Anybody use them LED strip lights yet?

[Hammer_Z71]

I built me a little deal for surf fishin' or fishing the sand bars on the river for catfish. Well I started with one of them chinese made "hitch/haul" clones I picked up from a truck accessory guy who sets up shop at my local flea market since the $39.95 was cheaper than I could buy steel & a hitch for to build my own. Then I just welded some 1" square supports for rod holders, mounted some lights & a 12v outlet for bait aerators, etc. I have this thing posted in the outdoor section as well.
Anyways, I want to put a couple lights on this thing so it don't get hit at night. it does stick out a good 3' or so whether I use it on the front/rear of my Jeep or rear of the truck. Leaving the 55w lights on obviously isn't an option.

So I'm thinking about a couple of those like 1' long amber flexible LED deals you see all over ebay anymore. Could simply wire them to a 4 pin and run them off my trailer lights when on the back of the vehicle. Have running lights & maybe even turn signals.

Here is what I'm talking about putting them on (I know it's not a pic of it on my Ram, sorry):



Thing is, I've never even seen one of these light strips in person and any I find online don't show any wires coming off of them. I was just wondering how you wire them up? I'm assuming they would be 12v for auto use or is plugging them directly in a 12v source gonna burn them up? Are they just like any other light with a +/- wire sticking out of them? Do they come with 3M type tape on them?

This is basically what I'm talking about buying, but try to find them in amber:


Just wanted to be sure before I went and bought a few of them. Thanks...

 

[0212353]

Ed - here's some that I have used a few times - LOW PROFILE LED strips 60 cm

They are approx 24" long (but can be cut to fit what you want - every 2 inches). They have 3 wires coming out of both sides, the 2 that are "fused" together are the ground and white. Amber is on its on wire.

The only thing I wonder about...........I know they are bright at night - during the day, not as much.

As for the 12V stuff - yeah, just wire them right in. I just put 4 of these in my headlights (2 per) and I tied them together inside the light, came out of the light with a 4 pin trailer wire connector. Works great, easy to wire up. If you are wanting them to be turn signals though..........and running lights........that doesn't work so hot unless you wire them up to turn the white off when the amber is on. The white overkills the amber.

 

[RubberFrog]

Why not just get some actual led trailer lights that are set up for tail and turn? You'll have three wires (ground, tail, turn) and everything will work properly. Plus those strips will look pretty ricer on a hitch basket. Just saying.

Be sure to use amber so you don't get hassled when you mount it up front.

 

[ramhunter9]

I was thinking the same thing as George , Any truck stop should have them .

 

[Hammer_Z71]

Why not just get some actual led trailer lights that are set up for tail and turn? You'll have three wires (ground, tail, turn) and everything will work properly. Plus those strips will look pretty ricer on a hitch basket. Just saying.

Be sure to use amber so you don't get hassled when you mount it up front.

I'll have to check them out. I first decided to put some kind of running lights and possibly turn signals on it when I stopped in the local marine store for the 12v weatherproof receptacle for it and looked in their trailer section. Everything was big and used bulbs and I wanted the lighting to be more subtle.

I guess I can look for a smallish set...

 

[RubberFrog]

Tail Lights Amber LED Light Oval Trailer Lights | etrailer.com

 

[Hammer_Z71]

Tail Lights Amber LED Light Oval Trailer Lights | etrailer.com

LOL, that's actually the very first site I went to right after I replied to your post...

 

[0212353]

I drove by that place yesterday.

 

[Mega Mike]

I noticed the LED Glow pic in your post. If you buy from them, make sure you get a name. I bought a tailgate LED bar from them at a Bloomsburg, PA show 6 weeks ago. Within 2 weeks, water got into the first one, they replaced it. Shipped to the wrong address, then replaced that one. And wouldn't ya know, that one had some LED's not working. In a rush to get another, I had to buy a "4th" and have it expidited within 2 days for an extra $30. It has been a week and I am still waiting to get reimbursed like they told me I would.

Not saying they suck. Just saying be careful if you buy from them.

 

[ROKTMAN]

Not saying they suck. Just saying be careful if you buy from them.

I have the ones from Plasmaglow and had to have them replaced under warranty and my buddy at the shop that does my work did too.I have them under the hood to light up the engine bay as well as under the headlights.It took forever to get replacements although it was the vendor I bought them from and not Plasmaglows fault.

 

[Hammer_Z71]

I ended up just getting a set of amber LED trailer lights, dual mode (running & turn signal) like George suggested. But I found them a good bit cheaper on ebay than etrailer had them for. Actually bought the pair for what etrailer wanted for one.

I have them, but I haven't mounted them yet. Took the rig out to the intercoastal for Redifish fishin' and the trail back to where I went was real muddy and had some pretty deep ruts. So the rig (and my Jeep) are covered in salty, briney, sandy mud. Got to get them both washed today and then mount up my lights...

 

[0212353]

spiffy!

 

[RubberFrog]

Those look pretty bright. How much were they?

 

[Hammer_Z71]

$13.50 FOR THE PAIR and with shipping I think it came to just over $20. I was all set to order a pair from etrailer (which was the first place I thought to look too), but were almost $20 each before shipping.

Only thing I regret is I should have ordered a pair in Red, as small as these are, I coulda mounted them side by side and used a switch to use amber when on vehicle front and red when on vehicle rear. Shipping wouldn't have changed at all...

I may go back and get a couple of sets in red. I have a Bully Step that I use on the back of the Jeep to be able to step up and get things outta my hard shell roof top luggage carrier. I use that thing when I go camping. I cheap'd out at the time and bought the one without lights and this would be a cheap way to add lights to it too...

 

[Hammer_Z71]

Well, I didn't use those lights, I'll use them somewhere, sometime.

I saw a set of flatter, oval lights, not near as bright, but all the electronics and bulb sits in a small circle behind it that fit perfectly in the pre-drilled holes for tying off a rope or inserting a bungie hook and to top it off, the guy at the flea market had red AND amber.

Not near as bright, only 4 small LEDs in a circle in the center, but they can be seen at night and that's all I was wanting. Only $6 per light. They are also only marker lights, no turn signal, but I really didn't care about that either and it made wiring a whole lot easier.

I did some other tweaking to the rig, so there is an updated pic in the Outdoor Section...

http://www.ramforum.com/f91/anybody-surf-fish-7960/#post174041