Brighten Up Your Night

Replacing the patio rope light — or one that throws a weak beam — with a super-bright LED fixture takes little time but offers big results.

By Bob Livingston / Photos by the author

ighting up the patio area of an RV seems simple enough; just about every RV made has some type of fixture on the outside wall in the vicinity of the entryway to achieve this goal. Providing adequate outside light and the requisite visibility at night to negotiate the entry steps are fundamental necessities.

Rather than mounting a standard-type fixture above the entry door, however, many manufacturers are adding rope lights in a strip rail below the awning fabric and roller tube. It’s a nice way to conceal the light when not in use, but over time these rope lights lose their brilliance as the sun has its way with the plastic casing — and when the awning is retracted, the light becomes partially obstructed. Adding an LED fixture in lieu of the rope light will substantially increase the outside coverage — and provide better illumination on the steps and area outside the door.

We originally featured a bright exterior light fixture — the Dream Lighting LED Heavy Duty Awning Light Bar (https://amzn.to/3vzltnM) — as part of “The Gadgeteer” column in the November 2021 issue of RV Enthusiast. At the time, it had been installed on a friend’s Cameo fifth wheel and had been operating flawlessly for more than 1 ½ years (and is still working). Knowing that, we decided it would be a good candidate for replacing the rope light in our own Grand Design Reflection fifth wheel. Clearly, the 720 lumens of cool light provided better coverage than the stock light on the Cameo — and after this installation the new fixture did not disappoint.

Since you’ll be removing the rope light, the empty strip rail provides a perfect raceway for routing the wires to connect the fixture to 12-volt DC power, which was already at the front end of the rope light and connected to a switch inside the fifth wheel. Routing loose wires are less than tidy so we elected to use a 16/2 cable, which fit nicely in the strip rail below the awning. Other parts needed include butt connectors and silicone sealant.

The first step was to release the rope light from the strip rail and pull it out. At the factory, the front end of the strip rail was crimped just enough to retain the rope light and silicone sealant was applied originally to make sure there was no movement. It took a little time to scrape away the silicone and spread the railing enough to free the rope light, which consequently came out quickly and in one piece.

Measurements were taken to center the new fixture below the awning and a notch was cut into the strip rail to route the power leads and give it a “factory installed” appearance. The cable fit inside the strip railing perfectly and blended in, making it almost imperceptible. You have to make sure that there are no rough edges in the notched area that can abrade the cable.

The light fixture was designed to be flush-mounted with the wire routed directly behind the base, which makes sense when replacing an existing fixture with a wire extending through a hole in the exterior wall. If that’s the case, it’s a direct swap and only takes a few minutes to get it done. For this project, the wire leads would have to be exposed somewhat, since they are being routed from the strip rail. A hole was drilled in the side of the fixture base (between the cooling fins) and the cable was routed into the base and connected to the light’s power leads. After positioning the new fixture as close as possible to the rolled-up awning tubing, the wires seemed to “disappear.” The fixture was screwed into the sidewall, sealing the threads with silicone. Figure on no more than a couple of hours for the entire project.

This fixture throws a tremendous amount of light via a 40-degree downcast beam. For some, in fact, it might be too bright, depending on whether light is needed to cook dinner on a barbecue or for lounging around sipping a glass of wine later in the evening. Fortunately, this fixture is compatible with a dimmer switch. Just remember to be respectful of your neighbors and turn the light off when you retire for the evening.

To begin, the end of the strip rail was opened to allow the rope light to slide out without getting hung up. More importantly, you don’t want the wire cable to get damaged when installing in the rail.

razor knife being used to carefully cut away the glob of silicone sealer

a metal putty knife being used to remove the excess silicone sealant

A razor knife was used to carefully cut away the glob of silicone sealer that was installed by the factory to prevent the rope light from moving. It was also necessary to use a metal putty knife to remove the excess silicone sealant.

The 12-volt DC power leads were cut before pulling the rope light out of the strip rail. Make sure the switch is in the “Off” position to prevent shorting when cutting the wires.

rope light sliding out from the strip rail

Once the power leads were cut and the silicone removed, the rope light slid out from the strip rail with virtually no effort. It was obvious that constant exposure to the sun had its way with the casing, which was no longer clear and reduced light output.

new light fixture being prepared by drilling a hole in the side of the base

The new light fixture was prepared by drilling a hole in the side of the base to allow a pathway for routing the power leads. This particular fixture was designed for hooking up the wires through a hole in the sidewall behind the base cover, thus the modification was necessary.

a notch marked and cut in the strip rail

After measuring for a center mounting location, a notch was marked and cut in the strip rail to allow the wires to run down to the light fixture. Long-nose (sometimes called needle-nose) pliers helped open the ends and a file (not shown) was used to remove any sharp edges.

Silicone-based oil being rubbed on the wire jacket

wire jacket being checked to make sure it will not get hung up while pushing into the strip rail

Silicone-based oil was rubbed on the wire jacket to make sure it would not get hung up while pushing into the strip rail. This additional prep paid off handsomely as the cable went in without any hang-ups.

The new power cable was pulled out through the notch in the strip rail with long-nose pliers. Extra cable was pulled to make it easier to wire the light fixture. Once connected to the fixture, any slack was removed by pulling the front end of the cable.

Butt connectors with shrink-tubing ends were crimped to the power leads in the fixture base. Using this type of connector ensures that the wiring will remain weatherproof, which is important for any fixture subjected to the elements.

wiring inside the fixture being neatly tucked inside

The wiring inside the fixture was neatly tucked inside the base. Silicone sealant was applied to the hole in the side of the base where the cable was routed.

new light fixture being centered on the sidewall

The new light fixture was centered on the sidewall, close to the awning fabric (the awning was opened about a foot to make it easier to wire the fixture). Once the fixture was mounted, the awning was retracted fully and the cable “disappeared.”

Pilot holes being drilled in the sidewall

Silicone sealant being applied to the screw threads

Pilot holes were drilled in the sidewall to make sure the fiberglass would not crack when driving the stainless-steel screws needed to hold the fixture in place. Silicone sealant was applied to the screw threads before driving into the wall.

butt terminals with shrink-tubing ends being used to weatherproof the connections

The last step was to connect the original power wires to the new cable. Again, butt terminals with shrink-tubing ends were used to weatherproof the connections.

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