Interesting-no LED's on new rigs

[Dennis Clinton]

I just attended the Salt Lake RV show. Out of all the rigs there(up to almost 1/2 million in price), I found only one manufacturer using LED's for interior lights. Of course, for the show, all interior lights were on in each rig, and you sure could feel the heat.

I asked a rep why no manufacturer was using such an energy saving bulb and his comment was 'Too Expensive!'. Okay, maybe in an $8,000 trailer, but in a big expensive rig?

Yet, the parts suppliers there were selling a lot of aftermarket LED's.

Go figure?

[deryk]

Penny wise and Pound fullish... I spent $40 and got led bulbs to replace the incandescents in my ParkLiner. Next weekend when I bring it home I need to pull the break light/turn signal bulb and replace them as well. Might just spend the 30 some dollars and replace the fiixture so its a whole bunch of individual led's then all in 1 socket that could fail at some point.

LED's are the way of the future...at least give people an option... $40 in retail cost, they could have asked...do you want incandescents or for a $100 more led's? Most people would just pay it and not think about replaceing themselves.

deryk

[Rene]

At this point LED's are expensive and still changing technology. They are most valuable to boondockers and solar equipped RV'ers. My guess is that most people with the money (or more likely credit) to buy new RV's are not the same people into boondocking. The bigger and more expensive the rig the less suited it is to boondocking because of air conditioning, microwaves, and especially furnace blowers that suck your batteries dry overnight. Anyone with a new RV that wants to boondock is going to have to retrofit their rig. RV manufacturers obviously are not up to that job.

[Glenn Baglo]

Escape offers an interior LED lighting package as an option ( $200 ). Also, LED reading lights for $35 each. There are eight fixtures in my 17B ( also a lamp in the range hood, but I'm not sure if that's included ). I replaced my tungsten bulbs with LED a couple at a time in the fixtures I use most. I've got a couple yet to replace.

[Brian M. in NY]

I spoke with Chandler at Parkliner a couple of months ago shortly after ordering my new PL and inquired as to why LEDs weren't a standard option. His response was that there were too many color temperature options. If you put in warm white, the buyer was likely to prefer bright white or cool white. Personally, I prefer the bright white which is similar to halogen lighting. The warm white which is similar to incandescent bulbs is a little too yellow for me. Cool white is too blue. I converted all the bulbs in my current rig ( a teardrop) to bright white LEDs for about $60. I expect to do the same after I pick up the PL in April.

[deryk]

I'm also thinking about adding a pair of nice led reading lights....i would love to replace almost all of the fixtures with something nicer then plastic lol....maybe next winter.


deryk

[rabbit]

Best buy IMO, Bargman dual dome with switch for each side: under 10$ @ Amazon Prime. 36 or 48smd flat panel LED with 3M stickum on the back from under 4$ but usually around 5$ from Amazon Prime or eBay sellers. Fixture and bulbs: 18 to 20$. Hard to beat that. Single dome under 8$ Amazon Prime with a 4$ flat panel: 12$. I have three dual domes, two under each overhead locker in rear dinette, one over front dinette table. The "reading" lights in the rear are 36smd on one side of the dual fixture; brighter 48smd in the other side. Same over front dinette: 36 for illumination at table and can hit the other switch for 48smd general illumination in the doorway. Thinking about adding ThomasG.'s voltage regulator to at least these three fixtures. I have three additional single bulb (BA15s socket) dome lights in trailer. I now have flat panel 48s in two of these also after fabricating my own connector harness from salvaged 1156 bases. I have a 68smd "stalk" in the loo and the same in the exterior light. Also flat panel in the range hood now so I am completely LED except for running lights.

jack

[deryk]

I'm at work on my droid but i have champagne tastes on a beer budget lol


.I had a pair of nice brass reading lamps...halogen...on one if my boats
...i want something like that.....something glass domed with brass and teak for overhead lights...gimmie some timr lol

deryk

[rabbit]

Yep, nothing like old mahogany tables on gimbals, fife rails, lignum rope eyes, oak blocks and brass bound everything else. That ParkLiner is not your standard New York Yacht Club dreamboat. Get with the program, lad. Did you even see "The Graduate?" For my generation, P L A S T I C was and is the fabric of our lives.

jack

[Jared J]

at $20/bulb they're spendy. That said, I like the one I got, and I'm probably going to do the rest of the camper.

[deryk]

Ah Jack, my ParkLiner is my land yacht! So need to bring it up to par lol. Im tired so not looking to hard, but I know these are or were availible in a larger size Sea-Dog Brass Swivel Berth Lights

Sea-Dog Dome Light

Then convert them to brighter led's


deryk

[rabbit]

They should put some fake toggle switches all around that chart light make it look like a ship's wheel play a little game of which one turns it on and off. But seriously, that is a classic treatment TBS. I understand completely, Deryk. I must go, tis me watch below.

jack

[glamourpets]

I think the reason we are seeing so much discussion about LED conversions on Fiberglass RV lately is that LEDs have crossed a price threshold where they are now practical. Some of the led products people are using today would have been considered outrageously expensive 5 years ago. Now consider the production cycle of an RV. The product they are selling today was designed how many years ago? And manufactured how many years ago?

I suggest that its only a matter of time before we see more LED products in the larger RVs. Its all about production cycles. People in the bus sized RVs may not care as much about electrical consumption. That said, LEDs last longer and are small enough that you can fit them into tighter spaces. This adds a lot of design possibilities with minimal maintenance.

[Jon Vermilye]

While you can spend $20.00 per lamp to convert, you don't have to. If you are willing to wait for the long delivery times, there are many types of LED conversion lamps available directly from China through eBay for a few dollars per fixture. At that price, they can be treated like a standard incandescent lamp - if it fails, toss it.

A couple of points when ordering these eBay lamps - Decide ahead of time what color temperature you want. Warm white 3000°K - 3200°K are closest to incandescent lamps, however the cooler 5000°K lamps will give more light for the same power input. I'd avoid anything cooler than 5000°K (cooler is a higher color temperature - don't ask why) since the output will be too blue for practical use.

Another variable is light output. It should be measured in lumens - the number of SMDs (the individual light emitting chips) that make up the lamp doesn't matter since they come in different outputs, so overall lumens is the best way to compare.

Make sure the adapters sent with flat panel lamps match your sockets. If not, it may be difficult to find an adapter (although it is possible to make them from old incandescent lamps).

LEDs are polarized, that is they will only work when connected + to + and - to -. Since incandescent lamps don't care about polarity, not all sockets are wired correctly - if a LED replacement doesn't light, try switching the leads to the socket.

While it is tempting to purchase one or two LED lamps to see whether they are the right color, brightness, etc, the problem is the next time you order the seller may have a different batch that won't match, or even be out of business. My suggestion is to order enough to do a full replacement plus a couple of spares. You will often get a better price or free shipping with orders over 10 units.

Lastly, many of the inexpensive LED replacement lamps do not have a voltage regulator built into them. This is good & bad - the good is many voltage regulators will produce interference with radios & TVs. The bad is that if your converter goes into the equalization stage, the 15v+ may damage a 12V LED. I have not had this problem, but others have mentioned it. The way to tell from the lamp description is those with voltage regulation will show a voltage rating as a range, typically 10 - 30V while the non regulated lamps will be labeled as 12V lamps.

[Orlen Wolf]

The fixtures installed in even the high end RVs only cost the manufacturer about $4 to $5 each (bulb included) when they buy them by the truckload. It is all about how cheaply they can throw them together.

In my camper I retrofitted LED assemblies from wired.com. The ones I bought only cost about $4 each and are at least as bright as the incandescent bulbs originally installed. I also bought a 24" low profile bar light with over 100 LEDs to install over the galley that is extremely bright and only cost $28. The small bulbs only draw about 300mA and the bar light draws about 600mA. That's a lot better than the 1.4A drawn by the 197 bulbs.

[Ice-breaker]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

Escape offers an interior LED lighting package as an option ( $200 ). Also, LED reading lights for $35 each. There are eight fixtures in my 17B ( also a lamp in the range hood, but I'm not sure if that's included ). I replaced my tungsten bulbs with LED a couple at a time in the fixtures I use most. I've got a couple yet to replace.

My Escape will be arriving from the factory in April with LED lighting both inside and out. Incandescent lighting is a thing of the past.

Dave

[rabbit]

Generally speaking, if diodes with comparable values are used, the panel or stalk with the greater number will produce more lumens/brighter illumination so number of SMDs does usually matter. Again the anology is light bulbs. 1X100 watt bulb will produce more illumination than 3X 25watters. However 4X 100watt bulbs will produce more illumination than 3X 100 watt. I have bought several lots of 36 and 48smd flat panels and have yet to find a 36 brighter than a 48. YLMV.

jack

[BAMA & Pachyderm Posse]

Lil Snooz comes standard with LED`S

[accrete]

even though our 38 foot fiver we full time in is always plugged in to shore power, i went ahead and switched to LEDs from bumper to bumper. I could dig out the receipts, but suffice to say i spent several hundred dollars over the course of ~a year replacing everything that i could. We like the cool white style in the rig and having the low-temp running bulbs is wonderful. No more overheated fixtures from the halogen or incandescent bulbs.

Once the Parkliner arrives i will be placing an order at Sailor Sams