OldRadios
Upstate New York
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Joined: 07/01/2011
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The lenses on my vintage (1985) B are so brittle from the heat over the years they break if you bump into them. I've replaced a couple so far but why keep spending money on replacement lenses. Anyone have recommendations on new LED lights for the interior? They should use a lot less battery power anyway. I have 5 single 4"x4" fixtures and 4 double 8"x4" 12V fixtures to replace.
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Joined: 12/18/2004
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Hi,
Look for units that 250 lumens or better in warm white. Make sure they have a voltage tolerance up 30, or a "buck" power supply.
Regards, Don
Kustom Koach Class C 28'5" 256 watts Unisolar, 875 amp hours in two battery banks 12 volt batteries, 2500 MSW watt inverter.
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retraite
Wanderin' about
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Joined: 04/08/2005
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IIRC, most retrofits of LEDs to the fixtures I think you're describing involve only the bulb being replaced.
Therefore, if you replace only the lens cover (you can get them at Camping World, among others, for about $4) as you say they are brittle, then replace the bulbs with LED replacements, you should be good to go.
Personally, having replaced some of our bulbs, I much prefer the color of the incandescent bulbs, rather than the more harsh light from the LEDs. But, YMMV.
Cheers.
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abc40kids
Dale City,Virginia
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Joined: 10/16/2005
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I just changed all my running light and my tail-lights to LED and it made a huge differance ( 2006 Cardinal ) The factory lights were very dull, like the LED's much better.I kept the origanal base for all the marker lights and for the tail-lights had to replace everything.
Jeff,Julie,Amber,Brandon,and Casey,Dexter(Golden),Bruno(Pug)
Forest River Cardinal 362bhs 2006
2005 Chevy duramax dually 4x4 crew cab,Ultra Goliath wheels with Nitto Dura Grapplers and Banks exhaust.
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booster
Minnesota
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Joined: 10/14/2007
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I agree, replace the bulbs and the lenses. We are probably in the minority, but we prefer the cool white color over the warm white or the halogen that were in our O7 Roadtrek. Perhaps it is because of the maple and tan interior. You also get quite a bit more light out of the cool white than the other colors. Going by lumens with led lights is sometimes tough because the manufacturers lie a lot, some are directional and some omni directional. We got the highest output versions from Superbright which look like small squares instead of the typical plastic dome. They take about 1/8 the power of the halogens. They are directional.
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atreis
IN
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Joined: 08/29/2005
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Color shouldn't be an issue if you get "warm white" or better yet, buy by color temperature (3700K is warm white, but going up to 4500K can be okay). LEDs in this color temperature tend to be more expensive, so often suppliers will try to sell "cool white" or even bluer (6500K and above), which aren't very pleasing.
As someone else said: 250 lumens is good. If the fixture is in a smaller location (e.g. a light for a bunk) then you can get away with less and save some money for that particular fixture.
2009 Trail-Sport TS21RBH
2008 Toyota Sienna
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coolmom42
Middle Tennessee
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Joined: 02/18/2011
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Go to ledtrailerlights.com and look for LED's that have the lowest color temperature number (in the 3000s) and the same output lumens as your current bulbs. The site has a lot of good info. You will be amazed at how much less electricity you use and how much cooler your RV stays. There is almost no heat output from the LEDs.
2006 Toyota Sienna
Single empty-nester in Middle TN
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OldRadios
Upstate New York
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Joined: 07/01/2011
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Thanks for the suggestions.
The first double on this page looks like it will suit my needs.
www.ledtrailerlights.com/rv/RV-led.htm
If I replace the 3 double fixtures we use most with these I will have 6 spare lenses for the singles and just try replacing the bulbs with LED replacements in the couple of single fixtures we use on a regular basis. The three doubles are the main ones we use for general lightning at night anyway. Power is not an issue when we're running on AC but the lower heat will be a plus on AC or battery in the summer.
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pianotuna
Regina, SK, Canada
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Joined: 12/18/2004
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Hi Oldradios,
You can do better price wise on Ebay if you have the time.
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Alfred622
Rochester, MN
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Joined: 03/21/2005
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After ordering several LEDs, I found some on eBay that I like a lot. There are 36-high power SIM LEDs on a small panel that are warm white. I paid $4.99 for them delivered. You have your choice of plug (I used a BA15s which is the one for an 1141 bulb). They are nice and bright...but very low power. These are the only ones where my wife has approved of the color.
Alfred
2005 Sightseer with Workhorse, ReadyBrute Elite towing 2003 Honda CRV
Map below shows states where we actually camped.....
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