Nice! It looks similar to the Luminoodle
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For those running the hard korr or matt gecko lights, how does the orange and red light do to keep bugs away?
i have a pretty simple set up. Both lights are from goove which is on amazon. they have a ton of different options on styles too. In the tent i have one strip across the high point with the on/off switch on the left. That switch also controls brightness and color. That one is just powered by a small battery that lives up in one of the nets. Lights below are the same system but powered by a bigger goal zero type batterythat also powers our kitchen lights and what ever else we need to charge.
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Finally getting around to putting lights in my tent and I’m looking for tips on how to route the wiring downstairs and the best place to place the switch based on everyone’s experience. I’m a little concerned about placing it on the ceiling and it getting compressed and switched on when closing the tent.
I’d like to use the t-slot channels on each side of the tent upstairs and route the wiring down towards the hinge of the tent. Where does everyone place their upstairs switch?
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Not sure what you drive, but in my Tacoma I put the downstairs switch near the tailgate where the cubby/outlet is so it can be easily removed and replaced if I ever feel like it. I also have power ran to that cubby that is always hot which is what I connect the lights too.
As for upstairs I ran two 5V led strips to the hinge of the GFC which can plug into any power bank. I did this so I don’t accidentally ever leave the lights on and drain my battery. Switches are technically here at the hinge but I also have remotes that came with the LED strips so I can set timers and change colors easily.
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I think I found the best place on the V2, which is the triangular upper cross brace on the back window. It works super well from inside and out, and it’s easy to find in any weather or lighting conditions. Pure muscle memory. It’s also possible to reach it easily from the tent with one of the floor panels removed.
Here’s my post on lighting. I don’t think my homebrew buckpuck driver setup is the right thing for most users, but you can read/see my thinking about everything including dimming, switch placement, quality of light, etc.
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ill post a photo of mine tonight
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My downstairs lighting just showed up today and I’m super stoked about how it’s going to turn out.
I wanted to be able to switch between cool and warm white and also have red light so it doesn’t attract bugs and dim. I picked up an LED strip with cool white, warm white, and RGB and this three-color dimmer on Amazon and just wired up the positive, two whites, and red. Super simple and easy to set up and use.
Just testing it out on goal zero right now and post once I get it installed in the truck soon. Under $80 all in with the diffusers I have coming in and gets me exactly what I wanted and should get around all 4 sides of the camper. The lights seem good quality, definitely not as blue in person as the camera shows. Hopefully, it all holds up!
Dimmer: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008GY6WM2/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Lights:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KQVGJ5F/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s02?ie=UTF8&th=1
Diffuser Channels (haven’t confirmed these actually fit up in the camper yet but they should):
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Nice set up. Been looking for a physical color controller and dimmer like that forever. Last thing I want was the remote controlled ones where I’d just loose the remote……
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Does your phone have a “slow motion” video mode? Would you take a video of these LEDs in slow motion mode? I’m looking to see if they flicker at a very high frequency. Still haven’t done the lighting in my tent and this would be a nice off-the-shelf solution.
I just installed my downstairs lights, and am really happy with how they turned out. I used rgb+cct led strips with aluminum channels and diffusers. I wanted the flexibility of changing white color temp and also using red/amber for warmer months. I also really didn’t want to see the individual LEDs, and the diffusers did exactly what I wanted there. I designed and 3d printed my own end caps and mounts for the channels so the angle can be adjusted (really useful for the rear hatch lights), and they work with some existing ring mounts for my cargo net where we stow bedding. I’ve only used them a couple nights so far, but they’re a total game changer.
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@mrbroll looks great, which diffusers did you go with and are what’s your led density? I’ve got 60led/m and you can clearly see the dots with shallow diffusers I have.
Thanks! I used thishttps://a.co/d/6H76dtf channel/diffuser combo. My LEDs are 5050 60/m 24V strips. But they alternate RGB and tunable white chips instead of all-in-one, so they’re technically more like 30/m. I went with 24V, so I could use thinner gauge wiring and go around the entire canopy while keeping the voltage drop in check. My house power is 12V, so I just used a 240W voltage converter for that, which is what’s sitting right next to my fuse panel in the picture.
@mrbroll thanks, I was considering the deeper channel but couldn’t figure out a good way to mount it so went with the shallower one but it just doesn’t give the spotless look. I don’t have mine installed yet so I’ll prob swap out for the ones you used. Would you mind showing me how/where you mounted them up and would you be interested in selling me some of the mounts you made?
Just sent you a PM. We can follow up there.
Would anyone mind sending me, or posting on this thread, photos of how they ran the wires from the top to the bottom of their GFC. I am attempting to install the Matt Gecko lights and followed the directions however I can’t figure out how to get the switches through the 1/4 hole without damaging the wires with the bed panels. Any info would be greatly appreciated
Sending you a PM as well, id be curious to see more photos. I’m looking to use some Diode Dynamics RGBW strips but agree I like the more refined/finished look of the diffusers.
Not sure if you figured it out but I drilled a small hole through the honeycomb floor and glued some rubber grommets on it for looks. Just ran the wires through that so no worries of smashing the wires.
- I’ll add a photo later
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Last week I put in some bed light kit I found laying around in my garage
I thought these were red but turned out to be white. Too bright for inside tent use.
I also installed some lights on the rear panel for cooking. When the panel’s closed these are bright enough to light up the entire bed area.
This week, I yanked out the tent light and replaced with RGB light strips that go around the top
Will need to do something about those leftover VHB tape though
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