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SUMRX4's avatar
SUMRX4
Explorer
Oct 08, 2021

Hanging tiki lights

We have a set of what I refer to a tiki lights we like to hang from the edge of our awning. Well we just switched to a 5th wheel and now the awning is 10 or so feet in the air. Those of you with this issue how do you hang the lights? Yeah I could reach it with a ladder but I'm thinking that's too time consuming if I ever need to retract them in a hurry, ie storm blowing up out of nowhere. Are their any other suggestions on where and how to hang these lights? Not owning a fiver previously I have never really paid attention to how folks hang them.

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  • SUMRX4's avatar
    SUMRX4
    Explorer
    Oct 09, 2021
    wing_zealot wrote:
    So if you can tilt it to one side or the other, if you tilt both sides at the same time doesn’t that make it lower?
    What am I missing here?


    I have never seen one like this myself. The lower arm has a joint about 12" up from where it mounts to the side of the camper. When the awning is extended to can pull this joint and it will lower that side of the awning slightly. It doesn't even drop it 12", hardly enough for rain to even run off and certainly not enough to be able to reach it. Its not built like the one mentioned earlier with the knob. Those will drop the corner a couple feet.
  • wing_zealot's avatar
    wing_zealot
    Explorer
    Oct 09, 2021
    So if you can tilt it to one side or the other, if you tilt both sides at the same time doesn’t that make it lower?
    What am I missing here?
  • IB853347201's avatar
    IB853347201
    Nomad
    Oct 09, 2021
    When we bought our current rig we gave up on the idea of hanging lights from the awning. It was too high to reach and being a weather pro it automatically rolls up if the wind picks up and such.
    I agree with way2roll, an LED strip installed on your awning is the way to go!
  • SUMRX4's avatar
    SUMRX4
    Explorer
    Oct 09, 2021
    wildtoad wrote:
    Have you checked to see if your awning can be lowered? I suspect it can. Assuming it’s a powered awning, there might be a knob on each support arm that is used to raise/lower the awning.


    Not an option with these models. I can tilt to to one side or the other slightly but that's all.

    I don't have to put them on the awning. I was just curious of other ways/places to hang them. I can't believe I'm the only person with a 5th wheel that wants to hang outdoor lights.
    And no I'm not one of those that lights up the whole area all night. Mine go out when I go to bed.
  • wildtoad's avatar
    wildtoad
    Explorer II
    Oct 08, 2021
    Have you checked to see if your awning can be lowered? I suspect it can. Assuming it’s a powered awning, there might be a knob on each support arm that is used to raise/lower the awning.
  • schlep1967's avatar
    schlep1967
    Nomad
    Oct 08, 2021
    I can just reach mine. Unless the site sloes away from the trailer. One of the first things we do is move the picnic table under the awning. I can generally reach the awning from the table bench. As to getting them down in a hurry, I use small squeeze clamps (think clothes pin only shorter and metal) to hook them to the small part of the awning that hangs down. If I need them down quick I just need to pull them down as I walk across the length of the awning.
  • way2roll's avatar
    way2roll
    Navigator II
    Oct 08, 2021
    Used to hang lights on the awning on our previous MH. Then I discovered strip LED's and never looked back. Our new FW came with them installed. Doesn't solve your problem but the only method I ever found for putting up hanging awning lights and taking them down was a small step ladder, standing on a cooler, a chair - almost breaking my neck. You could try and adjusting your awning so it slopes more downward and see if you can reach it without disrupting the view or anything structural.

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