As an avid camping enthusiast -- and recent RV owner -- I've had an interesting experience this past year purchasing and using various types of RV awning lights, and I thought it would take a few minutes and tell you about what has worked for me and what hasn't -- in the hopes you can learn from my mistakes.
My Journey Begins
I purchased my first set of awning lights for my RV at the same time that I purchased my RV, as the rig already came equipped with a very nice, good-quality awning. The lights I bought at that time, however, were really junky -- I'm sure you've seen them around : the little plastic fish or lanterns that look really tacky once you have them up. What I found really lacking about these lights was the fact that they actually put out very little light. Part of the problem with these lights was that they were made from a rather thick plastic, and did not permit much light to shine through.
Another problem with the cheap novelty lights that I had purchased is that they did not use a very bright light bulb. Perhaps the manufacturer believed that there would be a fire hazard if a higher wattage bulb would be used, I don't know -- I only know that they were next to useless, and the thin, cheap cord kept getting tangled up and always seemed to be in our way whenever we would walk underneath them.
I Decide to Take a Step up
Having had a thoroughly bad experience with the junk I had previously purchased, I decided to purchase a more substantial type of RV awning light. The ones I decided to buy this time were made out of a heavy-duty acrylic material, shaped in the form of a faceted globe. These lights were far superior to the ones I had previously owned, and came equipped with a heavy-duty, coiled cord that managed to stay out of our way, at least most of the time.
I could not have imagined what would happen next however -- after coming home from a long day at the lake, we discovered that three of the globes from the set had been removed from our brand-new set of lights! It would seem that another fellow RV-er, desperate for a few replacements, simply decided to help themselves to several globes from our brand-new set. And with three of the globes missing from our set the whole thing looked really ridiculous -- it made our rig look like something you might find in a backwoods, trailer-trash neighborhood.
Finally Satisfied!
After that wonderful experience, I decided to go back to my RV dealer and ask him what else was available in the way of awning lights for our RV. I told him I didn't want any of the junk, novelty-style lights -- and I also told him the story about the missing globes. My dealer just smiled and said, "I know just what you need."
From behind the counter he brought out a set of light strips. These RV awning lights are manufactured as a narrow strip, which simply slips inside, down and through the groove in the awning take-up roller. The strips cannot be quickly removed -- and that puts an end to the thievery. Because they are securely anchored, and offer a very low profile, they are not going to get caught by the wind and blow down.
The light strips are also great because they don't present the overhang of electrical cords as the other types do -- and that means we don't get tangled or caught in them as we walk under them. And if you retract your awning very carefully, you can simply roll your awning up with the lights inside -- altogether eliminating the need to take them down and store them.
So when it comes to RV awning lights, I guess I've learned a few lessons along the way: stay away from the cheap stuff, don't buy something valuable that can be easily stolen -- and when your back's up against it, don't forget to check with your local dealer for a good solution.
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