Would you use these lights in your trailer?

[ND Farmer]

Lost:.....if your still checking in on this thread, I can't seem to get pictures to attach. Please e-mail me at ddmeyerfarm@gmail.com, and Ill send you a couple pictures and maybe you can upload them to this sight. Sorry, too old and dumb I guess. Darren

 

[hoov165x]

I changed all of the small 12V dome light bulbs over to LED. I also have wired in two 48" fluorescents (the new small diamter 32W) that work on 120V. They are mounted on the 45 degree angle piece on the wall roof transition. Split the 24' box of the trailer into fourths so the center of light is spaced at 8' in and ' between lights. I'm monitoring the price of the LED retrofit for 48" bulbs where you take the electronic ballast out of the circuit. Might be plenty bright with one bulb per unit. They have changed some of the lights in our stairwells over and they are super bright. Also waiting for the price to come down some.

Home depot has these 120 volt lights as well. They would take virtually no head room as they are only 1" thick and come in a 12" x 48" unit. Could have a couple mounted in the ceiling to throw lights in both directions.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Pixi-1-f...inaire-FLT14C40MDUP44A/204750003?N=5yc1vZc7bu

4200 lumens

The F32T8 LED replacement lamps currently available, are driven off of the existing electronic ballast in the fixture. There WERE lamps available that required removal of the ballast and were 120 volt input but they were taken off the market as there were some safety issues with them. These were a Philips or Sylvania product. One of my vendors said something about blowing up? I am an electrical contractor.. Also the lamps are plastic, so they are much safer than glass.

 

[adamg]

Sorry, I haven't taken a pic of my trailer with the lights on yet. Blame it on the lack of snow this winter.
These are the strip lights I used, from amazon. Search for: 10M 3528 SMD 600

On each side of the trailer I ran a continuous strip starting at the rear of the V corner (about 2' above floor), up to the ceiling corner, back along the wall-roof corner to the rear wall, then down that corner (about 2' above floor). If your trailer has finished, flat ceiling you can simply 2-4 strips down the full length of the ceiling. Mine had the ceiling beams exposed so the corner was more appropriate.

Pics attached. The four wall fixtures do pretty much nothing compared to the strip lights.

 

[bdt]

I updated a few of my friend’s trailers to LED strips. In the attached picture I installed 2 - 6.5M strips with 240 LEDs/M. I uploaded more pictures and a video to dropbox (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lmshki6k5lj50qi/AADiyPV7_oWedDuEZhJRuE9La?dl=0). The video gives you an idea of the difference between the factory lights and the LED strips, these strips are almost over kill. I can sell them for a pretty good price ($48.38 for a 5M strip with 120 LEDs/M). If you’re interested or have any questions PM me. The most popular setup so far is 2 - 5M strips with 120 LEDs/M.

I even replaced my florescent lights in my garage and family room with strips. I installed RGB strips for accent lighting in our TV room and I put spot lights above my work bench and wife’s sewing table, and I’m just beginning…

All this got started because my boy wanted more Christmas lights (https://www.youtube.com/watc?v=npeos2hBYHM)!

 

[krashr]

For those that use the LED strips, do you have a problems with the double sided tape coming loose? Assuming you probably don't want to try to stick it to painted or unpainted plywood? Also is it best to put them in the corners facing up (so they reflect the light) and stay somewhat hidden from the naked eye so its not so harsh on the eyes when you look directly at them?

 

[Butta]

What kind of amp draw do these have? Curious how much they would tax my battery in the trailer?

 

[bdt]

This trailers current draw calculates to 15.4A, actual current was 12.3A. You’d probably want to make sure you don’t leave the lights on all day while you’re out snowmobiling. However, in this trailer we isolated the lights from the truck by installing a separate battery with a small solar panel to keep the battery charged. We did run the lights all day long at the snowmobile show and it didn’t seem to lose any light, and we didn’t have the solar panel connected. I’m not sure what the CCA of battery we used was. I believe the incandescent lights draw ~6A, so for double the current you get many times the light. The normal setup of 2-5M strips with 120 LEDs/M draws ~5.2A.

 

[lost]

I updated a few of my friend’s trailers to LED strips. In the attached picture I installed 2 - 6.5M strips with 240 LEDs/M. I uploaded more pictures and a video to dropbox (https://www.dropbox.com/sh/lmshki6k5lj50qi/AADiyPV7_oWedDuEZhJRuE9La?dl=0). The video gives you an idea of the difference between the factory lights and the LED strips, these strips are almost over kill. I can sell them for a pretty good price ($48.38 for a 5M strip with 120 LEDs/M). If you’re interested or have any questions PM me. The most popular setup so far is 2 - 5M strips with 120 LEDs/M.

I even replaced my florescent lights in my garage and family room with strips. I installed RGB strips for accent lighting in our TV room and I put spot lights above my work bench and wife’s sewing table, and I’m just beginning…

All this got started because my boy wanted more Christmas lights (https://www.youtube.com/watc?v=npeos2hBYHM)!

By any chance could you tell us the name of the light strips you have?

 

[bdt]

No name, I work with a couple suppliers in china.

 

[lost]

No name, I work with a couple suppliers in china.

Thank you. I like to read reviews on products prior to purchasing them if spending a lot of dollars. Looking at the link you posted if I were to do my trailer with the 120 LED's it would be close to $130, (2 5M's & 2 1.5M's) and for the 240 LED's it would be close to $260 for the same configuration.
That is why I asked my question so I could look at reviews.
Thanks again for your information.

 

[bdt]

I’m the same way. The lights come in a generic mylar bag. I’m just offering to pass on what I believe is a pretty good deal.

What got me started was I saw an advertisement for Blum Enterprises (http://www.bluhmenterprises.com/products/moto-brite-lites.php?pn_category_id=105) in SnoWest magazine. It got me thinking so I contacted my Christmas light supplier in China and found that his prices are better. Bluhm is asking $149 for a 25’ (7.6M) strip with 60 LED/M. For comparison I can offer 5M (16.4’) strips with 120 LED/M for $48. Quality wise I can’t say how much better their lights are, but for the price difference it should be like comparing a VW to Porsche? I’ve installed close to 100 strips, all have worked, there have been a few strips that have lost a few pixels but it hasn’t affected the light output.

If you want a supplier with reviews, Supperbrightleds.com (https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...ight-with-18-smdsft-1-chip-smd-led-3528/1466/) seem to have good reviews of their products. They are a little more expensive then Bluhm, but in the long run it might be worth it?


Krashr, I’ve had pretty good luck with the tape. I’ve found if I clean the surface really good with lacquer thinner and heat the strip up just a little before pulling off the paper backing it works pretty good. I have had some problems with the tape sticking to my garage ceiling, a little bit of glue goes a long way.

 

[Dirty Steve]

Do the strips connect end to end to make them longer? Can you shorten them to make custom lengths?

 

[bdt]

You can shorten the strips to any length by cutting them at the connections where they are marked. You can also lengthen them by soldering them together at the connections. I cover the joints with clear heat shrink, and depending on the application I sometimes squirt a little silicone under the heat shrink before shrinking it. If you want maximum light out of the strips I recommend injecting power at both ends of the 5 M strip and every 5 M depending how much you lengthen them. The 120 LEDs/M strips are more forgiving.

 

[adamg]

Or buy 10m long strips, install, snip off the end if it is too long. Easy.