Hanging Fluorescent Lights

[AWK]

I was hoping someone could share (pictures are GREAT) on how they hung fluorescent lights. I need to have them hung in the corner of the ceiling and wall. I don't have the head room to mount them directly to the ceiling. MY trailer is 28ft, I'm thinking three will do the job. These will be in addition to the four 12 Volt DC lights in the ceiling.

AWK

[AWK]

I would like to mount these on an angle and trim the corner close-out around them.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/AWK/DSC04779.jpg?t=1282691719

Awk

[AWK]

I found a picture. This is how I want to mount the lights. Has anyone done this before? If so, how did you attach them?




AWK

[vreihen]

I have never hung those particular lights, but the ones that I installed in my garage at home were just thin sheet metal housings that were trivial to punch through with a self-tapping screw and cordless drill to hit the studs behind the fixture.

The lights used in the picture you posted above appear to be common "wrap" lens commercial fixtures, that have been used for many years in offices without suspended ceilings. From this additional picture on the same web site, it appears that Car Mate is just putting up a 24" strip of aluminum diamond plate (ATP) trim between the ceiling and wall and attaching the lights to it:

http://www.allprowest.com/files/Car_Mate_8.5_x_24_Custom_Car_Hauler_with_Cabinets.pdf

I'm neither an engineer nor an electrician, but the fixtures that I hung up at home were only a few pounds each and didn't really need any support structure or fancy hardware other than a few self-tapping screws. I'd recommend visiting a big box store and browsing their selection (bring sunglasses) for ideas, as perhaps a troffer-style fixture with 45-degree beveled sides could screw to the ceiling/wall more firmly than the wrap-style fixture that Car Mate used in the picture you posted.

After just seeing the sticker shock of how high florescent light fixtures have gone up in price over the past 5 years, I'm thinking that it might be worth investigating the LED options in that same price range for my own trailer project.....

[AWK]

The lights that I'm looking at are at HomeDepot. They are good to Zero degrees. I think I'll pick on up and use it to figure this out. I agree they don't weigh much. I will be able to start my build at the end of the month!

AWK

[GPW]

Guys, I've got a question .. How do those fluorescent lights hold up to a high vibration/ shock environment (towing) ? Do we need special bulbs, fixtures? I really like the different "colors" you can get in the flo' tubes... LEDs so far are kinda' a "sterile" sorta' light... I bought some screw in dimmable LEDs from Sam's Club to replace my kitchen counter amp hog spotlights... They work Great , 6 watts vs 50 watts (Cheap, less heat ) ..but make the food look kinda' Blah !!! ... Not as nice as the yellow/orange look of incandescents or sunlight ...
Maybe a combination of Both for a CT ? LEDs for 12V , Flo's for 110V...

[vreihen]

Do we need special bulbs, fixtures?

I can't answer about trailers, but I sprung for the clear sleeves that cover the florescent tubes for the open fixtures in my garage. Figured that at least it wouldn't be raining glass and hazmats if I accidentally hit them with a long board or something. Come to think of it, one of the big-box store fixtures that I installed in my garage did have a flaky bulb socket on one end, and I don't know how it would have faired in a moving application.

I really like the different "colors" you can get in the flo' tubes... LEDs so far are kinda' a "sterile" sorta' light...

If you shop the LED specialty shops online for light fixtures, you will find that they come in a few different color temperatures. They sometimes label them "warm white" versus "cool white" or something similar, but the light temperature in Kelvin is usually listed as well.

Out of curiosity, I tried a string of white LED holiday lights that I bought for $0.99 on closeout inside my closed trailer over the weekend. They made enough light to see, but I think it would take several more sets before a comfortable reading illumination level could be reached.....

[AWK]

I had the same question relating to movement. The response was "no issue so far".

Vreihen, where did you get the covers? I think that is a good idea.

My plan is to use three "puck" style under cabinate lights over my work bench.

AWK

[vreihen]

The covers are usually stored vertically in a cardboard box in the middle of the lighting aisle at Home Depot. They are simply a clear plastic tube with two slotted end caps that slip on. This link is *not* the ones they sell, but shows what I'm talking about so you can spot them at the store:

http://covershield.com/

I used small pieces of scotch tape to hold the end caps on, because they kept wanting to pop off as I was installing the bulbs.....

[vtx1029]

We have 2 of the round florescent fixtures in our trailer and not a problem yet with about 8000 miles of towing.

[GPW]

COOL , nice they hold up to vibration ...

[digimark]

The fluorescent light installed by the factory in my trailer has a long tie-wrap at the midpoint, wrapping across the bezel and around the back of the fixture, to keep the plastic bulb cover from popping off under vibration. Many of the off-the-shelf fluorescent fixtures at HD and Lowes have angles on the backside of the case - you just need some spacer blocks or a corner header to screw the backside into and you're golden.