Outdoor lights?

J

Jan M

Active member
The inside of our Westy is slowly turning more cosy with dimmable LED conversions and battery-powered candle lights etc. :)

The outside however is a disaster. No lights whatsoever (when camping...). We have used battery-powered lights with magnetic fasteners and other kinds of lights and this works as long as we are nearby or inside but we can't leave anything if we leave the van - things can and will disappear without notice.

It would be great to have a welcoming light above the sliding door powered by the house battery and perhaps with a sensor for movement and automatic operation in darkness. I've searched the forum as well as the web for solutions but haven't found anything suitable.

My first idea was a LED-strip along the underside of the rain gutter although I'm not sure it would last or remain in place very long due to the harsh conditions. Perhaps somebody has another idea?
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O

OldWest

2004 T1N Westfalia
1. LED Strip Over Sliding Door

I remember OneManVan doing exactly what you're thinking with a LED strip over the sliding door. You can't see it unless you specifically look for it. But I searched LED as well as light with "OneManVan" and for some reason no results turned up. Hopefully, he'll see your post and respond.

2. A former Westy owner used 80/20 tubing to make a structure to hold solar panels at an angle. Presumably he used the Translift screwholes in the fiberglass roof. He installed a bunch of floodlights on the tubing to the rear and sides. The floodlights are too high in the air to reach.

On the James Cook forum, folks were selling extended brackets which held the awning with an extended vertical arm for a Translift or something else. You could buy one or more of those brackets and use to install lights. Would be out of reach.


3. Limo Vertical Coach Light/Side Marker Light/Opera Light

On the B pillar, a limo vertical coach light may not look too bad. Old conversion vans from the 1970s used to have. Something like this:

infparts.com

Coach Lights/Opera Lamps Archives » Infinite Innovations

Coach Lights & Opera Lamps for limousine and Hearse Lighting
infparts.com infparts.com

A lot of care needed as the seatbelt has an explosive device to lock the seatbelt in an accident. So need care not to ruin seatbelt.
 
J

Jan M

Active member
The Fiamma kit is interesting but won't fit above the sliding door (below the awning), when the door opens the gap is max 20mm.

I've found a LED strip mounting rail for corners that should fit below the awning (attached to the underside close to the wall). It can be fit with a 45 degree angle so the light should spread both downwards and outwards. This could do fine with a IP65 LED strip. Perhaps with a sensor on the B-pillar over the hole where the power cable could be routed inside the van.

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Perhaps a flat mounting rail would do better:
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This is the area where the rail could be fitted:
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P

pak29

New member
I saw a YouTube van tour from a Colorado conversion company in which an LED light strip roughly 18" long was mounted inside the van on the ceiling just inside the sliding door. It was aimed down at the ground to act as a puddle light/area light when the door was open. It wouldn't serve the motion-activated welcome function the original poster would like, but would help light the exterior area when the sliding door was open at least. I will see if I can find the link.

In exploring a similar idea, I picked some of these 12v RV "porch lights" from Amazon recently and am considering them as switched exterior lights for the outside of our 170 conversion. I pictured lights on both sides and being able to switch them on from the interior, both as a welcome to friendly guests and a deterrent to someone suspicious lingering close by.

I tested them with a 12v battery at night and they are quite bright. Although the part description says "Unique anti-glare PC lens, will not dazzle, see comfortably," they are definitely too bright to look at directly at night. I had been considering mounting them high on the van exterior, but am worried they will be uncomfortably bright. I think the decreasing pitch of the Sprinter wall toward the top will only make this worse, as it will cause the downward-directed beam to be sent more outward. They might serve well as garage work lights if mounted just below eye level on the rear doors, so that when the doors are open they illuminate the area just behind the garage. Likewise, they may serve as ambient lights if mounted on the side of the van below eye level, although this would make them more visibly obtrusive when not in use.

Of course, figuring out the best spot for them on the sliding door side is another challenge. Tricky installation on sliding door? Mid-way on the vehicle will be covered when the door is open and clearance for the door would have to be carefully checked in any event. In the rear third of the vehicle might not be as useful as a puddle light for stepping up into the van.
 
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