LED clearance light mod - Fiberglass RV
Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×


Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 03-27-2016, 12:32 AM   #1
Senior Member
 
Borrego Dave's Avatar
 
Name: Dave
Trailer: Casita SD17 2006 "Missing Link"
California
Posts: 3,738
LED clearance light mod

I needed to change out the factory side marker lights and bought LEDs for the job. Discovered the wiring connection is a lot different from the Casita factory installed lights. Because of the wire leads on the LEDs, I decided to bring the factory wires through the light base to make the connection on the inside. In Casita's they install the maker lights before gluing on the carpet. You can NOT pull the wires to get any slack if they're short. I added a short extension and pushed the extra inside. Anyway, I cut two holes in the bases to allow me to bring the wires into the light base. I soldered ring connectors to all the leads so I could use the rivets to complete the circuit. Hopefully if I ever have to replace these again I can drill off the rivet head without ruining the ring connector. I may add a small sacrificial washer as there is plenty of room.
Attached Thumbnails
L2.jpg   L3.jpg  

L4.jpg   L1.jpg  

Borrego Dave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2016, 03:53 AM   #2
Raz
Senior Member
 
Raz's Avatar
 
Trailer: Trillium 2010
Posts: 5,185
Reading your other post it looks like you've had quite the adventure with these. In the end a nice, neat install. Raz
Raz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2016, 04:58 AM   #3
Senior Member
 
Borrego Dave's Avatar
 
Name: Dave
Trailer: Casita SD17 2006 "Missing Link"
California
Posts: 3,738
Thanks Raz, never did find any threads on what folks really had to do so I hope this helps others down the line. I did a bit of head scratching, trying to see through the "forest and tree" thing. I did one as a test and it worked out fine. Got the other three prepped and ready to install.
Borrego Dave is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2016, 06:23 AM   #4
Senior Member
 
John in Michigan's Avatar
 
Name: John
Trailer: 1979 Boler 1700
Michigan
Posts: 2,048
Registry
Great job Dave! You found a way.
John in Michigan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2016, 08:02 AM   #5
Senior Member
 
BillE's Avatar
 
Trailer: 2017 Escape 19
Posts: 353
Registry
Nice Job

Nice job...the LED's are nice and bright, I don't know why manufacturers do not just do this from the get go.


Bill
__________________
A three egg family..


(2) Big Green Eggs for cooking..(1) Egg for camping
BillE is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2016, 03:12 PM   #6
Senior Member
 
Name: John
Trailer: '84 Bigfoot b17
British Columbia
Posts: 116
Looks great! I was eyeballing these to replace but suspect a small project lies ahead, and I have too many right now
Enjoy!
Tyhee is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2016, 04:08 PM   #7
Commercial Member
 
tractors1's Avatar
 
Name: Charlie Y
Trailer: Escape 21 - Felicity
Oregon
Posts: 1,583
Quote:
Originally Posted by BillE View Post
Nice job...the LED's are nice and bright, I don't know why manufacturers do not just do this from the get go.


Bill
Most do these days, or at least offer the option as an upgrade. The OP trailer is 10 years old, LEDs were pretty expensive back then.
__________________
Charlie Y

Don't drill holes, try custom storage you design: https://RVWidgetWorks.com
tractors1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-27-2017, 11:09 PM   #8
Senior Member
 
Johnny M's Avatar
 
Name: John
Trailer: '71 Boler, '87 Play-Mor II
Deep South
Posts: 1,261
Quote:
Originally Posted by Borrego Dave View Post
I needed to change out the factory side marker lights and bought LEDs for the job. Discovered the wiring connection is a lot different from the Casita factory installed lights. Because of the wire leads on the LEDs, I decided to bring the factory wires through the light base to make the connection on the inside. In Casita's they install the maker lights before gluing on the carpet. You can NOT pull the wires to get any slack if they're short. I added a short extension and pushed the extra inside. Anyway, I cut two holes in the bases to allow me to bring the wires into the light base. I soldered ring connectors to all the leads so I could use the rivets to complete the circuit. Hopefully if I ever have to replace these again I can drill off the rivet head without ruining the ring connector. I may add a small sacrificial washer as there is plenty of room.
I like the way you did these marker lights Dave. I thought about putting some on my Boler but after all the work I did to eliminate unnecessary rivets holes I'm not sure I want to go down that rabbit hole...will have to give that some more thought...
Johnny M is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2017, 06:28 AM   #9
Senior Member
 
John in Michigan's Avatar
 
Name: John
Trailer: 1979 Boler 1700
Michigan
Posts: 2,048
Registry
Trillium and Boler side marker wiring

In my 40 year old Trillium and in my old Bolers (Boler 13 now sold and Boler 17), the area inside the camper behind the side marker fixtures is uncovered bare fiberglass surface. When I replaced the side marker fixtures on my Trillium, I drilled a hole straight through the fixture AND camper shell, then pulled the new fixture wires inside the camper and then crimped them to the original camper wires. Easily done.

Living in the Northeast, I decided to locate the wire splices INSIDE the camper to protect them from road salt and precipitation moisture.

Edit: Again, living in the Northeast, my old side marker fixtures were badly corroded (wire terminals, bulbs, sockets). I was constantly cleaning and spraying the old fixtures to keep them working. Hopefully the new LED fixtures will perform better.
John in Michigan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-28-2017, 07:10 AM   #10
Senior Member
 
Gilles's Avatar
 
Name: Gilles
Trailer: Bigfoot 25B21RB, 2004
Quebec
Posts: 693
Registry
To be more protected against the moisture that could slip between the light module and the fiberglass, I apply buthyl all around before fixing it.

That's my way,
__________________
Gilles
Bigfoot 25B21RB.
Towed with Dodge RAM 1500 Echo-Diesel, 3.0 L., 8 speeds.
Gilles is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-30-2017, 11:37 AM   #11
Senior Member
 
DougOlson's Avatar
 
Name: Doug
Trailer: Escape
California
Posts: 216
Registry
These days it is pretty easy to find led replacement bulbs that fit all types of incandescent fixtures. On my Scamp I just replaced all the battery powered bulbs with leds, inside & out. The tug powered bulbs I left as incandescent.
DougOlson is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
light


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Replacing LED clearance lights Borrego Dave Problem Solving | Owners Helping Owners 8 03-26-2016 11:50 PM
Cheap interior light LED mod. colinn Modifications, Alterations and Updates 17 09-29-2015 07:55 AM
Installed Smart Light 1000 Motion Activated LED porch light Fran L Modifications, Alterations and Updates 2 02-01-2012 03:05 PM
LED clearance lights MyronL Modifications, Alterations and Updates 3 01-03-2006 07:30 PM

» Upcoming Events
No events scheduled in
the next 465 days.
» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:46 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.