Motorhome & Trailer Basement Lighting
Upgrade your basement-storage lighting! Most motorhomes and fifth wheel trailers these days have large, easy-to-access storage bays in the coach or trailer often referred to as "basements". Many pass all the way through the coach from one side to the other. One of the biggest problems with these large storage bays is the lack of sufficient lighting. If you've ever tried to dig through your storage bay at night or worse, along side the road at night, you probably have experienced the frustration first-hand. While some manufacturers offer storage bay lighting as an option, our experience has been that few stock lighting options are what we consider to be a fully functional lighting solution for these storage bays. Our low profile surface mounted RV Basement lighting solution solves that problem. They are designed to easily install on the wall or ceiling of your storage bay and can usually tie into existing light switches. If not, we offer a number of switching options.
Product Highlights
The BOOGEY LIGHTS® Low Profile LED strips used in this product are impressively bright. The LEDs are WHITE with a color temperature of 6000k which is ideal for workspace lighting. Built with two ounce copper PCB, the brightest 5050 LEDs available and 1.2mm of genuine 3M® VHB double sided tape, these LED strips are made tough for use outdoors on vehicles and other motor sports applications. The LEDs are completely sealed against the elements. They're IP65 rated. They are heat resistant, waterproof and easily cleaned for maintenance free operation. The soft, gel-like strips provide maximum flexibility and a clean and sleek appearance. Their low profile design makes them easy to fit into tight spaces and yet are incredibly bright; nothing brighter on the market. Click the SPECS navigation tab on this product page for complete specifications of our LOW PROFILE LED strips.
The LED strips are available in lengths of one foot increments from 1 foot to 12 feet (make your choice from the drop down menu on the product page). If for any reason you need to shorten the length of the LED strip, Boogey Lights® surface mounted LEDs can be cut every three LEDs. Each LED strip has a 5 foot, 2 conductor power lead hard wired and sealed to the LED strip. The other end of the power lead is bare wire.
3M Adhesion Primer is included which if installed according to the installation instructions means the LED strip will not come off unless your forcefully pull it off (in which case the LED strip will not be re-usable due to the force required to remove it.)
Options
PCB color (black or white). The default is WHITE. LEDs are mounted to a Printed Circuit Board (or PCB for short). The color of that PCB only makes a difference in how the finished installation looks in the daylight AND only when that LED strip is in plain view. It's cosmetic only. For the vast majority of basement lighting installations, no one ever sees the LED strip itself so the color of the PCB doesn't matter. The default PCB setting for this product is WHITE only because the white PCB mounting surface reflects the white light coming from the LEDs a little better than a black PCB mounting surface does so the white light appears to be a little brighter to the human eye. If you want to change it to black you can.
Switching Options. The default is NONE. For many basement lighting installations an existing on/off switch already being used in the basement area can be used. This of course assumes the existing OEM on/off switch and related cable and circuit is capable of supporting the additional amperage draw you're adding to the circuit. If your basement area doesn't have an existing switch or you want another switching option, we offer three additional options as follows:
1. Push button on/off. About as easy to install as it comes. Max amperage is 5 amps. It can be surface mounted (3m tape) or drill through as well. We include a blade fuse holder too.
2. Toggle on/off. Max amperage is 25 amps. It is drill through mount. Blade fuse holder included.
3. Wireless on/off w/Relay. Max amperage is 30amp with the relay. Blade fuse holder included.
Feeder Cable Option. The default is NONE. Single color WHITE LEDs require 2 conductor cable to power (one for 12vdc positive, one for 12vdc negative). Each LED strip comes with a 5' power lead hard wired to one end of the LED strip. In many cases this will be all the power lead you need. If however you're having to pull the 12vdc power from further away, we offer the option to purchase additional 2 conductor 18awg feeder cable (aka power lead wire or hook-up wire). We offer this as a convenience to customers only. There is nothing special or unique about this wire. It can be purchased at most any big box store or hardware store in the country. Just have to make sure it's stranded copper wire. We prefer 18awg but depending on the distances you're running, you can probably get away with something lighter (e.g. 20awg or 22awg). Keep in mind that 12vdc power drops very quickly over even short distances which is why we prefer to use 18awg cable. It reduces the voltage drop loss over distances in the 6' to 25' range.
Power Converter. Boogey Lights LED lighting systems are native 12vdc systems. As long as you have 12vdc power available, that's all you need. Some folks however prefer to use 120vac because it might be more easily accessible in their RV. If so, we offer a 5amp and 10amp 120vac to 12vdc power converter.
Amperage: A Word About 12vdc Power
All Boogey Lights® controllers and LED strips operate on 12vdc which is readily available on any RV made and offered for sale in North America. An essential skill with installation of any Boogey Lights LED products is knowing how to correctly wire the product to a 12vdc circuit. This includes understanding the importance of having a properly sized fuse at the power source, polarity, how to properly seal an electrical connection, using properly sized wire gauge for the load, measuring voltage and measuring the additional amperage draw you're adding. Be mindful of the amount of amperage you're drawing through your lighting circuit and to not exceed the circuit component limitations. The amount of power (amps) you're pulling through the circuit will vary based on a combination of three factors: 1) The number of LEDs in the circuit, 2) the amount of copper wire in the circuit and 3) the input voltage to the circuit. The amperage ratings for our switches, controllers and LEDs assume 12.5 vdc input or less. NOTE: You can find complete specifications for most all Boogey Lights® LED lighting products by clicking on the SPECS navigation tab on this product page.
A 12" long LED strip of Boogey Lights® single color WHITE LEDs will pull about .22 amps. That's .22 amps per foot. If you are adding one single 6 foot strand of LEDs, you'll be adding about 1.4 amps (assumes 12.5vdc input) to your existing system. It's important to calculate your amperage draw in advance to make sure the circuit you're connecting to can handle the additional amperage for the number of LEDs you're adding. These are approximations only. We urge customers to measure the actual amperage draw of their system once installed to double check.
If you are uncertain or unfamiliar with any of the electrical concepts discussed here, we urge you to ask someone who has the knowledge to assist you OR hire a professional to do the job for you. Electricity is unforgiving.
OTHER ITEMS YOU MAY NEED
No two installation scenarios are the same. Not everyone shares the same installation quality goals. Some folks are OK with twisting wires together, others want to solder them. Some folks are OK with running wires where they may be seen or unprotected to save money/time, others want a tidy, clean install without any wires showing. Some folks are OK with mounting their LED strips to whatever surface they can find, others want to take the time necessary to build out appropriate mounting surfaces to provide the best lighting effect on their vehicle. The point is it's not possible to provide all the materials necessary for all installation scenarios and quality goals. Our light kits provide the essential components needed for a high-quality, functioning lighting system. Installation of our light kit to your specific vehicle may however require additional items to make it look and fit the way you want. This is particularly the case with electrical wiring and mounting of LED strips. Before proceeding with your installation we suggest you consider THESE OTHER ITEMS.
Installation Info
Mounting Locations
RV basement lighting is most commonly mounted on the inside edge of the storage compartment shining inward. In some cases the strip is mounted on the top of the storage compartment shining downward. The mounting location depends on where you have a smooth flat surface available and of course, which location will provide the best light. Make sure the area where you will be attaching the LED strip is clean and smooth (and free from sharp edges). The LED strip MUST be mounted flat against a single continuous mounting surface, in a straight line; it cannot bend around a radius or corners. Plus, the entire strip needs to be stuck to the mounting surface and not span across mounting surfaces. If you do, the strip will almost certainly fail in the spot that isn't affixed firmly to the mounting surface or, the point at which is spans across the two mounting surfaces. If you don't have a smooth, flat, contiguous mounting surface we recommend riveting or screwing 1.5" wide aluminum or plastic flat stock to the surface and then mount the LED strip to that flat stock.
Amperage / 12VDC Power
An essential skill with installation of any Boogey Lights LED products is knowing how to correctly wire the product to a 12vdc circuit. This includes understanding the importance of having a properly sized fuse at the power source, polarity, how to properly seal an electrical connection, using properly sized wire gauge for the load, measuring voltage and measuring the additional amperage draw you're adding. Be mindful of the amount of amperage you're drawing through your lighting circuit and to not exceed the circuit component limitations. The amount of power (amps) you're pulling through the circuit will vary based on a combination of three factors: 1) The number of LEDs in the circuit, 2) the amount of copper wire in the circuit and 3) the input voltage to the circuit. The amperage ratings for our switches, controllers and LEDs assume 12.5 vdc input or less.
Know Your Amperage Draw
A 12" long LED strip of Boogey Lights® single color WHITE LEDs will pull about .22 amps. That's .22 amps per foot. If you are adding one single 6 foot strand of LEDs, you'll be adding about 1.4 amps (assumes 12.5vdc input) to your existing system. It's important to calculate your amperage draw in advance to make sure the circuit you're connecting to can handle the additional amperage for the number of LEDs you're adding. These are approximations only. We urge customers to measure the actual amperage draw of their system once installed to double check.
If you are uncertain or unfamiliar with any of the electrical concepts discussed here, we urge you to ask someone who has the knowledge to assist you OR hire a professional to do the job for you. Electricity is unforgiving.
Wiring & Switching
For many basement lighting installations an existing on/off light switch in the basement area can be used. The switch is typically a simple on/off rocker or toggle switch as shown here in this diagram (with fuse not shown). This of course assumes the existing OEM on/off switch and related cable and circuit is capable of supporting the additional amperage draw you're adding to the circuit.
If you purchased an optional switch with your light kit, we include the wiring diagram for that switch.