going to work.

There really is no potential for movement in those wires, at least in my case due to the fact that on the plug side, the side you see, I gave it very little room for movement and, on the opposite side, inside the coach, it's got industrial grade tape holding and sealing it to the wall, behind the window valance.

But, if I were doing this job through the skin of an aluminum sided coach, yep, I'd surely have installed at least the smallest grommet I could and then, if needed, seal the wires to the inside of the grommet with a dab of silicone. Thanks for the concern.
Scott

[ScottLee]

I installed them on the slideout cover. Mine have been up for over a year in the AZ heat and no problems what so ever. I also installed them inside above the slideouts to give ambient lighting.

[vermilye]

I did much the same, but with a shorter awning I had a fair length left over. Used it to make cabinet lights. Since my fridge didn't come with an interior light, I also added a strip & magnetic switch to it.

There are all kinds of things you can do with those LED strip lights!