effective light for RV

[chris]

Hey folks,
I have Dutchmen Classic 260. It is in a good condition, but anyway, it needs some upgrade.
I like boondocking with my family. So a good battery is a must for us. I will change 45 lamps to LED. Who can give recommendations as for the price. Can the cheap LEDs be good? What will you advice for the outdoor light?

thanks

[hddecker]

Originally Posted by chris

Hey folks,
I have Dutchmen Classic 260. It is in a good condition, but anyway, it needs some upgrade.
I like boondocking with my family. So a good battery is a must for us. I will change 45 lamps to LED. Who can give recommendations as for the price. Can the cheap LEDs be good? What will you advice for the outdoor light?

thanks

Welcome, Chris

I thought I would give the eBay stuff a try. I bought a set of ten off eBay, with free shipping from, yes, China. I went with the flat panel ones in daylight white light, easier on the eyes when reading for us old folks.

I tried the first set in our old Airstream and we liked the light and color temperature, so I replaced them all with the same thing, including the outside stair lights. They were still going strong 3 years after.

When we bought the Dutchmen, I did the same thing, plus the scare lights on both sides of the camper. Turn them suckers on and it's like noon at midnight.

I would recommend going to two 6V in series batteries and a solar charger, either portable or
hard wired.

[wahoonc]

I use these from Amazon there is a cheaper set out there, but they are only rated for 12 volts and will burn up if used heavily.

LED is definitely the way to go.

Aaron

[chris]

Thanks guys,
I found good LED lamps on Ebay. $20 each. I hope, I will not have problems with them.
Also, I very liked this lamp https://www.mrosupply.com/lighting/l...ab-lighting/.I think it could be good for outdoor light, but I do not know how to install it.
I do not want to pay additionally for the electrician. Maybe I will do without the outdoor light at all. the wife offers to buy a simple LED lantern.

[MartyG]

Originally Posted by chris

Thanks guys,
I found good LED lamps on Ebay. $20 each. I hope, I will not have problems with them.
Also, I very liked this lamp https://www.mrosupply.com/lighting/l...ab-lighting/.I think it could be good for outdoor light, but I do not know how to install it.
I do not want to pay additionally for the electrician. Maybe I will do without the outdoor light at all. the wife offers to buy a simple LED lantern.

$20 each? That's kind of high. Aaron's recommendation was $55 for a pack of 10. I am curious about your outdoor light, but the link doesn't work.
Marty

[chris]

sorry,
here is what I want to take for the outdoor light https://www.mrosupply.com/lighting/l..._rab-lighting/ (I could not find option to edit the post)

and here is what i found on ebay 20x 7000K White LED 1156 RV camper Trailer 1141 1003 Interior Light Bulbs 13 SMD | eBay

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by chris

Thanks guys,
I found good LED lamps on Ebay. $20 each. I hope, I will not have problems with them.
Also, I very liked this lamp https://www.mrosupply.com/lighting/l...ab-lighting/.I think it could be good for outdoor light, but I do not know how to install it.
I do not want to pay additionally for the electrician. Maybe I will do without the outdoor light at all. the wife offers to buy a simple LED lantern.

Chris,
I did not find any 12 volt lights at the MRO Supply website. Your trailer lighting is usually all 12 volt DC rather than the 120 volt AC like you have in a house. They make plenty of decent LED motion activated lights for the outside of the RV. The Starlights 1000 is one a lot of people seem to like. At ~$60 it isn't cheap but it is designed for RV use. I will probably cheap out an use a basic LED fixture like this one.

Aaron

[hddecker]

Originally Posted by chris

sorry,
here is what I want to take for the outdoor light https://www.mrosupply.com/lighting/l..._rab-lighting/ (I could not find option to edit the post)

and here is what i found on ebay 20x 7000K White LED 1156 RV camper Trailer 1141 1003 Interior Light Bulbs 13 SMD | eBay

Them LEDs are going to make a big difference, at 7K they will have a bit of a blueish cast to them but they will be bright.

Try one of your new LEDs in your outside lights, I think you will be happy with the result. The benefit of the Light wahoonc showed is the motion activation. Nice if you go out for a walk night, your not burning lights your not using.

[SpeedyWs6]

I don't have much to contribute other than I had a vehicle catch fire due to china led dome lights. I used to be an led everywhere kind of guy, but most of the china stuff is not tested or regulated. Just something to think about.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by SpeedyWs6

I don't have much to contribute other than I had a vehicle catch fire due to china led dome lights. I used to be an led everywhere kind of guy, but most of the china stuff is not tested or regulated. Just something to think about.

Guess what? A lot of the incandescent fixtures and bulbs are coming from China too. So I guess you are screwed no matter what you do.

Aaron

[DesertRat]

I have bought quite a few LED bulbs from Starlight. Bought them when they are out in Quartzsite in January for the big RV show. One failed & I took it back the following year & got a replacement with no problem at no cost.
Come this January I think I'll get the porch light like this one. They will have it cheaper at the show.
Amazon.com: Starlights SL-1000 Smart Light 1000 12-volt Exterior Motion Light, Black: Automotive.

[SpeedyWs6]

Originally Posted by wahoonc

Guess what? A lot of the incandescent fixtures and bulbs are coming from China too. So I guess you are screwed no matter what you do.

Aaron

Incondesent bulbs don't have resistors and circuit boards attached to run them at a lower voltage. I'll take heat building china glass over heat building china plastic.

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by SpeedyWs6

Incondesent bulbs don't have resistors and circuit boards attached to run them at a lower voltage. I'll take heat building china glass over heat building china plastic.

I have seen more than one melted incandescent fixture, including one that started a fire. Everything has it's risks. I haven't had any problems with my LED's and don't expect any. But I don't shop by lowest price either.

Aaron

[lcv800]

Aaron, bought your LED recommendations for my garage. A little snug getting some of them in but looks and works great. I need to get a few more for closets, etc., as those are the ones I forget and leave on. Worry about them melting. Thanks.
Rusty

[wahoonc]

Rusty,
I used a bit of dielectric grease on mine to make them slide in a bit easier. FWIW I have a test fixture on my work bench, made it from an old RV light fixture. I have one of the older style low voltage LED bulbs that supposedly can burn up. It ran for over 36 hours and did not have a problem. If you bought the better ones that I linked to that are rated for 12v-28v you should be fine, I think where the problem with others came in was that they designed them for 12 volts, our systems actually operate closer to 13 volts, so they were operating in an overvoltage situation causing them to overheat.

I will have to see if I can find the melted fixture that I had to swap out for a friend of mine. It came out of a small motor home. It was a double that had the older style 1156 bulbs in it. Melted the cover and the base. Not sure how long it was on, but it was too long!

Aaron

[wahoonc]

While on the subject of LED's...

My dog came walking through the dark house this morning with his LED collar on. He had been over to "grandma's" ( my in-laws live on the same property) and she sent him home with his lighted collar. He stays with them when my bride and I are traveling.

Get enough dogs and collars and you won't need overhead lighting.

Aaron

[lcv800]

Our lab Ranger has one also. Red. Between the two of them, they would look like a Christmas tree! Sure do come in handy when walking the dog off leash at night.
Rusty

[wahoonc]

I had Bat out at one of the state park campgrounds a few weeks back, he was wearing his LED collar and one older gentlemen asked about it. When I told him it came in 6 colors he said he was going to buy one of each an put them on his grand kids so he could keep track of them.

We have 40 acres, with 17 acres of open fields right by the house. When I let Bat out at night he gets that hound nose on the ground and can be hard to follow after dark. With the collar I can spot him and call him back, looks like a giant blue lightning bug out there bouncing around.

Best money I have ever spent!

Aaron

[Nana & Poppy]

This site needs a LIKE button!!!!! Great idea!

[wahoonc]

Originally Posted by Nana & Poppy

This site needs a LIKE button!!!!! Great idea!

For critters or grand kids? (not that there is a whole lot of difference!)

Aaron