Lighting and electronics in the Rooftop Tent

[fellglenn]

I have a CVT McKinnley Extended and I currently have an LED strip on the apex bar inside and an LED strip on the bar for the extended awning. I also have a 2 port USB and 2 port 12v Lighter Plug Receptacle. I also have a volt and amp meter connected to monitor the status. All of this is wired together into a 12 plug This plugs into an 12v Extender cable that comes from an AUX 12v Deep cycle battery.

The led controllers are controlled via a wireless RF remote and configured to be different channels. (inside can be controlled separate than the awning light) My remote supports 4 channels and I want to add under lights to the bottom of the platform to light up underneath as the space underneath is open. I am already fighting a birdsnest of wires as I have all of these go into a pocket of the tent and it doesn't impact the folding of the tent.

I am curious to what others have done to manage the various electronic modules and cables inside the tent.

 

[Outside somewhere]

I have nothing to offer but I'd really like to see some pictures of all this stuff. Sounds impressive. I just use a headlamp and a $5.00 amazon motion activated light stuck to the bottom of then tent for when I use the annex.

 

[Nd4SpdSe]

I always want to think you have too much. Is there a need to monitor the battery in your tent? Do you draw that much power to drain it overnight? I do the same thing. I have (2) 12v outlets on my (regular car) battery in the trailer, and run an extension to the tent with a 3x 12v outlet box. One each to charge our phones, and the 3rd runs the fan. I do want to put in a voltmeter, but that will mount to the battery box or control panel on the trailer...there's no need for it inside the tent IMO

I have another pair of wires (power and ground) that run up the other side of the tent. This runs to this dimmer box. I modified it to add an extra switch. The dimmer controls the interior LED lights (I have a strip on each apex bar) and the switch controls the light on the underside that lights up the ladder area.

I need to tidy it up a bit, but it's not bad at all.

 

[calicamper]

I have a similar set up in our original Lifetime 4x6 tent rig. I created loops using heavy waxed floss loosely holding wires to seams to avoid impacting water proofing. The loose loops let the wiring move when the tent is packed. I used automotive plugs which get plugged in at setup and unplugged at teardown just outside the tent. My power is a 50cal ammo box solar generator set up. 18ah deepcycle battery in ammo box, solar charger/power manager 10amp max. Everything is fused via a small 6 fuse box also in the ammo box. The solar panels get set out and plugged in at set up. For light use about 6-10 amps burned during non solar hours its been great. Going on 3yrs zero issues. We charge phones, tablets and power 20ft of led light strip thats split into 4 different switched spots inside and outside.

 

[calicamper]

The Led lighting is flexible tape style strip lighting. In my case we have two privacy internal walls. I placed a heavy waxed floss stitch over the the led strip about every 2-3 inches. Again this lets the led strip move some during packing and unpacking. My 12v charging center sits on its own power line and fuse it gets plugged in during setup an sits in a tent pocket next to the entry point for the power. The plug I used for the charging center was a RC Heli battery plug. I put a 12 amp fuse on it. My power unit maxes at 20amps not 10. Typo sorry. So I use the lighting / output side of the solar charger to track load and turn off the power when not being used.

 

[fellglenn]

Here is the picture of the led strip (zone 1) on the peak of the tent. The wiring runs down the post

Different Color


this is in the extended overhang which is zone 2


The wiring runs into the tent along the side pole and through the opening and under the matress


Here is the birds nest of wiring that I would love to tame. there are the two different zone LED controllers, a 2 port 12v receptable and 2 port USB module.
The battery indicator, I put this in the tent for the purpose of seeing how much amps and volts I would use throughout the night when I'm using various electronics (Phone Charging, CPAP w or w/o humidifier, fan, etc) It will eventually be removed and put and the power source. All of what you see here, is stuffed into a pocket.

 

[outdoornate65]

I would really like to see pics of the ammo can set-up if possible. I'm looking for a simple solution to power some LED strip lights in the RTT and under the awning area. I'm not a big electronics user so charging via an aux battery/solar panel is not critical but might be a nice upgrade.

Nate