Date: Sat, 16 Apr 2016 11:59:50 +0000
Reply-To: Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Write Up: Inexpensive Interior Lighting
In-Reply-To: <1572543483.1600962.1460777754804.JavaMail.yahoo@mail.yahoo.com>
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As always, your work and experimentation is great.
I like these little puck lights, they last a long time and can be put
anywhere. But over the years I have come to appreciate the permanence of
wired-in lighting. The two most important places are between the driver and
passenger seat, overhead, exactly where your front light it. There I put
two aircraft-style goosenecks that can aim together or separately at
anything from the glove box interior to a map to the the interior of the
pantry or a portapotty in the main cabin floor. The power was taken off the
driver's side courtesy light by partially dropping the ceiling trim and
running a wire.
The other important spot, as you noted, is over the rear seat. This
probably gets used camping more often than the fixture over the sink. I ran
a wire from the over sink fixture wiring up the channel behind the "panel
shelf" and then across the bed platform to a fluorescent fixture (would use
an LED fixture these days, which really didn't exist when this was done
over 250 "camp nights" ago) right over the seat.
I did use those same stick-on fixtures in the back, aimed straight down.
They are great when you are sleeping down there, obviously, but also when
you need light in the engine compartment.
Alas the adhesive only stood up to so much Alabama summer heat and one by
one they ended up other places than where they were intended. Your article
has made me determined to give them another try back there with a
different mount.
For exterior lights I have two Cibié fogs on the front from the seventies
or eighties I guess with the original covers. They look great and "age
appropriate." Out the rear under the bumper I have one of those superbright
Cree lights for backing into campsites. Both are relayed in and controlled
by a switch mounted in a Vanagon graphic under the dash. Switching to the
front, as illustrated on the graphic, you get the fogs. To the rear you get
the camping light. Both relays only get power when there is power to the
parking lights and when the switch is on so you can't make the mistake of
killing the battery by leaving them on without knowing about it.
Jim
On Fri, Apr 15, 2016 at 10:36 PM Mike Miller <mwmiller6@att.net> wrote:
> looks good. Keep us up to date on your experiment.
> Thanks,
> Mike
>
> On Friday, April 15, 2016 8:03 PM, Abel Longoria <
> houstonphotog@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>
>
> Some inexpensive interior lighting for Libby....
>
> http://texasvanagons.com/inexpensive-interior-lighting/
>
> Abel Longoria
>
