FAQ-RV

We get a lot of questions from consumers wanting to know the cost of a Boogey Lights® LED light kit for their specific RV. Truth is, we don't know. There are no standards in the RV industry. Even the same make, model and year will have structural differences that impact pricing. Plus, there are a number of important personal preference product options which greatly impact the price as well as installation times. This is particularly true for under-glow and under-slide LED light kits. Simply put, until someone takes the time to inspect and carefully measure the RV as detailed in our instructions PLUS make the important color, feature and lighting zone choices the best we can do is estimate; which is what you see here in this chart.

Yes, it can be done although the installation is more challenging. Why? Because the power lead wire that operates the Awning Light LED strip has to be routed down to the LED Controller that powers the Under-Glow system which if you're following our installation instructions will be installed in the RV's house battery bay. Finding that route can be challenging. Not impossible -- we've done it many times -- but it does add time (1-3 hours) and complexity to the installation. A lot depends on the construction of your RV and where the Awning Light is located in relation to where the LED CONTROLLER is mounted. For those that want this option, you'll see we offer our DUAL ZONE LED CONTROLLER. Zone 1 can be wired to the Awning Light. Zone 2 can be wired to the Under-Glow System. While this configuration can also be done with a single zone LED controller, we don't recommend it because there will be times when you don't want both of these lighting systems on at the same time (or displaying the same color). Having the abiilty to operate the Awning Light and the Under-Glow Light independently is an important requirement in our view. It's a suggestion only.

The other issue to be mindful of is power consumption. A typical awning light will draw no more than 3.5 amps (often less depending on the color being displayed). A typical under-glow system will draw upwards of 18 amps -- sometimes more. As such, you have to use a HEAVY DUTY LED CONTROLLER which is capable of supporting that kind of amperage draw. A larger controller capacity means the controller itself is physically larger. And, it should only be mounted within 12" to 36" of the power source (house batteries) due to the higher amperage draw. For these reasons, a lot of customers find it easier to mount a small LED controller with relatively low amperage draw near the awning light itself that is dedicated to operating the awning light only versus trying to merge the two lighting systems together on the same controller. Our products will support both options. Ultimately it's up to the customer to decide what works best for them.

While we suggest connecting Boogey Lights® products directly to a 12vdc power source (e.g. house batteries) there are a couple of reasons why you may prefer to tie into existing 12vdc circuitry. First, is convenience. It may be more convenient to tie into an existing 12vdc circuit rather than running power back to the house batteries. Often an existing 12vdc circuit is close by whereas the battery box can be further away. Second, the battery charger in your RV may not be capable of charging your house batteries fast enough to support the voltage draw when using your Boogey Lights® (in which case your Boogey Lights® will dim quickly). This is more commonly the case in low to mid-range RVs/trailers that typically have a Single-Stage battery charger vs. a Multi-Stage charger. A Single-Stage charger slowly charges the battery at 10 or 12 amps which can take hours to recharge the battery to the point at which it is capable of powering your lights. Tapping into an existing 12vdc circuit will usually solve this issue by using the RV's power converter. This converter, installed in most every RV, takes 120vac current coming from shore-power (or generator) and converts it to 12vdc for use in powering the RVs 12vdc appliances and fixtures. One caveat - this solution assumes the power converter in your RV is large enough to handle the additional load introduced by adding your Boogey Lights onto the system. In some situations the power converter may not be sufficiently sized to handle the additional draw.

If you are going to tap into an existing 12vdc circuit it is important to make sure you have properly identified the type of power you are tying into (AC or DC) AND the polarity of the wires (positive or negative). Also, make sure the circuit you're tying into (both the wiring and the circuit-breaker itself) is capable of handling the additional amperage (click the SPECS navigation tab on our product pages or see Amperage Chart). Most modern RVs, trailers, motorhomes, fifth-wheels and campers have a mixture of 120vac and 12vdc wiring installed. ALL Boogey Lights® products are 12vdc. If you connect a Boogey Lights® controller or LED strip to 110vac instead of 12vdc, it will absolutely damage the controller and LED strip beyond repair. Similarly, if you reverse the polarity of the power (e.g. connecting 12vdc+ to the negative side of the controller), it will also damage the controller beyond repair. In a typical 110vac environment the BLACK wire is the positive (hot) wire and the WHITE wire is the neutral/ground wire. HOWEVER, in a 12vdc environment, the BLACK wire is always 12vdc– (ground/negative) and the RED (or WHITE) wire is always 12vdc+ (hot). All Boogey Lights® controllers have the power leads clearly marked as to what is 12vdc positive and 12vdc negative. Do not assume the color of the wires will match the controller. We strongly suggest using a volt meter to make sure you are using the proper power and polarity. Wiring the power incorrectly either way will damage your controller beyond repair and invalidate the warranty. Also, overloading the circuit could result in over-heating and potentially cause a fire. If you're uneasy about these electrical issues we strongly suggest having your local RV dealer or qualified electrician do the installation for you.

The maximum length of a single LED strip containing 300 hi-intensity super-bright 5050 12vdc LEDs is about 16 feet (5 meters to be exact). It it not possible to daisy chain more lights without damaging the LED strip itself; too much amperage being pulled through the strip. Attempting to daisy chains LED strips is dangerous (fire hazard) and will absolutely damage your LED strips. For this reason, all LED strips have to run back to the LED Controller. Our basic under glow LED light kit contains two 16' LED strips plus the LED controller. These two led strips are designed to be placed in front of the first rear axle, mounted a few inches in from each side. These two strips will illuminate both sides of the RV; at least in front of the first rear axle. Because the LEDs are super bright, two strips is all most folks need. That said, if you want to light up the area behind the axle(s) OR the area in the front of the RV , we offer ADD-ON led strips which can be powered by the same LED controller supplied with the under-glow kit. Each ADD-ON LED light strip has it's own power lead cable which runs back to the LED controller. As long as the total number of LEDs wired to the LED controller doesn't exceed the capacity rating for that LED controller, the system will work properly.

Here's a diagram of a motor home installation. It should give you a better understanding of the layout and placement of the LED strips. The same configuration can be used on most 5th wheel and travel trailers with some adjustments. As you'll see too, some customers also light up the area under their slide-outs.

If you're looking for FULL PERIMETER UNDER-GLOW lighting, there are two additional options you might want to consider vs expanding the basic Under-Glow kit. The first option is to use our FULL-PERIMETER UNDER-GLOW LED light kit. This kit includes the lighting components necessary to do a full perimeter under-glow on some of the most common motor home and fifth wheel trailer formats in the 35' to 45' range. Of course, the items in this kit can be purchased separately if you prefer. You could for example buy our Basic Under-Glow kit and then purchase each of the ADD-ON strips needed to achieve the same look but if you're looking for a full perimeter under-glow lighting system, this kit will in most cases give you a better fit and the look you want. Be sure to review the diagrams on the CONFIGURATIONS TAB of that product page so you match your RV with the LED lengths provided in the kit. The second option is to use our BYOK: RV UNDER-GLOW LED LIGHT KIT. This kit takes the measurements you provide to get a tailor made LED light kit for your RV. You'll notice this light kit will support travel trailers, fifth wheel trailers and motor homes (2 and 3 axle versions). You'll find significantly more detail about the product options on the product link.

This question is similar to the previous question about tying into a circuit other than the battery itself. Any 12vdc circuit that can handle the additional amperage will work provided you are using 12vdc and you have properly identified the polarity of the wires. We are not aware of a bulb replacement per se that will allow you to do this but we do have customers who have removed the existing bulb and tied into the switched circuit in that fixture to allow them to use the inside switch to turn on/off the awning light. The challenge becomes space inside the fixture. If you are using our multi-color awning kit there needs to be room in that fixture to also allow the controller to fit. So it ultimately may depend on the size of the switched outside light fixture above the door. Here too if you aren't knowledgeable with 12vdc wiring and how to tap into that fixture we recommend having a qualified electrician or RV dealer who is familiar with your RV do the installation. Anytime you're working with electricity it's important the job be done properly.

The short answer is maybe. If your battery charger is capable of quick charging a battery by putting out at least 10amps, it should work as a bench test power source. If however your battery charger is a typical "trickle charger", then it will not work. Not enough amperage. One option for an alternative 12v power source to bench test is to use your automotive car battery with jumper cables. Just pay attention to the polarity.

We cover this issue in our TROUBLE SHOOTING GUIDE.

The maximum length of a single LED strip containing 300 hi-intensity super-bright 5050 tri-chip LEDs is 5 meters (about 16 feet). It it not possible to daisy chain more lights without damaging the LED strip itself (too much amperage being pulled through the strip). There are however some options. First, most customers who have an awning longer than 16' choose to simply center the 16' LED strip. It is unusual for an awning to be longer than 20'. So with a 16' strip you would have a 2 feet over-hang on each side. Boogey Light® LED awning strips are so incredibly bright you will have more than enough light. In fact, you will likely have to dim the strip at night because it can be too bright. Second, if you want to go longer than 16', you can use a second LED strip and butt the second strip up against the first. In our example of a 20' awning, you could for example use 2-10' strips. Depending upon your electrical configuration you could either have the power leads on both ends of the 20' run or have them meet in the middle. If you have the power leads meet in the middle there will be about 4" of area where there will not be any LEDs which is something you'll want to take into account. You will fine more detail about this option (including a diagram of how to do this) on this AWNING LIGHT product page. Click on the INSTALL navigation tab on that product page.

Absolutely! If you visit our AWNING LIGHT product page and click on the KIT CONFIGURATION drop box for that product, you'll see we offer a number of shorter length LED strip configurations to choose from. And, if none of those options work for you, our awning light strip can be cut every 3 LED clusters. So you can cut the strip yourself to the length you need. Just have to be sure to cut the strip in the proper place (details with a photo can be found in the installation manual.)

Absolutely! Our lighting systems are designed to be used on all kinds of vehicles that operate in all kinds of weather. When installed properly, these systems will continue to function in all kinds of weather conditions for many years. Our Low Proile LED strips are IP65 rated and our Heavy Duty LED strips are IP67 rated. Our LED strips can be submerged in water for short periods of time. They're not however marine grade LEDs which are specifically designed to operate full time under-water.

All Boogey Lights® LED Controllers are water resistant and can be used outdoors. They are not however water proof. They should not be submerged in water or subjected to direct water contact for long periods of time. It's certainly OK for them to get wet though. For longevity and best perfomance, we recommend mounting the LED Controller in a location that will be protected from the eleiments and in particular, direct water contact. Note too the LED controller should be mounted in an area where there is sufficient air flow around the box to keep it from over-heating. This is particularly true if the number LEDs you have connected to the controller is within 25% of the controller's maximum capacity. The more LEDs you add, the hotter the LED controller will get particularly as it approaches maximum capacity.

Our wireless remote control boxes are designed to be mounted inside a storage or electrical compartment. They can be controlled wirelessly when the storage door is closed. Typical control distances range from 25'-75' depending upon the operating environment. If the storage area is encased in metal the effective wireless control distance may be impacted as the metal will shroud the controller, stopping the RF radio signal from penetrating the storage area. For these situations we offer several eXTENDED RANGE LED Controllers. Our eXtended Range LED controller series has a 5" flexible magnetically mounted RF whip antenna with a 16' cable that will allow you to position the antenna elsewhere within or on the outsdie of the RV. They will significantly increase the reception for the RF wireless remote (not Bluetooth). They're currently available for our Heavy Duty controller series.

We have developed an extensive trouble shooting guide to assist customers with these common issues. You can find answers to these questions as well as common problems relating to BLUETOOTH communications in our TROUBLE SHOOTING GUIDE here on our website. Ultimately if you can't figure it out give us a call. We'll be happy to assist.

We recommend cleaning the LEDs using a soft cloth and water/soap. Do not use a caustic cleaner as some cleaning chemicals if allowed to dry on the coating surface will eventually corrode the epoxy coating allowing water intrusion into the LED strip. For RVs and Semi Trucks, running the vehicle through a Blue Beacon wash (or similar) is a good option to keep the LEDs mounted on the bottom of the vehicle clean. Just make sure they don't use any brushes on the lights directly. You can download our BOOGEY LIGHTS® CARE & MAINTENANCE document directly from our website which has additional tips on how to best maintain your Boogey Lights® system.

ABSOLUTELY! This assumes you follow our installation instructions. With each awning light kit we include a catalyst made by 3M® that is an ADHESION PRIMER. It's often referred to as '3M Promoter' or '3M Primer'. When the surface is prepared properly with 3M® adhesion primer, your awning light strip will stay stuck - at least until such time you want to remove it. And in case you're wondering, our experience over the past 20 years is that removing the strip will not damage the painted surface or decals.

Boogey Lights® are native 12vdc devices which is the standard power available in any motor vehicle sold in North America. It is the preferred power source for our lighting systems. In most cases this 12vdc power can be obtained either by tapping into an existing 12vdc circuit or running the power lead back to the house batteries which is what we prefer to do in our installs. Most professional installers will drill a small hole in the RV and connect to 12vdc inside the RV usually inside a cabinet, behind a refrigerator or some similar location on the other side of the wall. While some RV owners cringe at the thought of drilling a hole in their rig, when done properly it's a simple matter. We do it all the time. We generally discourage folks from using 120vac because it unnecessarily adds more complexity and another possible point of failure to the lighting system. That said, for those who don't have 12vdc power easily accessible, we offer 120vac to 12vdc converters in amperages ranging from 5amps to 20amps.

While you can if you want to, we do not recommend leaving them on for 24 hours a day. The LEDs used in this product are very bright; the brightest 12vdc LED lights available. They're designed to be used for accent lighting applications where they are typically powered on for a few hours (rarely at the highest brightest setting) and then powered off. While they can be used in functional lighting applications (e.g. bright white to temporarily illuminate a work area), the lights should NOT be left powered on for extended periods of time (e.g. 6+ hours) particularly on white and at the highest brightness setting. If the LEDs are powered on for long periods of time the LEDs closest to the power source will have a burned look to them over time. This is because the amount of voltage being pulled through the LEDs closest to the power source will be higher than the voltage going through the LEDs further down the strip. The end result is that those LEDs closest to the power source will be hotter thus creating the burned look. This will occur mostly when displaying the color white on a full brightness setting but can also occur with other colors if left on at the highest brightness setting. For this reason, we do not suggest leaving these LED lights powered up for extended periods of time particularly on their brightest setting. If you are going to leave the lights on for extended periods of time, we recommend never doing so on the color white and not on the highest brightness setting. Burned looking LEDs are not covered under warranty.

NOTE: If you're looking for functional white lighting to illuminate an outdoor area for extended periods of time (e.g. security lighting that is left on for days, weeks or months at a time), Boogey Lights are not for you. There are plenty of other less expensive options designed specifically for that purpose.

We offer additional ADD-ON LED strips for our Under-Glow and Awning kits. These ADD-ON strips can be ordered in varying lengths of LEDS (up to 16') as well as varying lengths of power leads (up to 50') to fit your application. For UNDER-GLOW however you may want to look at our FULL-PERIMETER UNDER-GLOW LIGHT KIT or even our BYOK: RV UNDER-GLOW LED LIGHT KIT. Both of these products include all of the components needed. Of course if you have a unique application or can't find the information you need, give us a call and we'll be happy to discuss options.

We make LED controllers that are RF only, Bluetooth only and RF + Bluetooth capable. An RF only LED controller will have a 'PAIRING' button on the front of the controller box. A Bluetooth only LED controller will have a 'RESET' button on the front of the controller box. An RF + BLUETOOTH combo LED controller will have a 'RESET / PAIRING' button on the front of the controller box. 

YES. Depending upon which controller you purchased with our awning light kit, our multi-color awning light has the capability of displaying from 7 colors (Both the M7 and RF KEY FOB versions) up to 16 million color (Bluetooth version). In both cases you can set whichever color you want to display and leave it there. Also, our controllers provide additional features to include DIMMING, FADING, BLENDING, STROBBING, FLASHING and BREATHING on all color settings.

We typically use a plastic putty knife and heat gun to remove the LED strip. Heating up the surface makes the strip and the adhesive backing more pliable.  It takes time to do.  The 3M tape adhesive residue can be removed with a solvent and/or rubbing alcohol. We have also had good success using an ERASING WHEEL that mounts to a variable speed drill.   Some folks have used products like Goo-Gone too. Either way it's a time consuming process but can be done. Be aware however that removing the light strip isn't possible without damaging the strip itself so it will not be usable once removed.

The short answer is maybe. It depends on the type of LEDs you're trying to power. In the 12vdc LED lighting world there are two types of LEDs: Common Cathode and Common Anode. The most common and cheapest LED lights made today are COMMON ANODE which are widespread in Asia. A Common Anode LED strip share a common POSITIVE lead and the negative side of the circuit is switched. For these lights the positive side of the circuit is always energized. This is NOT however the typical circuit design in the UNITED STATES particularly for 12vdc. In the United States, the typical 12vdc circuit shares a common NEGATIVE lead and the positive side of the circuit is switched. Think of your car battery. The negative side of the battery goes to ground (the car chassis) and that ground is common (shared) with all 12vdc devices in the vehicle (radio, lights, nav system, horn, etc). The positive side of the circuit is only energized when your car is in use. When the car is off, the circuit is not energized. This is how BOOGEY LIGHTS® controllers and LEDs are built. Why? Lots of reasons but briefly it's a safer design (think "UL" approved), it's more robust in terms durability and allows full 12v power to be applied directly to each LED instead of being shared amongst all LEDs (making them the brightest they can be). Of course it's also more expensive to build a controller that switches the positive side of the circuit which is why most every LED strip being sold today in the RV and motorsports space tends to be Common Anode. So before you try to hook-up a Boogey Lights® controller to any other brand of LED, make sure that LED is a COMMON CATHODE LED strip.

Lumens data is not available for BOOGEY LIGHTS® products. Why? Because frankly it's a marketing gimmick. Simply put, lumen output is a poor measure of the suitability of the type of LED lighting solutions we offer. If we were offering a single color, single bulb to replace a typical 60 watt incandescent bulb used in a lamp for your living room it would be a different matter. The reality however is that our LED lighting products are made up of many LEDs, sometimes hundreds - not a single bulb. And most of our LED lighting solutions have many color combinations, up to 16 million different color combinations in some cases. The Lumens measurement changes dramatically based on the temperature of the color which is measured in Kelvins. In our view anyone attempting to compare motorsports LEDs based on an artificial Lumens value is wasting their time. If you're concerned about the brightness of any BOOGEY LIGHTS® lighting solutions we suggest bench testing them against whatever other brand you want to compare. We're confident you'll be pleased. If however you're not, we cheerfully accept returns up to 30 days.

Not to worry. BOOGEY LIGHTS® RF controllers are paired with the remote control so only a remote that is specifically paired with the controller will operate that controller. Bluetooth devices operate similarly.

You can find AMPERAGE DATA HERE or on the SPECIFICATIONS navigation tab which appears on virtually every LED light kit we offer.

Sorry. No we don't. Years ago we offered a music interface for our motorcycle light kits. We learned a lot from that experience. Music interfaces sound good on paper but in reality, it's just the opposite. Truth is, music interfaces for LED lights on motor vehicles is a novelty that gets old quickly. Anyone telling you otherwise hasn't had much experience with them. Aside from adding a disproportionate cost for a feature that is rarely used (there's more to it than just adding a microphone to the APP), they're prone to problems and poor performance which rarely meet consumer expectations. And for many, they're annoying and irritating (especially in RV campgrounds). If you want to turn your RV into a disco dance hall, there are lots of other cheap options out there to do so. For the few times you'll end up using it, its the most cost effective solution. You'll thank us later.

Like every other phone APP on the planet that's made for Android or IOS, you can find our free APPs in the GOOGLE PLAY STORE or the APPLE STORE. Just search for 'Boogey Lights'. Note that we offer two versions: GEN1 and GEN2. The GEN1 APP works with our GEN1 Bluetooth LED controllers. The GEN2 APP works with our GEN2 Bluetooth LED controllers. Our GENERATION 2 (aka GEN2 or just G2) LED Controllers were released in June of 2023. Previous to this time, all Boogey Lights® LED controllers were GENERATION 1 (aka GEN1 or just G1) LED controllers. Bluetooth capable GEN1 LED Controllers can only use the GEN1 Controller APP. The GEN1 LED Controllers can be seen here: https://www.boogeylights.com/gen-1-bluetooth-rf-combo-led-controller/ . The new GEN2 LED Controllers can be seen here: https://www.boogeylights.com/gen2-bluetooth-rf-combo-led-controller/. All GEN2 LED Controllers are Bluetooth capable and will only work with the new GEN2 LED Controller APP. The GEN1 and GEN2 APPs are not interchangeable. The way you can tell if you have a GEN2 LED controller is to look at the back of the controller. The MODEL number printed on the back will include a 'G2' designation (see photo examples below). GEN1 LED controllers will not have this designation.

You'll find a chart listing all of our LED Controller model numbers and the corresponding RF remotes below. Match the model number on the back of your controller with the RF remote style. You can purchase replacement M7 and KEYFOB style remotes directly from our website using this search link: https://www.boogeylights.com/search.php?search_query=replacement . You can also use our QUICK-FIND search feature too to locate these parts.

It depends on which RF remote you have. Over the past 25 years we've produced many LED controllers that use different RF wireless remotes. If you've purchased one of our LED controllers that use an RF wireless remote since 2015, here's the information you need. There's both written instructions and video. Note: This information can also be found in our INSTALLATION RESOURCES section here on our site. We provide all documentation for all products -- installation, product specs, how-to, wiring diagrams, etc -- right here on our website using that link.

M7 Style RF Wireless Control
KEY FOB Style RF Wireless Control

VIDEO: How to Pair Your M7 Remote to the Controller

 

VIDEO: How to Pair Your KEY FOB Remote to the Controller