Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Keystone RV Forums > Keystone Tech Forums > Modifications and Upgrades
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 06-23-2018, 05:57 PM   #1
01cummins4ever
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: south west
Posts: 2
searching for awning lights

hello, new member here, I have been searching for some led rope awning lights and am basically going on search overload, i am just looking for something basic and have been seeing kits from about 100-180.00 dollars complete with remote control and a bunch of features I will never use, I am not looking to put on a light show or doing night time reading with them just basically accent lighting however I think the dimming option would be nice but not necessary although I prefer them not to be to bright.


Anybody got any recommendations or links to something, like just build it myself instead of buying a kit, I want to install the lights on the end of the awning on the roller so they will roll up with the awning. any ideas would be appreciated. thanks in advance
01cummins4ever is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-23-2018, 06:13 PM   #2
chuckster57
Site Team
 
chuckster57's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Modesto
Posts: 20,235
Welcome to the forum.
As a rule, a roller tube made specifically for LEDs is used so the awning rolls up flat. If you add a light srip, it will cause a bump, and the fabric will bulge at that spot. Every turn will add to the deformity, and may cause permanent damage to the fabric. You may want to look for a roller tube with the lights or channel for them, or rethink where your going to put them.

Good luck with your project and post pics of what you do.
__________________

2012 Copper Canyon 273FWRET being towed by a 1994 Ford F350 CC,LB,Dually diesel.
Airlift 5000 bags, Prodigy brake control, 5 gauges on the pillar.Used to tow a '97 Jayco 323RKS.

Now an RVIA registered tech. Retired from Law enforcement in 2008 after 25+ yrs.
chuckster57 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-23-2018, 06:35 PM   #3
dwall
Senior Member
 
dwall's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Dexter Ga
Posts: 130
I purchased a led strip from Walmart for around $20. It used a 12 volt transformer which I removed and tied into my porch light for power. I then applied the strip on the side of my camper just under my awning. That way it does not interfere with the awning and I can use it when the awning is rolled up. It is multi colored and can be dimmed with a remote control. I am well pleased the way it turned out.
dwall is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-24-2018, 08:10 AM   #4
01cummins4ever
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: south west
Posts: 2
Thanks for the quick reply guys, I did not know that their was special roller tubes for strip lighting. Mine is a basic old style manual roll up on a 2004 keystone Sprinter RLS I may have to rethink this a little more but I am not against mounting on the side of RV either.
01cummins4ever is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-24-2018, 10:26 AM   #5
travelin texans
Senior Member
 
travelin texans's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Picacho, Az
Posts: 6,809
MP4 website also has them.
Might want to buy 3-4 sets while you're at it. From reading this forum & others the awning LEDS don't last very long before they start going out a couple spots at a time.
I bought a 40' rope light designed for a 10'x10' canopy at Walmart & stretched on the ground around our 5er connected to an outdoor timer, made just the right amount of light & had I not stepped on it couple times would still be with us after 4 years of use. I never got 4 months out of any LED replacement bulbs. I replaced my stop/tail lights with LED fixtures & they're still working.
__________________
Full-timed 10+ years
Sold '13 Redwood FB
Traded '13 GMC Denali DRW D/A
Replacement undetermined
travelin texans is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-24-2018, 02:33 PM   #6
JRTJH
Site Team
 
JRTJH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,841
I bought a set from Amazon in 2015, installed them on my awing tube, they've been rolled up, unrolled, rained on, sunshined on, washed with a pressure washer and they keep on working without problems. When I installed them, I cut them to length, used clear silicone to seal both ends of the vinyl tube the LED's are in, then after that was set up, I cleaned the awning roller tube, applied them and let it sit overnight before rolling up the awning. So far, so good, it's been 3 years. They do not dim, but all it would take to make them "dimmable" is to add an LED dimmer box. For us, we wouldn't use it, so less to break, less to buy and less to install.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
__________________
John



2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
JRTJH is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-24-2018, 03:03 PM   #7
chuckster57
Site Team
 
chuckster57's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Modesto
Posts: 20,235
No deformity of the fabric? No “speed bump” across the fabric?
__________________

2012 Copper Canyon 273FWRET being towed by a 1994 Ford F350 CC,LB,Dually diesel.
Airlift 5000 bags, Prodigy brake control, 5 gauges on the pillar.Used to tow a '97 Jayco 323RKS.

Now an RVIA registered tech. Retired from Law enforcement in 2008 after 25+ yrs.
chuckster57 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-24-2018, 03:21 PM   #8
JRTJH
Site Team
 
JRTJH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,841
Nothing out of the ordinary. The LED strip sits in a flexible plastic sheath that's about 7/16" wide and about 3/8" tall. It is adhered in place about half an inch from the awning fabric insertion. When the awning rolls up, there is a "very slightly noticeable bump" but nothing that is even visible once the awning is completely rolled up. No problems with locking the awning in the stowed position and no problems with travel or rain runoff.
__________________
John



2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
JRTJH is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-24-2018, 03:25 PM   #9
chuckster57
Site Team
 
chuckster57's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Modesto
Posts: 20,235
That changes my view of them. Probably won’t add any to my trailer but won’t stop the next guy.
__________________

2012 Copper Canyon 273FWRET being towed by a 1994 Ford F350 CC,LB,Dually diesel.
Airlift 5000 bags, Prodigy brake control, 5 gauges on the pillar.Used to tow a '97 Jayco 323RKS.

Now an RVIA registered tech. Retired from Law enforcement in 2008 after 25+ yrs.
chuckster57 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-24-2018, 03:34 PM   #10
sourdough
Site Team
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: W. Texas
Posts: 17,600
John, I think I'm going to do the LED strip. I have not done it because I've read so many reviews where they had trouble with either the LEDs or the adhesive. Looked at the link and these look like they have some pretty good adhesive. I assume you ran the power lead down the extension arms then tied to switched DC?
__________________
Danny and Susan, wife of 56 years
2019 Ram 3500 Laramie CC SWB SB 6.4 4x4 4.10
2020 Montana High Country 331RL
sourdough is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-24-2018, 04:31 PM   #11
JRTJH
Site Team
 
JRTJH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,841
Here are a couple of photos I just took of the awning lights and how they look when rolled up a couple turns. There's really no appreciable "hump" that has caused me any concern. Danny, yes, I ran the wires through the same "silicone sealed hole" that Keystone ran the wiring for the electric motor. On the inside of my trailer, it then runs under the steps to the upper deck, up the interior wall to the control center. I just added another switch to the panel and turn them on/off there. Since the wiring isn't on a "rolling contact plate" I have to unplug them to roll up the awning, but that's never been an issue for me. I suppose if I forgot to unplug them, I'd damage the wiring as the awning rolled up. but so far that hasn't been an issue.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	DSCF3329.jpg
Views:	436
Size:	186.6 KB
ID:	17162   Click image for larger version

Name:	DSCF3330.jpg
Views:	241
Size:	280.7 KB
ID:	17163  
__________________
John



2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
JRTJH is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 06-24-2018, 04:46 PM   #12
oldognewtrick
Junior Member
 
oldognewtrick's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2018
Location: Nashville
Posts: 12
I didn't want to mess with retro fitting on the tube so I picked up some leds with adhesive backing, ran them under the awning on the trailer, tied into the outside light and added a separate switch so I could have the lights off with the outside light on. So far, so good.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	0619182041.jpg
Views:	297
Size:	85.6 KB
ID:	17164  
oldognewtrick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-20-2020, 04:41 AM   #13
dblanch57
Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Wisconsin
Posts: 67
Here are the lights I installed on my trailer back in 2016. These are from rec pro which supplies a lot of products to the rv industry and I believe they are the same lights installed on many trailers at the factory.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
__________________

2020 Ford F250 Crewcab 4x4 6.2L
2017 Passport Elite 31RE
DW & Me
<+><
dblanch57 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-17-2020, 05:40 AM   #14
Philipclopez
Gone Traveling
 
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Fredericksburg
Posts: 12
After looking through all of the led strip choices on Amazon, I chose RecPro RV LED. They are well made and include the installation strip. I installed them to the bracket that the awning slides into. I drilled a small hole to run the wire into the camper, behind the microwave, and accessed some 12v wires there.
Philipclopez is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
awning, light, lights

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates in any way. Keystone RV® is a registered trademark of the Keystone RV Company.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 02:27 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.