# Awning Lights



## deanintemp (Apr 3, 2007)

I have always disliked, not hated - just disliked, getting the hanging lights out every trip and then packing them back up when finished. So, I recently installed permanent ropes lights to the roll tube on my awning. These lights stay in and simply are exposed when I open the awning. They then simply roll up into the awning when breaking down camp. I bought all the supplies at Camping World for about $40; this includes the rope light and the hanger. The hanger simply slides into the "spare" slot on the roll-up tube and the lights snap into place. Since the rope light was longer than my awning, I wrapped the end with electrical tape so as to look better. I simply open my awning, plug the lights into an automatic timer and let it turn itself on and off as necessary. The only downside is that as you roll up the awning, rather than rolling up perfectly round about the tube, the light rope creates a slight oval effect - however, this does not seem to hamper things at all and I don't think it will damage the awning in any way. Also, since the light rope creates a very slight circumference increase when rolling up the awning, the wind/unwind switch mechanism end s up in a slightly different location when the awning is in the closed position - this make it just slightly more cumbersome to operate when opening the awning.

Note: The picture with the awning lights on makes it look much brighter than they really are; in fact, these lights are rather dim - giving off the perfect amount of light that could be left on all night without bothering other campers in my opinion.


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

I've wondered whether I could roll up my rope lights inside the awning. I know it is physically possible, but I'm still not concerned that the lights might rub inside the rolled up awning as the trailer bounces down the road, and possibly rub a hole in the awning material. Anyone have any experience here, other than this poster?

It sure would make setup a whole lot easier. As it is, when we arrive at a campground and I unroll the awning, I attach the rope lights, two de-flappers, two wind socks (one on each corner), a routed sign (with our name on it), and two guy lines - before I raise the awning up. And if I need to roll up and stow the awning due to a storm, and also when we pack up to leave, I have to take everything off. The lights take the most time to attach and detach, then stow away.

If we're only staying one night, I don't even bother with the lights because it just takes too much time. So it would be nice to unroll the awning and just plug in the lights for a one night stay.

If anyone else has thoughts on this, please share them!

Mike


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## 4ME (Sep 11, 2006)

I added a keychain remote control plug to my string of lights.(I still hang them)
It works great when your walking up to your site from someone elses or when your seated
at the fire and want to kill the lights.
Stanley makes them for them about 20 bucks. 
How are the rope lights for brightness?


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## deanintemp (Apr 3, 2007)

Scoutr2 said:


> I've wondered whether I could roll up my rope lights inside the awning. I know it is physically possible, but I'm still not concerned that the lights might rub inside the rolled up awning as the trailer bounces down the road, and possibly rub a hole in the awning material. Anyone have any experience here, other than this poster?
> 
> It sure would make setup a whole lot easier. As it is, when we arrive at a campground and I unroll the awning, I attach the rope lights, two de-flappers, two wind socks (one on each corner), a routed sign (with our name on it), and two guy lines - before I raise the awning up. And if I need to roll up and stow the awning due to a storm, and also when we pack up to leave, I have to take everything off. The lights take the most time to attach and detach, then stow away.
> 
> ...


I had a similar setup with my pop-up camper and also rolled up all the poles into the awning with no issues over ten years. That awning was only 12' long but sees just as much bouncing on the road as my 26RS. I will keep you posted if I see any issues but I don't expect any.


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## deanintemp (Apr 3, 2007)

4ME said:


> I added a keychain remote control plug to my string of lights.(I still hang them)
> It works great when your walking up to your site from someone elses or when your seated
> at the fire and want to kill the lights.
> Stanley makes them for them about 20 bucks.
> How are the rope lights for brightness?


The picture of the lights on in my original post make the lights appear relatively bright. However, in reality they are about 1/2 as bright as they look in the picture. They are not bright enough to read to but certainly bright enough to make for a cozy aura and see around. Also, the brightness is not too high that it would bother neighbor campers - I could leave them on all night if I wanted to.


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## deanintemp (Apr 3, 2007)

The light strip I used is from Camping World and is catalog #26172.

The link for this 18' light bar is http://www.campingworld.com/shopping/item/18-awning-light-strip/26172


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## mmblantz (Jul 1, 2007)

I got my rope lights in purple at walmart. They were with the regular light bulb stuff. 2 strings go all the the way accross on hangers and snake down both sides. The purple is not too bright or dark. ----Mike


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