LED awning lights with slideout

[Kcub.Samoht]

We have a 2014 Bullet 34BHPR and we have been looking into adding LED lights under the awning something like the picture below. I want to try and avoid putting the lights into the awning tube because, well let's face it, I'm lazy and I probably won't remember to disconnect the power when I roll up the awning. I've seen lots of posts where people add the lights to the side of the TT right under the rolled up awning, but with the passenger side slide out under the awning, there would be a large dark spot under the awning still (also seen in the picture below).

Has anyone found an elegant solution to where to put the lights when a slide is under the awning? I'm not afraid of doing a little crazy wiring. As long as the final solution looks like it was made for the TT, then I can get it past the wife.

TIA!

[GaryWT]

The only thing I see would be to add a strip to the top edge of the slide but you might have the issue of not disconnecting them there as well.

[wahoonc]

In the picture those lights are probably mounted to the drip rail right under the awning. That is what I have been seeing on most of the newer units that have that feature. I am going to be doing something similar with mine this spring.

Aaron

[PARAPTOR]

Interesting wondered why some vendors would put lights in the awning roll rather than side of rig. Guess never looked close enough to see if slide was under awning on those rigs.

[14george]

That is where mine is under drip edge from factory like that

[PARAPTOR]

Based on the OP's picture, it looks like with the slide out, the under side of the awning is hitting or near hitting the edge of the slide which would seem to block most of the light in that area? Same with your rig? Still considering adding the awning leds to my rig once I figure how to get wire to new switches and power. Not a big one on these remotes.

[JRTJH]

From a practical standpoint, it looks like you'll lose most of the light above the slideout if it's as close to the awning as it appears in that picture. Of more concern for me would be how many bugs will the light attract that wind up "dead or stuck" on the roof of the slide and what happens to them when you pull the slide in for travel? Depending on where you are and the accumulation, it could be a "greasy, stinky mess"

[Pmedic4]

Originally Posted by JRTJH

From a practical standpoint, it looks like you'll lose most of the light above the slideout if it's as close to the awning as it appears in that picture. Of more concern for me would be how many bugs will the light attract that wind up "dead or stuck" on the roof of the slide and what happens to them when you pull the slide in for travel? Depending on where you are and the accumulation, it could be a "greasy, stinky mess"

There was an 'internet fable' about LED bulbs not attracting bugs. This is not true overall, but one advantage LED bulbs have is they generally do not emit UV wavelengths of light, which is a major bug attractant. The other bug attracting color is blue, which is what a lot of people prefer to use, because that is the brighter 'cool-white'. For your outdoor lights, if you look for 'warm-white' LED bulbs, in the 2700 to 3000 Kelvin range, you won't attract as many bugs. One brand that advertises this is Pixi Lighting, and look for the 2900 K range bulbs. I have those in my front porch, and the number of bugs has been reduced significantly in the 2 years I've had them.

I have ordered some new LED awnings lights for this year, and they are the color changing strips - I wondering now if by setting them to yellow or orange, I won't have a bug problem under my awning?

[JRTJH]

I'll agree that is definitely an "internet hoax" !!!!!

We've got the "warm white" LED strip on our Cougar and it still attracts bugs as "efficiently" as any other color. We've camped next to rigs with the "cool white" (blue) lights as well as the multicolor lights and, at least in Michigan, the "tenacity" of the bugs is such that they seem to be unaffected by light color. They "happily" buzz all the awnings with no discrimination.

I suppose it's easier to just say that sitting under an awning in the "northland" one can swat bugs with the same frequency regardless of awning light color. Even turning the lights off doesn't seem to help all that much. At certain times of the year, we couldn't leave home without the proverbial "fly flap", Avon Skin-so-Soft and Yard Guard......

Maybe that's why it's called camping rather than lounging... I do believe I heard a report late last summer about bugs employing drones with "sky-cranes" and lifting campers complete with their gravity chairs, never to be seen again......

[Kcub.Samoht]

The DW and I have talked about putting lights on the top of the slide out because of the fact that the awning DOES come into contact with the slide when they are both out. We actually have some pipe insulation that we place on the corner of the slide so we don't wear holes in the awning. I know, great design.

I never thought about the dead bug factor on top of the slide. That would get to be a nasty mess real quick like. We have seen lots of bugs on the side of the TT when we were just using the outside kitchen light. I'm thinking that just a line of lights along the top of the slide out would be the ticket, unless there is someway to run power to the end of the awning that I don't have to disconnect.

[GaryWT]

It is a power awning so is there power there that you can tap into? I think the new Premiers come with the lights now.

As for bugs, LED do cut down on them, I have had a LED bulb at my back door for 2-3 years at home and we only have about 10% of the bugs we use to.

[PARAPTOR]

Generally power at the awning is to the motor and controlled by the awning switch inside. Think newer models have another power source routed up to awning and controlled by a separate awning light switch.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by PARAPTOR

Based on the OP's picture, it looks like with the slide out, the under side of the awning is hitting or near hitting the edge of the slide which would seem to block most of the light in that area? Same with your rig? Still considering adding the awning leds to my rig once I figure how to get wire to new switches and power. Not a big one on these remotes.

Several options. In my case I am putting a waterproof junction box on the side of the trailer, then fishing the wire down the wall though a cabinet to a switch. Probably snag power from the exterior light. I don't have a powered awning. I have a buddy that put the light on his roller and fed the wires in the side hem of the awning, so far so good on that system.

Aaron

[PARAPTOR]

wahoonc, Not having a power awning your task is a little harder having to penetrate the skin of the rig. With power awning we already have an access points into the rig, however at times not easy to find wire on the inside. Wires from the motors usually come down the awning arms then into the rig nearby. Outside walls are filled with Styrofoam and may be a chore to fish wire down the wall.

At a RV show I have seen the awning where wire is sewed into the awning edge. Do not remember manufacture of rig. Do not like the lights on the roller basically non functional when awning retracted.

Be careful snagging power from an external light, I would say nearly 100 percent of the time that power is already a switched power source. There is a couple of posts out there where members have chose led strips with a remote controller. In one that I recall the member stuffed the controller box and cabling inside the actual porch light. In this case you do not have to penetrate the rig skin. Hand held remote used to control the led strip. I am not one for remotes and will pursue putting switches in my rig.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by PARAPTOR

wahoonc, Not having a power awning your task is a little harder having to penetrate the skin of the rig. With power awning we already have an access points into the rig, however at times not easy to find wire on the inside. Wires from the motors usually come down the awning arms then into the rig nearby. Outside walls are filled with Styrofoam and may be a chore to fish wire down the wall.

At a RV show I have seen the awning where wire is sewed into the awning edge. Do not remember manufacture of rig. Do not like the lights on the roller basically non functional when awning retracted.

Be careful snagging power from an external light, I would say nearly 100 percent of the time that power is already a switched power source. There is a couple of posts out there where members have chose led strips with a remote controller. In one that I recall the member stuffed the controller box and cabling inside the actual porch light. In this case you do not have to penetrate the rig skin. Hand held remote used to control the led strip. I am not one for remotes and will pursue putting switches in my rig.

My trailer is a bottom of the barrel Coleman CTS16FBS with wood framing and some sort of fiberglass batt insulation in the wall. My outside light is switched... at the light.

Sometimes it pays to go cheap and small. ... 'course I may spend more on upgrades than the trailer cost new

Aaron

[dabat]

As for the OP, we purchased a 29bhpr in the fall. LED awning lights was a must have for me, but I forgot to look for that feature when doing the walk through(before purchase), so I asked the sales rep if the trailer had LED lights. Yes, he said to me. Dumb me for not looking for myself because during the post purchase "get to know your RV" walk through, I asked "how do you turn on the outside LED lights?". "Well this trailer doesn't have that feature" was the last thing I remember hearing before I jumped out of the trailer and made a beeline for the managers office.
As it turns out, units with a passenger side slide generally do not come with LED strip lights. The manager agreed to add the aftermarket lights wired into the porch light to satisfy me.
When we got the unit home, I realized why lights are not a factory option, 90% of the light above the slide does get blocked out.
I am going to add some lighting to the slide and will post pics when I do so which should be in the next month or so.

[wbatto]

We have a 2013 381 Fuzion. It has the LEDs in the awning roller and power awnings. As always there are good points and bad points about everything. The good points:
You can adjust your awning roller at different angles. You can see better if needed by rolling it out more or roll your awning in more to dim or shine the lights on the bottom of the awning. Since the lights are in the roller you don’t have to screw around with putting them up or down. The lights are far enough away that when you open your door the bugs don’t fly in side.
The bad points:
when you turn the lights on it looks like bug city in about 10 mins. You have to turn them off for 15 mins or so before rolling up your awning so the bugs don’t get rolled up too. The lights mysteriously get turned on and you don’t know there on until your battery is dead or you unroll your awning.
Okay so much for the good points and bad points. Personally I like them because I don’t have to mess around with putting lights up and down every night. This would be a chore with these awnings as you can’t reach them without a step ladder. The lights also look very cool when angled so they shine on the bottoms of your awnings. One more thing I would like to mention is we had trouble with the lights going out over time in the Led light strips. The dealer fixed them once. At the end of the summer I looked to see what was wrong with them since the warranty had run out. What I found is Keystone put INSIDE LED light strips (non-weather proof) in the rollers? The moisture resistant type is in-cased in a RTV type substance and cost about $2.00 more a roll (a roll of color changers are around $7.00 on Amazon and are 16.4’ long). I am planning on replacing them later this spring. Oh well that’s my 2 cents.