LED Bulbs for Scamp 13

[Kai in Seattle]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
$12.99 for 10, camping world wanted $50 for 8

These were the first ones we tried--they are cylindrical and put out a cold blue light, too dim. Then we tried some flat square ones recommended on another thread on FGRV that are MUCH nicer, from eBay. They came with alternate bases for different fixtures. There IS a discernible difference...but price isn't the big consideration. You can pay a lot more and not get anything better--as many have said, they're all made in China and the quality is all similar. Some are just more what you WANT than others; to us, it's all trial and error.

We have gotten some at local stores, some from eBay. If you can find the other LED thread, you may be able to track down the type. BUT...it's more complicated than I would like!

We got lucky and are happy with what we bought...finally.

Good luck with this...

AND, YES, we replaced our outside lights on Peanut with LEDs...we bought some new fixtures at the auto parts store that already had them in, that worked fine.

It was all part of the initial fix-up cost.

BEST
Kai

[John Linck]

I read that LED tail lights achieve full brightness a couple hundred microseconds faster than incandescent bulbs. Since that pesky tailgater following you too closely gets the signal a bit faster in his Neanderthal brain this can mean 19 feet less stopping distance at 65 mph or some such. That could make a real difference. Seems like a sensible upgrade.

Be safe out there, john

[1500]

Originally Posted by Kai in Seattle

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
$12.99 for 10, camping world wanted $50 for 8

These were the first ones we tried--they are cylindrical and put out a cold blue light, too dim. Then we tried some flat square ones recommended on another thread on FGRV that are MUCH nicer, from eBay. They came with alternate bases for different fixtures. There IS a discernible difference...but price isn't the big consideration. You can pay a lot more and not get anything better--as many have said, they're all made in China and the quality is all similar. Some are just more what you WANT than others; to us, it's all trial and error.

We have gotten some at local stores, some from eBay. If you can find the other LED thread, you may be able to track down the type. BUT...it's more complicated than I would like!

We got lucky and are happy with what we bought...finally.

Good luck with this...

AND, YES, we replaced our outside lights on Peanut with LEDs...we bought some new fixtures at the auto parts store that already had them in, that worked fine.

It was all part of the initial fix-up cost.

BEST
Kai

It really does come down to personal preference. Some people will find an LED to be too blue, but others would see it as being fine. Ironically Blue LED was the hardest to invent. There is even an old Engineering joke about someone getting their Phd proving that you can not make a Blue LED.

Some people like white light some like yellow. Personally I used to love white light, and I really want to love the interiors of the Oliver and Burro, but working in a FAB (clean room) killed that for me.

I never get around to replacing outside lights. As long as the alternator can produce a high enough voltage/current to charge the battery and run the lights I never felt the need. I really should though, no real reason not to.

Originally Posted by John Linck

I read that LED tail lights achieve full brightness a few microseconds faster than incandescent bulbs. Since that pesky tailgater following you too closely gets the signal a bit faster in his Neanderthal brain this can mean 19 feet less stopping distance at 65 mph or some such. That could make a real difference. Seems like a sensible upgrade.

Be safe out there, john

If accurate that sure is a good reason.

[Civilguy]

Originally Posted by Bob Greene

I'm sure this question has already been asked and answered before but any suggestions as to what type of LED bulbs to use for the interior lights on a 2017 Scamp. Aside from sizes, are there differences between the different LED bulbs. Thanks. Bob G.

Bob,

We replaced 10 type "1141" bayonet-base bulbs (technically a BA15S base) in our Casita and were very happy with the change. I'm not sure what kind of bulbs the fixtures in your Scamp would use.

We ordered ours in late 2015. We ordered two different sets of LED bulbs as we didn't care for the first set.

The first set was advertised as "natural white" and was probably about 4500K, a measure of the color temperature (kelvin) which relates to how the color appears. We personally didn't care for those. Some people prefer them.

The second set was described as "warm white". That would be about 3000K. This color is generally similar to conventional incandescent light bulbs, the ones in your trailer, and also the ones we generally aren't able to purchase for our homes anymore. We prefered those.

The LEDs used about 10% to 15% of the power consumed by the 1141 incandescent bulbs, so they would run for 6 to 10 times as long on the same amount of juice from your battery.

Light output is measured in lumens. The light output on these bulbs was about 70% of what a brand new incandescent bulb would produce. We found that acceptable.

There are also different physical configurations; short, tall, and flat. If you type "1141 LED" into Amazon you will find a bewildering selection, most of which are offered with very limited technical data. Some configurations may not fit or may not fit well in your fixture.

Most of the bulbs I have seen offered for sale did not list 1) the color temperature in kelvin 2) the light output in lumens 3) or how the power is controlled, whether by resistance or switching. So, unless you want to really read up on the technology and try to differentiate between the offerings, you might want to simply select a vendor who provides good service and return policies. They may even guide you as to what's suitable to your fixture. Personally, I believe that kind of service can be worth a little higher price.

We paid $15.00 for ten bulbs in late 2015. They were very cheap ones for that time. We didn't own the trailer long enough to be able to tell you if they truly endured. The fact that they didn't burn out early was a good sign though; electrical devices generally have the greatest number of failures either "early" or "late" in their "anticipated" life.

I hope this is helpful.

[John Linck]

If you want to get picky about light quality color temperature is not enough. You will want to consider the CRI of each lamp. Unfortunately most of these offerings don't state their CRI.

A color rendering index (CRI) is a quantitative measure of the ability of a light source to reveal the colors of various objects faithfully in comparison with an ideal or natural light source. Light sources with a high CRI are desirable in color-critical applications such as neonatal care and art restoration. It is defined by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE) (from wikipedia)

Hint. CRI values above 80 are good, 100 is a top score not really obtainable.

Happy illuminating, john

[J Ron]

Cheapest LEDS I have ordered were from China and good quality. Link is below. Look at your bulbs, get the bulb type and order. Ron H

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...china&_sacat=0

[J Ron]

I've bought 12v LED bulbs from these people multiple times. Good prices and quality. Comes from China so takes longer.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...china&_sacat=0

Ron H

[Byron Kinnaman]

Originally Posted by mchalewj

Has anyone had any experience with converting the tail light bulbs to LED? I tried two different "cheapie" brands from ebay and was disappointed. Neither had enough contrast between the tail light circuit and the turn signal/brake light circuit. My tail lights use the 1157 incandescent bulbs from the 1970's. Any recommendations?

I really don't see any gain in changing the running, tail, and brake lights to LED. There no apparent power savings since they're powered by the tow vehicle.
The interior lights, those used at night inside the trailer, use the house battery and there's a lot of gain by using LEDs in that application. A quick example in my experience.
I measured the current with on incandescent light on = 1.5 amp. Then I replaced all with LED and installed 2 new LED fixtures. I already had installed two 12" CCFL and one 4' CCFL lights (CCFL = Cold Cathode Florescent Light) Total 4 factory installed fixtures. After replacing the factory fixtures with LEDs I turned all them on and measured the current again, it was 1.5 amp. The 2 LED fixtures draw between 10 and 20 miliamp each (0.02 amps each at the high end).

[ststefan]

I tried to replace the incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs in my tail lights and I wasn't happy with the outcome. I did some searching and came across these on etrailer.com.

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Lig.../STL190RB.html

I like the difference between running and brake/signal light. I also like that incorporates a reflector so I don't need to mount one for DOT's sake.
Here's a rectangular one of you don't like the round:

https://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Lig.../STL116RB.html

[Kai in Seattle]

Steve, those are some nice looking tail lights. I relaly like them.