Converting to LED bulbs?

[Bfleissner]

Hello,


I am learning all the time. I found out that my Scamp's interior lights are all 12v lights using 12v car bulbs.



I am sure that many have converted to LED bulbs. Which ones did you use?



Have you noticed any power saving when boondocking?


Thanks for the help

[AC0GV]

Originally Posted by Bfleissner

Hello,I am learning all the time. I found out that my Scamp's interior lights are all 12v lights using 12v car bulbs.
I am sure that many have converted to LED bulbs. Which ones did you use? Have you noticed any power saving when boondocking?Thanks for the help

Yes you want LEDs if boondocking. Search your lamp number with the letters LED after it and you should have many choices. They will also come in many color temperatures, all to white for may taste.

[Deb Mac]

I think the standard 12V auto "turn signal" bulb # is 1141. I bought a pack of 12 LEDs on amazon here in Canada, (https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) but there will be a pile of the same thing in the US. I just picked an item that would give me the most bang for my buck and leave me with a few extra. I needed 9 in my Bigfoot. Swapped them all out and kept the 1141's that weren't burned out. Plug n play.

You can search for high or lower on the lumens, depending on where your fixture is and how bright you want it.

[Darwin Maring]

Some of the lesser expensive bulbs are polarity sensitive meaning if they don’t light, turn them around and plug back in. The + side must be on the + connection. This is not a problem. The ones that cost a little more will work regardless how they are plugged in because they have the required electronics.

[AC0GV]

Originally Posted by Deb Mac

I think the standard 12V auto "turn signal" bulb # is 1141.You can search for high or lower on the lumens, depending on where your fixture is and how bright you want it.

The OP has a Scamp and the lamp number (and base) changes depending on the year.
This is the pile I ordered for my 2017 Scamp. (All lamps inside and out)

[thrifty bill]

LED lights use ~ 10% of what incandescent bulbs use. So you are talking a very substantial 90% savings!! It adds up when boon docking.


Depending on the age of your Scamp, I would consider new LED fixtures, which can be purchased on Amazon at a low cost. With my 1977 Trillium, the fixtures themselves were pretty beat, so I went with complete replacement.

In my case, I took the opportunity to add MORE light to my Trillium. So I have about 50% more light, with an 85% savings. And of course, I do not usually run all the lights, but it gives me the chance to have more light in one location.

[Bfleissner]

Excellent information. Thank you all.

[Friz]

1156 is the common bulb for RV's. Also the "W" style (wedge) is common.
The LED replacement fits in the bayonet socket.

If it doesn't light, they wired the negative lead to the center pin of the socket. Wires to the lamp need to be reversed. Didn't have this problem with both of my Casitas and trucks.

[CharlesinGA]

Do yourself a favor, spend more money and get good bulbs, all matching color. I have converted 3 RVs so far using lamps from M4 Products and am very pleased with the quality of their products.

I use the natural white, its not yellow, nor blue, just pure white.

1156 and 1141 bulbs are bayonet base, however many RVs use a flat plug in called a wedge base. Much of the M4 product line is designed by them and manufactured to their specs, thus the color of different types of bulbs will be the same, I have done overhead fixtures, under cabinet flush lights with the side bi pin halogens and also over sink fluorescent conversion. There are several ways to do anything and I have tried a couple of different approaches, including replacing the sockets with flat plate bulbs with heat sinks, and just using replacement bulbs, but again, while expensive, M4 products just work.

https://m4products.com/

Charles

[Bfleissner]

Thank you everyone.

[MJo]

What year is your Scamp? I’m having difficulty taking the lights apart to replace the bulbs for the light fixtures in my 3020 Scamp. Do you have the turret lights over the bed and the flat light next to the sink? There aren’t directions.

[pedalmike]

Bfleissner,

I had excellent results with led4rv.

https://www.led4rv.com/catalog/index.php

The site owner spoke with me over the phone and answered all my questions about the best bulb choice for each position in my trailer.

For interior bulbs, getting a color temperature that you want to live with is critical.

I outfitted my entire trailer inside and out. I was very pleased with the reduction in energy consumption when boondocking.

[AC0GV]

Originally Posted by MJo

What year is your Scamp? I’m having difficulty taking the lights apart to replace the bulbs for the light fixtures in my 3020 Scamp. Do you have the turret lights over the bed and the flat light next to the sink? There aren’t directions.

Lights in my 2017. I used a small knife to slide the cover off the first light.

[semievolved]

in case nobody mentioned it (i might have missed it), when i did this to our scamp, i found that replacing the whole fixture was often the same or less dollars than ordering individual bulbs. etrailer is a good place to start your search.


also, an LED bulb uses about 1/7 the amount of electricity as an incandescent, not quite as good as 1/10 but definitely a good idea for boondocking. however, one furnace use more than wipes out any LED savings for that night!

[bizerba911]

Here are the ones I replaced mine with in our 13' Scamp.https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[AC0GV]

Originally Posted by semievolved

in case nobody mentioned it (i might have missed it), when i did this to our scamp, i found that replacing the whole fixture was often the same or less dollars than ordering individual bulbs. etrailer is a good place to start your search.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=194+led+b..._ss_ts-a-p_1_3

[Rick L. Harrison]

Originally Posted by Bfleissner

Hello,


I am learning all the time. I found out that my Scamp's interior lights are all 12v lights using 12v car bulbs.



I am sure that many have converted to LED bulbs. Which ones did you use?



Have you noticed any power saving when boondocking?


Thanks for the help

The power savings is crazy. most will have to save to move on to super upgrades like Lithium batteries, super solar. the lights is one of the first things to do to give it YOUR TOUCH. Then the sky is the limit.
https://m4products.com/?gclid=CjwKCA...RoCOXYQAvD_BwE
is a great place to start. you will find all you need.
I upgraded a 1992 Toyota Itasca years ago and never regretted any purchase. I am in the process of upgrading my new to me 30th edition Bigfoot 25fb. Have fun stay safe and welcome to adventure!
See ya out there!

[k corbin]

when I visted an RV supply store in August they had a whole wall full of displays of LED bulbs designated as replacements for the old incandescent bulbs. I would image most RV supply stores are now selling the LED bulbs. Just go to the store with your old bulb or even go with your trailer towed behind you if you are too hesitant to pick out the right bulb yourself.

[CharlesinGA]

The biggest problem with most LEDs is the quality. You don't always get what you pay for, especially if it is hanging on a peg on a display. I have never heard of LED4RV so I cannot say. I watched the RV Geeks videos on LED lighting conversion in 2016 (they had been out a while) and they had partnered with M4 Products and I got a slight (5%) discount so I bought from them and have been very happy.

On my Winnebago View it has Progressive Industries fixtures that had domed white metal plates with the sockets made into them. I made new flat aluminum plates and installed flat plate LEDs which worked great. On the Thor trailer it had fixtures with flat plastic and flat aluminum reflector plates and I snapped out the metal reflector and the wedge sockets and again used the flat plates. The Bigfoot trailer has the Progressive fixtures but I didn't feel like making new plates so I just installed the bayonet base bulbs and am quite happy with the light dispersal.

LEDs generate a lot of heat, so using the flat plates worked well because the driver electronics were separated from the plate with the LED elements. Its a very good installation. I have no idea how they cram all of the driver electronics in the regular bulb style. The flat plates attach with double sided 3M tape.



On the Bigfoot I used the Elite series for all of the lamps. https://m4products.com/elite-series/

Charles

[Bfleissner]

I went to my local RV dealer's parts department today (Johnny Walker RV) and picked up some LEDs. They were direct replacement for the 1156 (as posted earlier by another helpful person).



They had a little bulb demo set up with a gauge so I can see just how little power these LEDs use. Each bulb took literally 10 seconds to replace.


I appreciate everyone's input and help. It was so much easier than I thought it would be.