Led lighting for side boxes

[Borrego60]

Well my project is just about done,did the sliding drawers they came out OK now how to light them? What I came up with was some LEDS from West Marine. I measered,measured,and did I say measure again to get the spacing correct so the lights would fall into place without any problems. Very important paint the holes to prevent rusting!! I used RTV to secure the light strip in place. I also ran a bead of RTV around each LED to seal the holes from moisture and prevent leaks. When I open the side box the light comes on and I can see what I am doing at night. I like the way it sheds light on the drawers when open. If the LEDS were installed inside the box only the top drawer would be lit, This way no matter which drawer is open it is light from above. The leds are installed on the top lip of the side boxes and they clear the door when closed. A couple of shots in the dark. I guess it would also work for cooking with a stove on a slide. Any comments good or bad are welcome.

 

[SuperCal]

Looks real good, I like it

 

[Borrego60]

Thank you.

 

[DontPanic42]

Great idea. I think I'll just have to steal it for my storage boxes. Thanks

 

[tdesanto]

That looks great.

would you mind posting a picture during daylight so we can see exactly where they're mounted? It almost looks like they're mounted just below the weather seal facing outward.

Also, that would be a perfect setup on the kitchen side. I have the LED that came with it on the inside of the kitchen, but it's not as useful for lighting the stove. That location seems better for that function.

Nice job.

How did these lights come packages? Was it per stip of lights? Also, what was the approximate cost for the lights?

 

[Borrego60]

The lights are mounted in front of the weather seal pointing down.http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=44356&d=1279890024 Is a picture looking up from the bottom of the box towards the upper lip. Cost I think was about 20.00 from west marine. Here is a site that does LED strips.Wish I found them before I drilled the holes.http://www.tecniqinc.com/area_e410.html http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...toreNum=10109&subdeptNum=10571&classNum=10576 are the lights I used.

 

[tdesanto]

So, the lights are on the outside of the trailer, and are not covered up when you shut the door/ front panel to the side box?

 

[Borrego60]

Very nice - I need some like that...
How are they switched?
What model are they? Thanks. Peter

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...toreNum=10109&subdeptNum=10571&classNum=10576
They are switch by a small mometary switch button, The switch normally is open when the button is depressed. With pressure off the switch it closes and completes the circuit.

 

[Borrego60]

So, the lights are on the outside of the trailer, and are not covered up when you shut the door/ front panel to the side box?

The lights are covered by the door,in the first picture they are hard to see. The second shows where they are mounted in relation to the weather strip,3 shows a better shot and the 4th shows the red switch button. The lights are exposed to the weather some what but not to the point where they can be broken. The closed side box door protects them from damaged.
These are the ones I used in the smaller areas mounted inside the upper lip out of site.sorry no picture.http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...toreNum=10109&subdeptNum=10571&classNum=10576

 

[tdesanto]

Thanks a lot. Those pictures show in much beter detail how they're mounted. That's really slick. Nice job. You've got me thinking now about what to do over the kitchen.

 

[Borrego60]

I am glad the pictures helped out more.It was the only solution I could think of instead of some type of magnetic light.

 

[warhammercustoms]

very ingenious. Hope you don't mind if I steal your idea