Bed Side Reading Lights in my Clipper 17FQ

[La Plata View]

While my wife and I love our camper there's always something to add. This past weekend it was in response to my wife's request for some reading lamps.

Our camper came with a generic two bulb fixture above the bed. But that light was shining directly into our eyes when laying in bed. I checked Amazon and found these nice looking LED fixtures (Photo 1) for $34.50 for a pair including shipping.

Step 1. Locate a source of 12V DC power. I started by unscrewing the existing fixture above the bed. I could see the wiring disappear into the cabinet (Photo 2). The manufacturer created a hollow space inside the cabinets to run wiring.

Step 2. I carefully pried up the finish plywood on the top side of the cabinet to get access into this hollow space (Photo 3). This plywood is held in place by small staples so it came up pretty easily.

Step 3. I drilled a hole in each end of the hollow space to provide a way to fish the new wiring into the adjoining cabinet (Photo 4).

Step 4. From the opposite side of the adjoining cabinet I used a 2" hole saw to drill an opening (Photo 5). I needed to do this as there was a framing member I needed to route my wiring around. This opening will be covered by a standard blank outlet plate screwed to the side of the cabinet. Plan to paint the cover plate a dark color to make it less conspicuous.

Step 5. All I had to do now was determine where on the side of the cabinet to place the light and fish the wiring down to it (Photo 6). Repeat for the other side of the bed.

The lights provide a good amount of illumination. And the frosted glass globe helps keep the light focused where you need it rather lighting up the whole bed.

[bakwoodj]

looks good! a nice finished product.