lights for a camper shell

Hi all: Not really certain if this subject is applicable to flashlight discussions or not. I am setting up my truck to be used as camper and want to put some some lights on the inside ceiling of the shell. I am going to use 18650 batteries because I have many flashlights using these. So does anyone know of any light 'fixture' that I could easily mount to my roof of my truck camper shell? It would be good to have easy on/off as well as few brightness levels. Thanks all, Charlie

Fenix makes a nice camping lantern with a neutral, if not warm tint.
But for a roof mounted unit this MAY work better... BUT I would bet that it is a cool white, not neutral
http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?407547-Fenix-CL25R-alternatives

Banggood sells bunches of LED lights of all kinds, from strips of LEDs to fixtures and bulbs. I have a couple of their eight inch LED fixtures that run off of USB, with touch on/off and infinite dimming. I use them over the stove and they work fine. I could also see a couple of strips of LEDs the length of the shell that you could tune to your liking. They even have tri-color strips so you could pick whichever mood you wanted. They also have 12v versions so you could run them off of the truck battery. If you do that, I would recommend a second battery with the setup that the engine would charge it when it is running, but the load on the second battery could not draw from the main engine battery.

I know some people don't like Banggood, but I have bought a lot from them this last year, and have no complaints whatsoever. It does take about a month to get here, but if that is really a problem you can pay for faster shipping.

@Poppy: good link thanks. I checked out the 2 different lights. The inexpensive might be better but I really liked the Fenix. I have a few Fenix AA lights and they never fail....never. It is a little pricey but think i might bite. The other has nice hanging features but I agree with you that the light might be cool white and I really like neutral.

@Timothybil: Thanks, crazy website for Banggood. The light makes sense especially with the dimming. However it could take a while trying to figure out what I might really need. Prices are good though.

I have used some of these LED strips. 25 cm long with 25 led's. A USB micro port on one end supplies power. Tap / touch the other end to turn on / off. Touch and hold to dim the light. I ran the 12 VDC power to one of those twin USB output devices and connect these with USB micro cords. The only thing I wish for would be that two or more could be daisy chained and operated off one switch. But that is just a daydream right now. Overlook that desire and I think they are great lights for truck camper and trailer use. Also portable if you have a USB power pack.

MtnDon said:

I have used some of these LED strips. 25 cm long with 25 led's. A USB micro port on one end supplies power. Tap / touch the other end to turn on / off. Touch and hold to dim the light. I ran the 12 VDC power to one of those twin USB output devices and connect these with USB micro cords. The only thing I wish for would be that two or more could be daisy chained and operated off one switch. But that is just a daydream right now. Overlook that desire and I think they are great lights for truck camper and trailer use. Also portable if you have a USB power pack.

Click to expand...

Those are the ones I was talking about. But you might want to look around for ones in warm white. The cold white is really cold - I think it would be too harsh for things like reading,etc., while it what it does to the appearance of food is definitely not desired. At a draw of less than one amp at 12v, it would run for a long time before affecting the vehicle battery negatively.

Check out superbrightleds,com they have everything you can think of and somethings you wouldn't when it comes to led lighting, well they don't carry flashlights but oh well. I have done a lot of business with them and they are a great company.

MtnDon said:

I have used some of these LED strips. 25 cm long with 25 led's. A USB micro port on one end supplies power. Tap / touch the other end to turn on / off. Touch and hold to dim the light. I ran the 12 VDC power to one of those twin USB output devices and connect these with USB micro cords. The only thing I wish for would be that two or more could be daisy chained and operated off one switch. But that is just a daydream right now. Overlook that desire and I think they are great lights for truck camper and trailer use. Also portable if you have a USB power pack.

Click to expand...

Thanks, how does the USB micro port work? I assume I need to buy a USB port that attaches to a 18650 battery?

Timothybil said:

Those are the ones I was talking about. But you might want to look around for ones in warm white. The cold white is really cold - I think it would be too harsh for things like reading,etc., while it what it does to the appearance of food is definitely not desired. At a draw of less than one amp at 12v, it would run for a long time before affecting the vehicle battery negatively.

Click to expand...

I think I do want neutral white, easier on the eyes. that is what I use when bike riding at night. I believe all of Mntdon lights are cool white, bright but harsh.

Tac Gunner said:

Check out superbrightleds,com they have everything you can think of and somethings you wouldn't when it comes to led lighting, well they don't carry flashlights but oh well. I have done a lot of business with them and they are a great company.

Click to expand...

Thanks lots at that website!! so many options. Thanks all

You're welcome. Let us know what you end up doing.

Moved this to Fixed Lighting forum.

Bill

As someone who likes Daylight (5000-6000K) when working during the day and 4000K for my kitchen, I personally prefer sticking to the warm temps for camping .... with the exception of reading where again I prefer 4000-5000K as it is better for reading. When camping, you are generally relaxing and/or trying to. Get rid of the blue in the light and go low CCT.