Installing light under lower happy jac/dining table ceiling in garage anyone?

**MooManChu** · 01-24-2020, 08:39 AM

Did a search and did not find anything on the Momentum forum for this. I am planning to install a 12v LED light on the "ceiling" under the lower bunk in the Happy Jac system. Anyone do this mod and if so, how (with photos pls)?

It would appear to be a simple run of 12v under the mattress into the bunk. Not sure if there is a hot 12v in the happy jac system (not controlled by the wall switch). I was thinking a standard RV LED ceiling light, run 12v to the edge of the bed and than heavy gauge coiled spring 12v feed to account for the vertical movement of the bed.

**QCCowboy** · 01-24-2020, 09:01 AM

Didn't run a 12V light, but I did put a couple of battery powered LED pucks that have a remote control for on/off, dimmer and a timer as well. Work great and they go on quickly and easily. Just stuck the remote on the wall with velcro. Plenty of light for my needs.

**MooManChu** · 01-24-2020, 09:56 AM

Originally Posted by QCCowboy

Didn't run a 12V light, but I did put a couple of battery powered LED pucks that have a remote control for on/off, dimmer and a timer as well. Work great and they go on quickly and easily. Just stuck the remote on the wall with velcro. Plenty of light for my needs.

How about a link to the lights you bought..I think that might be a way to go for us too!

**QCCowboy** · 01-24-2020, 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by MooManChu

How about a link to the lights you bought..I think that might be a way to go for us too!

**MooManChu** · 01-24-2020, 10:10 AM

Originally Posted by QCCowboy

Thanks. I'll look into these.

**gigattime** · 01-26-2020, 09:53 PM

Pretty much same here. Did battery operated puck lights (3 total). Works well without having traveling wires up and down to worry about. LED last most of the season for us and they are used daily when we are camping.

Would be interested in seeing other mods if anyone has done a different option.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

**BobKilmer** · 02-20-2020, 03:02 AM

I thought about doing this and decided I would take a different approach since I wanted the lights to be available when either part of the happy Jac was up or down. I decided to put two wall mounted lights, one on each side, just below the bottom bunk when it it up. I used cordmate surface wiring channels to tie the new lights into the two existing lights in the ceiling. With this approach the additional lights are controlled by the wall switch and I get the advantage of using the lights when the dinette table is in place.

I am happy with how it came out and can post pics if you want.

**MooManChu** · 02-20-2020, 04:29 AM

Great idea. Sure. Love to see the final setup.

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**BobKilmer** · 02-20-2020, 05:45 AM

I hopefully attached four pictures of the finished product.

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The two top pics are with both beds at the top. The bottom two pics are with the two beds down. The final pic looks like the surface wiring is crooked but trust me it is straight, it is just the way the pic came out!

The lights I used are from the same manufacturer that Grand Design uses:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Dream-Lig...Pack/945505544

For the surface wiring I used a Cordmate II kit from Home Depot: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Wiremold...C210/202264878

The lights on the sidewalls are mounted to a circular surface mount box, also from Home Depot: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Legrand-...NMW4/202065089

Installation was pretty easy. For the ceiling lights, they are a mousetrap design so they just pull out. There were wiring connectors in the ceiling where I attached the wire for the new lights. I ran the cordmate up to the existing light and hid the connection in the ceiling. The cordmate then runs across the ceiling, and down behind the rails for the Happy Jac to the wall mounted fixtures. I did have to trim the cordmate corner piece to go around the existing ceiling molding. I used the circular boxes for the wall lights to give me a nice way to terminate the cordmate track into the lighting fixture. I could have done the same with the ceiling mount but I would have also had to increase the size of the ceiling lights since the circular wiring box has too big an opening for the existing small ceiling lights. The lights from WalMart are in a four pack so I may do this sometime in the future.

I am very pleased with this approach as it gives me extra lighting in the back with the benches up or down. And all of it is controlled from the same switch as the rest of the garage. The original lighting seems like a miss on the part of Grand Design, as without these lights the back area is too dark, especially when seated at the dinette table.

If you have any questions please let me know.

**EasyRider2019** · 02-21-2020, 07:05 PM

Originally Posted by MooManChu

Did a search and did not find anything on the Momentum forum for this. I am planning to install a 12v LED light on the "ceiling" under the lower bunk in the Happy Jac system. Anyone do this mod and if so, how (with photos pls)?

It would appear to be a simple run of 12v under the mattress into the bunk. Not sure if there is a hot 12v in the happy jac system (not controlled by the wall switch). I was thinking a standard RV LED ceiling light, run 12v to the edge of the bed and than heavy gauge coiled spring 12v feed to account for the vertical movement of the bed.

We installed a string of 16 12v lights under the top bed of the happy jack system. We used small, clear Command hooks on the bottom of the bed. We installed them in alternate directions to help keep the cord from popping out. The cord fits perfectly in the small hook. We made sure the cord ended near a window so the plug just drops straight down to the plug. What we like about this installation is we can have a nice soft glow in the back room while sitting on the couches. It beats the bright lights shining in your eyes.

The lights we chose are a little bigger in size and we worry about them getting squished when we put the bottom bunk up for travel. It takes us 2-3 minutes to remove and less than 5 minutes to rehang. Sending a pic for you to enjoy.