External LED strip light awning installation information & discussion

[Flyinhy]

Everyday I'm working on this or that on this old coach. I want to add some lighting on the automated awning at the base because the little "porch" light just isn't enough when I'm outside grilling. My idea is to add these lights to the switches at the entrance .   I also wanted to add some led lights underneath but that's something I'll do later. Have any of you guys added some lights like that ?

[CorinthWest]

Like this?

These were fairly easy to make, and not very expensive, relatively speaking.  And they put out quite a bit of light.  I can tell you how I did it if you are interested.

[Ivan K]

I put an adhesive led strip on side of the coach just below the awning and feed it from the lighted handle source, through porch light. It is on a remote to control intensity and some other tricks that I don't care for. When the awning is out, it contains the light to area below it so it is a personal choice.

[CorinthWest]

Ivan, the nice thing about what you did was you don't have to take them down when you put the awning up.  I considered this as an alternative for that reason.  Like you said, it's "personal choice".  But that is something that should definitely be taken into consideration.  The drawback to my solution is it takes me 10 minutes to put them up, 5 minutes to take them down, and requires basement space for storage.  Sudden storms/winds become an emergency when you need to get the awning up fast, and the lights have to come down before you can put the awning up.  Your solution has none of these drawbacks - kudos. 

[Ray Davis]

Rick that looks good.  Not long ago we were hanging all kinds of trinket lights from our awnings. This looks better to me.  I like Ivan's idea too  I don't think there is a rule that we couldn't do both

[CorinthWest]

Was just sitting here thinking the same thing, Ray.  Since Ivan said he controls his from the porch light, his solution must be 12V.  Mine is 110V (unless I fire up the inverter).  For short stays, Ivan's solution might be best just to get some light out there and expend relatively little effort (flip a switch).  For longer stays, perhaps set up my homegrown "trinket lights" (love this term).  I may splurge at some point and install the LED's as well and wire them into the porch light like Ivan did.  I would just need to find some that aren't 10,000,000 degree Kelvin headache makers that could double as 747 landing lights.

Edited August 15, 2022 by CorinthWest

[Pepperell]

I believe Flyinhy has a Girard awning that rolls up into a protective box, so dangling lights are a no go.  There is a channel on the underside of that box that conveniently accommodates stick on led strips.  On my previous coach I rewired the switch on the porch light such that the leds could either come on with the porch light or not.  It’s a short distance from the porch light to the awning box.  

Edited August 15, 2022 by Pepperell

[Flyinhy]

Yea, I don't think my awning could handle too much weight out on the end like that. I like idea of installing some under the "box" .....I'll give that a shot...I just hope they're bright enough. Thanks 

[Pepperell]

Led strips come on a standard 5 meter reel.  Most common are 300 led reels but for really bright get 600 led.  I used daylight bright and it was like having fluorescent tubes suitable for brain surgery.  Probably should have used warm white.  Make sure the strip is for outdoor use.  The stickum they come with isn’t that great, use 3M double sided tape.  It’s nice being able to tell medium rare from well done.   

[Flyinhy]

I used gorilla clear tape and outside leds.....I'd like to rewire this a little differently where the porch light and leds were separate but it turned out okay ......

[Pepperell]

Nice job!!  

[Ivan K]

Looks great. I used the outside lighted handle switch for power source and fed the wire through the porch light, I did not want the porch light to be on either. Also put an inline intensity controller and a connector for the strip on the outside for easy replacement if needed but it is still 100% after some years.

[Ray Davis]

On 8/15/2022 at 10:15 AM, CorinthWest said:

Was just sitting here thinking the same thing, Ray.  Since Ivan said he controls his from the porch light, his solution must be 12V.  Mine is 110V (unless I fire up the inverter).  For short stays, Ivan's solution might be best just to get some light out there and expend relatively little effort (flip a switch).  For longer stays, perhaps set up my homegrown "trinket lights" (love this term).  I may splurge at some point and install the LED's as well and wire them into the porch light like Ivan did.  I would just need to find some that aren't 10,000,000 degree Kelvin headache makers that could double as 747 landing lights.

This is more like what I had in mind as trinket lights         In my mind yours doesn't qualify as trinkets, sorry. 

We probably still have some trinket lights in the RV but haven't used them in quite some time.  That would definitly be an advantage to Ivan's installation, having light at the flip of a switch., no installation.  Just like home.

[amphi_sc]

Solid colors, white, or animation controlled via a raspberry Pi in front run box using 12V to regulated 5V DC power supply. Picture is before I ran the wire through the bay ceiling so that is why you see the test cable hanging down in this old picture. Switched 12V power by new Carling added to blank spot where porch, step, etc switches are by the door.  Use phone or any browser to access Pi to change defaults.  Presently powers up to white at about 30% intensity.  Gives a hidden background light appearance versus trying to read a book.  Being low, plenty of light to walk around with and not be too offensive to neighbors nor light up the inside of the coach.

[bonfield]

MODERATOR's NOTE

This original post has been merged with an ongoing thread.  There is a lot of good information there.  In addition, the folks that are following or contributing typically will chime in and assist. 

——

 

2004 holiday rambler endevour

Wanting to insall led strip under awning on the passenger slide out they are 12 volt so looking for a power sourse on the slide out.There is power at the awniing plug but it is controlled by the awning switch and i want constant power.Has anyone done this and how did they wire it to work with a remote.Thanks in advance

_____

[Jimmer]

my strip is connected to the overhead door light.

[Ivan K]

I have pulled the wires through the porch light and used the same hole but connected the strip to outside handle light switch so it comes on with the grab handle only, which is dimm and useful. I have a little inline remote receiver right at the strip outside. All Amazon stuff.

[K9 Exec]

Hello Flyinhy, I have seen a few ways folks have accomplished installing either led light strips or adding additional lights along the coach body. The most common way is the utilize the antiquated factory porch light for the 12Vdc source- that is, if you can get it apart and reassembled without breaking any of the brittle pieces.
😁  If you can, and that is an acceptable option, now you have a really nice high output  LED light strip on a factory switch.

What I typically suggest to my customers is using LED strips from one of our vendors or amazon. I have found most of them want all the bells and whistles of multi colors, etc. that the A/C ones have. So, I use the 110v strips with the transformer most of the time, find an outlet in the upper cabinet on the starboard (passenger) side, I usually go as high as possibly to get the lights almost to the same height as the awning, drill a tiny pilot hole (after verifying no ac/dc lines are within the vicinity) from the inside out, then use the appropriately sized drill bit just slightly bigger than the wires to fish out. Once the hole is drilled, we dry fit the light strip, then we strip off the wax with a cleaner, allow it to dry then mount the LED’s. Once installed, I seal up the end cap (which also covers up the hole the dc wires come through) with sealant to protect from water intrusion, and watch the coach owner smile. All of them we’ve done have a remote and have not had a single complaint about brightness, you can control all of the functions from the remote whether you are inside or out. It is a slick innovative way of brightening up the coach. Also, the ones I recommend all have covers that protect the LED’s, I would not use the ‘non protected’ ones for  a few reasons, one being they rust and look terrible. 
 

Just my $.02 worth, but I have done more installs this way than I can count. No issues with the higher end strips, thus far with the durability, just make sure to get a decent brand, or the really cheap “non American” brands will let you down. Don’t ask how I have found out the hard way. 😁

 

Best of luck sir, and we all would like to see the final product, with tips/tricks you encountered installing them. 
 

Nic

[Terryjean]

Would love to see photo of strip light. Sounds like A great idea I got tired of hanging and I’m hanging my lights

tj

[Scotty Hutto]

8 hours ago, bonfield said:

 

 

2004 holiday rambler endevour .Wanting to install led strip under awning on the passenger slide out they are 12 volt so looking for a power sourse on the slide out.There is power at the awniing plug but it is controlled by the awning switch and i want constant power.Has anyone done this and how did they wire it to work with a remote.Thanks in advance

_____

Check out my post on the installation in my 2006 Dip. Since the Endeavor and Diplomat are twins, I believe you should be able to find constant 12v power. For my floor plan (40DST) there were two unused 12v wiring harnesses between the false bottom of the cabinet and the lighting fixtures.  

 

[dandick66]

If you have a slide on the passenger side, you can mount the stick on type of LED strip to the bottom, inside of slide.  There is 12 volts available in the slide.  Just get rid of the supplied AC power supply- the lights work on 12 volts.  The lights are protected from the elements and it looks good.  

[cbr046]

One option would be stick long a strip of LEDs onto the awning drum - it stops in the same place every time it unrolls - then attach a small set of wires through the awning frame (LEDs don't consume much current) to the porch light.  That might take some "fishing".  The wire will tuck into the frame when closed.  Just don't forget to unplug when rolling up the awning.  For extra points make up a magnetic contact that releases when the awning is retracted. 

Just throwing it out there . . . .

- bob