Exterior LED Strip Lights under Trailer

[RichHog]

So I've seen a few trailers with that LED glow of color shining around the trailer edges and want that cool factor under my 25' 06 Safari FB. I'm looking for tips as to what products work best, where do you connect the power supply to 110 or 12 volts and tricks learned in mounting them. I want a remote control to change up the show. So any tips from those who have done this and what you spent appreciated. Thanks

[AWCHIEF]

Check out "Bambi II Saved from Recycler!" In the Bambi II forum section. In the last few post Becky talks about her interior and exterior LED lighting.

[overlander64]

Greetings RichHog!

ArtStream also has LEDs illuminating the lower exterior edges of his Airstream. I don't know whether he posted any details about his installation, but I have seen his coach at a rally and it was impressive.

Kevin

[RichHog]

I spent quite a bit of time looking at LED strips online and followed the Bambi 2 link. It's pretty confusing as the strips typically only work 5 meters or so on a single power supply so it takes more than 1 to power the underside. Then the remote control units are IR meaning that you have to mount the receiver somewhere that you can point it at by the remote. Also price varies a lot in similar products.

[robwok]

I'm planning on putting them under my trailer. You can order them off Amazon now from several suppliers. The cheapest is throug deal extreme.com or dx.com however it can take up to a month to get them. Returns would be a pain.

You'll want to order waterproof LED string. They do only come in 5M lenghts, but you can connect up to 10 of those I think. You should not need seperate power supplies for each. You can wire them directly into your battery, or into you distribution panel.

You can probably adhere them with silicone, and I would add some straps as well to make sure not to lose them. Those could simply be straps of plasic underneath held with a rivet to the belly pan.

The IR for the remote is probably the biggest hassle. I ordered one kit, and the remote only works if I'm pointing straight at the end. I still haven't decided placement on that piece. I may put it in the corner of an inside window so I can trigger it from the outside. Possibly in the front window so I could trigger from the driver's position, just for fun to pull into a campsite.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by robwok

You'll want to order waterproof LED string. They do only come in 5M lenghts, but you can connect up to 10 of those I think. You should not need seperate power supplies for each. You can wire them directly into your battery, or into your distribution panel.

Commercial suppliers can get them in 150-foot reels, and cut them to fit. If you need longer than 5m lengths, you might go to a local lighting supply store rather than buying off the Internet, and getting exactly the length you need.

[RichHog]

There are a lot of options for this tape out there and after a while it begins to run together. I figure that for my 25' Safari I'll need 60'+ of waterproof RGB tape. I haven't found a brand yet that does it with just one power supply. But it does seem like the distributers love to chop it up and bundle it in smaller rolls with small power supplies. If anybody locates a source that puts it all together let me know. I've found many options and am an Elation Dealer for their products but that would require multiple power supplies. And the IR controllers are another problem as noted in this thread.

[Dean E]

Search the online auction for "led strip." You may find some buying options.

[RichHog]

I bought 2 ten meter rolls of RGB waterproof lights online from DHGate. Comes with RF controller and power supplies. I'll post how the install goes when it arrives.

[RichHog]

So I got my order in and set up one of the system with the controller in the kitchen. I like the look and the remote controls the colors and effects nicely. Next step is to bring the trailer home and do the install

[RichHog]

So first thing to say is doing this is a lot of work. When you are under the trailer in close proximity on your back it's a project. Attaching the LED strips is fairly easy. First clean the surface (I used Goo Gone). Then peal off the backing and then press to apply. But there are axels and wheel hubs to cross and a front tire located in front that you have to figure out how to route you LEDs before you apply. But before that you need to determine where you want the strips to start which would be close to your power source. And another bad thing is that the LED strips come in 10 meter lengths. Some shorter but to wrap my 25' Safari required 3+ more strips to go around the whole underside. So here's the next problem. You can run only 2-10 meter strips off a single power supply. So for my Safari I need 2 power supplies to feed the 3.25 strips under my trailer which means getting 2 power runs under the trailer. I would say I spent maybe 4 hrs under it to install the 95' or so of strips under the trailer. That was the easy part.

[RichHog]

So the big decision was where to locate the two power supplies needed to power the LED strips under the trailer. Think of the power supplies you would use for a laptop PC x2. I wanted a clean professional install, no wires exposed or electronics hanging under the trailer in the weather. I decided to get power from the Refrigerator compartment where there was a AC plug and space to mount the 2 power supplies and the 2 transmitter receivers. I would then only have to run 2 control voltage wire bundles of 4 wires each to the 2 LED runs under the trailer to feed the strips. Seems easy or so I thought.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by RichHog

So the big decision was where to locate the two power supplies needed to power the LED strips under the trailer. Think of the power supplies you would use for a laptop PC x2. I wanted a clean professional install, no wires exposed or electronics hanging under the trailer in the weather. I decided to get power from the Refrigerator compartment where there was a AC plug and space to mount the 2 power supplies and the 2 transmitter receivers. I would then only have to run 2 control voltage wire bundles of 4 wires each to the 2 LED runs under the trailer to feed the strips. Seems easy or so I thought.

So you're using 120vAC LED rope lights, not 12vDC LED rope lights?

Put the wires from the power bricks to the lights inside conduit, clamped to the belly pan. Not as neat an install as putting them inside the belly pan, but easier. And no worse than having your propane lines underneath, as far as clutter is concerned. Aluminum conduit would be best. Conduit should be sized so that the wires inside take up about one-third to one-half of the total cross-sectional area.

[RichHog]

Not using rope LED lights but what is called LED Strips. Or tape. Though tying into the 12 volt system seemed attractive, I didn't want to over tax the system as the strips use some power.

[RichHog]

So putting the power supplies and receivers/interface into the fridge compartment was fairly easy. There are 4 wires coming off each unit RGB and power. I had designed the strips to start close to this compartment but the bad news is that the compartment sits over the wheel well so there's no direct route to the bottom of the trailer. On my 25' Safari the closet is right next to the fridge so I drilled a hole into the lower side of the closet thinking I could go down through the bottom and drill through the belly pan.
However this space is loaded with the plumbing to fill the fresh water tank and below is the black and grey water tank dumps. I needed about a 1/4" hole for the wire I had bought to bring 8 wires all bundled in a single jacket. I spent over 4 hrs trying to drill though all this area from the bottom up with a trip to Home Depot to get a 10" long paddle drill bit to go from bottom aluminum through insulation and them though plywood decking. Eventually with the help of my wife I had a wire run from fridge area to the underside of the trailer where I could make the wire connections.

[RichHog]

The first outing took a little modifications. A wire connection tripped a breaker in the trailer that wouldn't reset. Turned out that the AC outlet that the fridge plugs into is part of the GFCI circuit so when I added a 3 way plug for the power supplies it would trip the circuit. I removers one of the power supplies to the led strips and connected all sections to that one loop without problems.

[Hummer]

I have been thinking of this very project and I have two 5M rolls of 5050 LEDs but now I am thinking of running in rain and with the oil residue coming up from wet pavement etc that the adhesive is going to let go sooner or later and you will have a hanging wire situation. As well cold weather may release the adhesive.

Thusly I am now rethinking the various application modes and more along the lines of LED Modules that can be attached to the belly pan with self tapping No 8 hex drive metal screws. The modules seem to be waterproof but make sure before you order and they come in colors and if you don't want to run through wheel wells just splice in jumper wire in the circuit.

There there is the question of whether you want them on while running wired through your tail light circuit or just want to have the ability to use them in camp grounds and exterior lighting.

I am going to wire in a Astron 7 amp power supply and run circuits out from it. Figure I will put it in behind microwave and plug it into that recepticle so when shore line is hooked up the second circuit is up and running automatically. The Astrons are used by Ham Radio operators (de AC4HT) and are controlled right on 13.8 volts for a solid steady power delivery which gives long life. If I remember my calculations right a 7 amp Astron should power up to 33 watts of LEDs and that is a lot of lights. They also come in 10, 12, 15 and 20 amps but of course they are bigger/heavier.

Note: you will see smaller power supplies advertised for these but for the cost of two or three of these good for one circuit you can get a Astron for same price and run perhaps 16 circuits. You can pick up Astron 7 amps on ebay for 20.00 to 50.00 used (which is what I did). A Ham had added two 4 terminal junction blocks to top of unit thusly I can run 8 circuits at one time. If anyone wants to see how he did this PM me and I will email you a picture of how he did it.



I just got a 500 ft roll of 18/2 AWG shielded and color coded red/black for this second wiring program and will control all of them with shallow rough boxes and 120V commercial light switches next to our twin beds that are right over the wheel wells giving easy access to outside without drilling. I got it on clearance at Lowes and got about $15.00 off on it. I also have a partial spool of 22/4 AWG (flea market find) I could run soldered to end of 18AWG outside thus one hot line becomes 2. These will not be grounded on AS but return to Astron to make the circuit.



The modules come in white, red, green and blue depending on your desires. Below is a good pic of how they come and shows the mounting holes for attaching them to surfaces. They have adhesive on the backs for the initial placement but as indicated I don't think it would last long haul with road film,vibration etc. Least ways with the screws you could apply a drop of Loctite 222 to screw threads which should eliminate the vibration loosening problem.

40pcs SMD5630 White 6000K 3 LEDs Module Waterproof DC12V High Lumens | eBay

5630 LEDs give the most light,then 5050 slighly less and then there is the 3000 range lights that are much less. Thus if you do a search add in either of those numbers and make sure they say they are waterproof because I have come across some LEDs that are not waterproof. Also the white or bright white are just that but the WARM WHITE gives the appearance of a standard incandescent bulb light.

I thought as a first circuit I would put in a line down the curb side looking outboard to give ground light for walking around outside at night.

Note: All the LEDs I have run up on yet are wired with 23AWG thusly 22AWG or heavier should take care of anything you need I would think.

Also to be considered if you run them in blue, red or green they don't destroy your night vision. Thusly I have blue LEDs in truck cab overhead so they can be turned on and still see to drive.

[Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Hummer

I have been thinking of this very project and I have two 5M rolls of 5050 LEDs but now I am thinking of running in rain and with the oil residue coming up from wet pavement etc that the adhesive is going to let go sooner or later and you will have a hanging wire situation. As well cold weather may release the adhesive.

Rope lights can be securely fastened using the same hangers you would use for equivalent-diameter pipe or tubing.


Just make sure the hanger is in between LED bulbs on the rope light, not covering an LED bulb.

[Skater]

I had some small LEDs mounted under the B190 with double sided tape, and I always figured they would eventually pop loose, but it didn't happen in the 6 years we had the B190 with them installed. I don't know if my installation was in a spot that normally got wet despite being under the vehicle, though - I never crawled under after driving in the rain to look. But, surely, in some of the weather I drove in, they would've gotten wet at least a few times.

That said, go with what makes you comfortable. A couple of the hangers Protag suggested seem like a good idea to me. I'd probably go with smaller plastic wire clips like this if the LED strips fit in them (those are metal and would work, too, but you get the idea).

[Hummer]

As well they would mount with No 8 self tapping metal screws with 1/4" hex head.