changing to LED lights in egg camper?

[Lisa Fingerlakes]

Hi, Has anyone changed out the lights in their eggcamper and replaced them with the new LEDs? They seemed expensive to me but the regular ones put out alot of heat. I'd like to hear thoughts on this.
Thanks!

[Donna D.]

Hi Lisa. I saw you posted on the "Sightings" thread but wanted to welcome you to our very own blissful piece of the World Wide Web

I don't own an EggCamper, but believe most folks change to LEDs due to battery consumption. I'm actually looking forward to the heat the incandenscents provide this next weekend because it's gonna be cool at the Oregon Coast

I'm sure someone will be along shortly to give you the answer you seek

[Orlen Wolf]

Originally Posted by Lisa Fingerlakes

Hi, Has anyone changed out the lights in their eggcamper and replaced them with the new LEDs? They seemed expensive to me but the regular ones put out alot of heat. I'd like to hear thoughts on this.
Thanks!

Lisa, I don't know what fixtures you have in your EggCamper but there are replacement LED "bulbs" available for any type socket. You will find that they run a lot cooler (they are just a bit warm to the touch when lit) but they also draw about 1/10th of the current so battery life is greatly extended. I've looked at the pictures of "stock" EggCampers on Jim's website and the fixtures shown there are the same as the ones I installed in mine.

Although some folks here have purchased LEDs direct from China I prefer to buy from a stateside vendor since if there is a problem its a lot easier to get it resolved. The parts still come from China but the vendor is more local.

I purchased replacement LED assemblies from Wired Communications of Scottsdale AZ at an amateur radio convention called a hamfest. They only cost about $4 each for units that plug in to your fixtures. They also sell direct via their web site Wired Communications | Discount connectors, adapters and cables for computers, home theater, network, and ham radio.. and have a very quick turnaround on orders. I highly recommend them.

[Letitia]

Hi Lisa,
We want to do the same thing in our Eggcamper. Please keep us posted! 😊

[Byron Kinnaman]

Isn't Eggcamper an all electric trailer? If so there isn't a lot need to change to LED lighting. The real advantage of LED lighting is decreased battery drain from lights.

[Lisa Fingerlakes]

Hi Everyone,
Thanks for so many nice replies! I have looked at a few suggested websites and I see whole fixtures with LEDs but I'm not sure how to figure out getting just the bulb. I thought I would just take out one of the regular bulbs and see if there is a size or something on it but I don't even know how to get the cover off the fixure, it seems like I'm going to break it. There must be a trick to it. Any hints on that? I hate to waste the whole new fixtures since we just got the camper in April. This afternoon we got it tucked it into the shed for the winter so all of this can be done in the spring but it would be nice to get it figured out so I know what to buy. Thanks for helping a newbie!

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by Lisa Fingerlakes

Hi Everyone,
I'm not sure how to figure out getting just the bulb.

There must be a trick to it. Any hints on that?

It would help a lot if you can post a photograph of one of your light fixtures.

[Ron F]

I replaced the bulbs in our EggCamper with LEDs about three years ago. I got them from SuperBrightLEDs.com. But, I had to do a couple of things to make them work reliably. They were a flat rectangular circuit board containing 36 leds with a connector on the end of a wire. I had to epoxy the connector to the back of the cirucuit board and before I installed the bulb, I added a voltage regulator to each fixture. It was a major project, and each led bulb was about $18.

More recently, I got some replacement LEDs for my (I'm embarrassed to admit this) for my not-molded-fiberglass Trail Cruiser from HQRP via Amazon ( HQRP 4-pack T10 #194 #168 W5W Wedge Base 30 LEDs SMD LED Bulbss Warm White Replacement for Malibu Surface Mount / Tier / Walk Lights plus Coaster - Amazon.com )... much cheaper. But, the light is more white than I like, in spite of the "warm white" designation on the Amazon page. They're very bright and the white is tolerable, but I wish they were a bit warmer.

There are a couple of things to look at when buying LED bulbs. The color of the light from "white" LEDs can be harsh. I prefer warm white light for all but the most detailed work. Also, look for the voltage range spec. Look for bulbs with a range extending to 30 volts, which means that the bulb has a built-in regulator. Many LED bulbs list the voltage as 12 V, which means that the bulb probably doesn't have an integrated voltage regulator. The regulator is important because the charging voltages from on-board converters and battery chargers can reach to 15 volts and shorten the life of the LEDs.

Byron, Although EggCampers are electric, with an 80 amp/hour battery, LED lighting and some conservation, I used to camp weekends, off-grid without recharging. The biggest draw is the refrigerator, which is really pretty efficient. I've since added solar and propane, but I suspect that 3 days would be possible, and longer if you hook-up to the TV for an occasional re-charge.

Ron

[rgrugg]

Not all EggCampers are all electric. When we ordered ours the options/price list included propane equipment. We bought ours all electric and had a propane furnace and cooktop added this past spring because the all electric just wasn't working for us in Jan & Feb. Had it done locally for about the same price that the factory was asking at the time. I understand that no propane options are available from the factory any more.