LED RV 12 volt interior bulbs

[RV_]

Update: I found these bulbs great at first but they deteriorated after a couple of months. The biz was terrible making my second order. I will be trying for a refund as these are simply bad in use for more than a few days. I will leave that link in that I got from another here on the forums as an example of what not to get. Go to the last post here for the new LEDs that I am trying out now, and seem to be the solution.

 

I went into the RV dealerships parts department for some small items for our new to us RV and I saw for the first time LED bulbs to replace those incandescent automotive type 12 volt bulbs that used to burn out often when we were fulltiming. They are like these: http://www.amazon.com/Gold-Stars-11568302-02-Replacement-Natural/dp/B00BSGJQ4Q/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1431820596&sr=8-5&keywords=rv+led+lights

 

I have seen them in soft white and plain white.

 

My questions are these:

 

Anyone tried them and have recommendations as to brand and color warmth?

 

Are they as bright?

 

I use Cree flashlights but not LED bubs in any of my vehicles yet. I love the idea of less power drawn and cooler as we had our fixtures show heat damage after a few years of use. At home we still use fluorescents.

 

With the cost of three bucks each on the road I wondered if anyone had a reliability read on them for RV interior bulbs too.

 

Thanks in advance.

[Kirk W]

I have had LED bulb replacements in our RV now for more than a year, but mine are the bayonet base rather than what you have. I'm not sure if the brand we have makes one such as yours uses. They typically come with differing numbers of LED's available and the more LED's the more light. I'd not hesitate to increase the lumen rating as one of the best parts of the LED lighting is the lack of any heat generated by them. To figure out what the equivalent amount of light is from your existing bulbs you can use this watts to lumens conversion tool. I also suggest the white light version, particularly in places where you will read by the light provided. The brand we have is DEHCO and came from an RV supply dealer but there are many good ones available.

 

We used all replacements that had higher lumen ratings than the original bulbs. Over the sink we used a 16 LED replacement and over our bed we used a 24 LED, in the exact same light fixture. Our ceiling lights were double lights as are commonly found in RVs while the first two were singles so we used a 12 LED replacement in each of those. You can't just assume the same amount of light per LED from one manufacturer to the next so you need to choose based upon lumens. One the reasons that I bought where I did was that the dealer allowed us to take one each of several different LED arrangements out to the RV and test them in the various light positions. It is difficult to be sure just based upon ratings alone.

[Bill Joyce]

I have picked some up.

First do an internet search and find out how many lumens your existing bulb puts out. I find that many LED bulbs are sold as replacements for less bright bulbs than what came in the RV, but use the same base. Your existing bulb might put out 150 lumens, but the recommended LED bulb only puts out 70. Don't settle for less lumens. I will also admit that sometimes you can do better. The fixture over our table used five 400 lumen bulbs, it now has (4) 495 lumen LED bulbs. My wife uses the fixture when doing craft projects and life would not be happy if the replacements were less bright.

Second, make sure the replacements can handle RV voltages, some of the cheapest ones will burn out when the voltage goes below 11 or above 14. Most RV ready LEDs are rated for 10 to 24 volts or 8 to 30 volts.

[RV_]

Wow Bill thanks! Any name brands or color warmth to shoot for.

 

Hey we finally thought it was dry enough to pull our Fiver here and we took it out of storage it was in for a month waiting for dry weather. I hitched up and pulled forward with the intent of turning it around and heading it outward like we did with our 36 footer in 2003. I pulled forward towards the back of our property to turn it around in my big back field, and started to turn and got stuck good.!

 

I called my buddy down the road before it could sink seriously, and it would have, and he brought his 4WD truck up and didn't think it would work. My 28.5 foot Sunnybrook is ultra-lite with an aluminum frame and has a big steel carrier welded to the back steel bumper with heavy duty eye bolts to tie down items like grills or gensets outside on a trip. I had him hook up his tow hooks with my 20 foot chain tractor chain to the heavy steel carrier and he pulled my diesel and trailer right out. The carrier didn't even budge or even flex. Good to know for later load bearing.

 

He later told me that his friends would love the story of how his gas Chevy pulled my Dodge diesel and trailer attached to it out when it got stuck.

[oldjohnt]

After trying many many different LED replacement bulbs (round and flat) to fit 1156 bayonet bases here are the ones I liked best as far as having the most illumination (Lumens) and the flat style direct all the light straight down versus the round bulbs where much of the LED's and light is projected the wrong way. These have all the LED's and all the light directed downward where its needed.

 

They are 300 Lumens,,,,,,,,,,fit into any of six different bases,,,,,,,,,,,,,flat so light is all directed down,,,,,, cost like $6.24 with free shipping

 

NOTE: I tried BOTH the 3000 degree and 6000 degrees Kelvin colors and we like the 6000 much much better for brightness and more white (6000) versus slightly yellow light (3000).

 

I think the one linked is the 3000 degree color, but the same company did have 6000 degree we like much better, shop around. 300 Lumens for around $6.24 with free shipping that fits any of 6 different bases, is one of the better buys I found at the time but that may have changed since. Your money your choice

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LED-Multi-6-base-Replacement-Light-300-LUM-12v-5050115-/220797494713?hash=item33688e65b9

 

John T

[Kirk W]

After trying many many different LED replacement bulbs (round and flat) to fit 1156 bayonet bases here are the ones I liked best as far as having the most illumination (Lumens) and the flat style direct all the light straight down versus the round bulbs where much of the LED's and light is projected the wrong way. These have all the LED's and all the light directed downward where its needed.

Just wondering if you have converted any 120V-ac lights yet? I have a lamp with one that is a 3 level bulb and so far I like it but haven't had it all that long. So far I've not found any really good sources for them.

[RV_]

John,

Thanks so much they look perfect. The incandescent bulbs were always failing in the 1990s RVs we had fulltiming before. And the cheap 12 volt fluorescent fixtures were worse in maintenance and added line and RF interference. Those look perfect. Since incandescent bulbs cost around three buck each at most places these are a bargain for the claimed service life. As well they understand and designed them to withstand wide power fluctuations with no damage.

 

I assume you plug in the appropriate socket adapter, then stick/screw it to the top of the fixture? Is that right?

 

Do the bulbs come with mounting tape or screws?

 

Thanks again!

[Rif]

Derek,

 

I've tried ordering the LED's John links to twice. Both times the order went through and was subsequently refunded with the explanation that they were out of stock. Let us know if you have better luck.

[RV_]

I just ordered only one to test it. Will do. My order went through as I typed this.

 

Thanks for the heads-up Rif. I am going to research for other sources. At least we know they are out there. I'll post that if I find it too.

 

I'm finding them at 17 bucks each versus the 6 bucks and change of these.

 

Edit:

Here's that vendors main blog on eBay. http://www.auctiva.com/stores/viewstore2.aspx?id=918252&page=home&search=led

I searched for LED and came up with just over 200 items and these were sold out or ended but mine may have gone through? It said one left and now it's ended.

 

In any event it seems the 300/310 lumen ones with two adapter bases one bayonet one twist base, for from 14-24 bucks each, are still available?

 

I'm going to get on my desktop later and see if I can't find a wholesale source overseas and then perhaps get into the biz on my website? Nah, then I'd have to do that four letter word ending in k. The W-Bomb!

[reed and elaine]

The Open Range 337RLS we purchased two years ago came with fairly bright LEDs in the main cabin. We have exchanged all the incandescent bulbs for LED except the 110 V over the stove and the four bulbs in the basement. Have not found a replacement for the 110 V. We left the four bulbs in the basement since they can provide enough heat to keep the pipes from freezing.

 

Changed all the outdoor ("scare lights, these are taped on inside of light) to LED and they provide the same amount of light at 1/5 the watts. Open Range installs an LED string on the awning which works great when the awning is out. To rectify this, our grandson installed "Party Lights" below the awning. These can be changed to a number of colors so that when folks are trying to find us when boondocking, we can set the lights to any of a number of colors - or set them flashing.

Reed and Elaine

[oldjohnt]

RV

 

I got lost in all the above, but YES they come with peel off sticky back tape, and so far all have remained stuck in place.

 

Again, the same E Bay vendor used to sell the same lights but with 6000 Degrees Kelvin color which we prefer. The 3000 are a bit more yellow and not as bright white as the 6000. I have seen some 6000 that were too blue colored to my liking, but the 6000 I bought similar to the E bay link were okay for my taste .

 

Kirk,

 

No I haven't done the 120- volt LED's yet, but if we sell the farm and big old home some day and invest in a smaller home (maybe an RV Port home like you have), I will go all out with Solar power and Passive Solar heat and earth sheltering etc etc.

 

John T

[RV_]

Reed,

Wow!

Great ideas! Are the "party lights" are permanently mounted under the awning and wired to the scare light circuit?

 

Thanks John, that makes sense.

 

Reed, I have some Ghost lights from years ago folk used to make their cars glow installed underneath. I took them in a trade and never installed them. I was just going to donate them to Goodwill but you guys gave me all kinds of lighting ideas. These lights have a base and bullet trim on both ends for use on the road. They should do fine under the awning and used only when out.

 

I'll be switching all my RV lights over too. Any AC lights I can get too. W are only now considering LED in our new home as the prices have dropped enough for me to start replacing the fluorescents.

 

I used to mostly answer questions but you guys are bringing me up to snuff on improvements in the ten years since our last fiver! I even tow with a short bed. My truck had a gooseneck and I found the Ultimate Hitch by Andersen and towed our new to us fiver here with it. Not only does it ow great andvallow a 90° under it without hitting the cab, but it does not increase the leverage to the hitch on every moment of force that caused some bent and broken frames in the 90s.

 

Change is a good thing!

[reed and elaine]

RV

 

We ordered the "Party Lights" on-line. You will find a lot of sites if you Google "LED Party Lights".

 

There is a small lamp under the outside stairs and that was also changed to LED.

 

There were a few switches left over on the power panel in the 5th wheel and grandson used that switch and ran wiring adjacent to the cabling going to the motor that runs out/in the awning and the awning lights. It should be easy just to tie into the scare light circuits (which are LED now - tape on bundles of bulbs). We might have him do this on the left side and rear of trailer as well.

 

He tied 12 volt outlets to the lamps above the bed in bedroom and the lounge chairs in the main cabin so that we can:

 

1. Charge batteries for cameras etc.

2. Keep the I-phones charged

3. Use the large GPS when checking routes

4. Run 12 V fans (which use about 2 W) when boondocking in warm areas. They make a huge difference when sleeping on warm nights.

 

One thing we really like is that we put in a clear plastic handle next to the stairs leading from bathroom/bedroom section of 5th wheel. Grandson put a small LED into the base with another switch in power panel. The plastic works as a glowing light pipe and it is easily seen at night. We do pay him electrician journeyman wages.

 

Nice to have a son that is a master electrician with a degree in electro-mechanical engineering and a grandson that is handy with electricity.

 

Reed and Elaine

[RV_]

I'll say Reed! Very nice. Thanks for all the ideas! I am no master electrician but I wired a house and my current workshop and no one has gotten electrocuted or had anything burn down. My first two rigs in the 90s when we fulltimed for 7 years were very modified. I tore out the booth and made a Formica counter for more room and decent chairs as well as a custom computer build in for the printer on one end, pics in my website below. We also rigged up some emergency horns on it and will again in this one. But let's remember it is a 28.5 foot ultra lite aluminum framed weekender we bought for less use than a lot of weekends a year. We just needed a rig to live in on our property while the house site is built and concrete done and then the house. The after all is settled there we need to go to Oklahoma city for my two spinal surgeries as they are the closest laser spinal institute facilities. But I do like to tinker. The chargers are a great idea. But we will be hooked up to power here and there. We don't boonedock anymore.

[Rich Stiner]

I can add something here. Rather than sorting out color temperature (degrees Kelvin, with sunlight being about 5800 degrees K), look for CRI (Color Rendering Index). This is a number used in photography lighting and it's a simple scale of 0-100%, So, rather than sifting through piles of data to sort it all out, 80+% CRI is a good LED, 90+% CRI is a great LED (and more expensive), and 100% CRI LED is a unicorn.

 

For those with 4' fluorescent T8s and T12s in the shop, Cree makes a nice 90% CRI LED direct-replace tube that requires no rewiring or modifications. Just pull fluoro tubes out and insert LED tubes, then flip switch.

[RV_]

Thanks OCD!

I see you just joined the forums, welcome to the best RV forums on the Internet!

 

Thanks for the info. I'd never heard of CRI before, but it makes sense. Easier too. I'll have to check on the price of the tube lights in my workshop 8 foot fixtures.

[RV_]

Well I got one John for the Six dollars and change. It came in yesterday. I haven't made time to try it out yet, but it looks great and all the bases make it universal. If I like it I hope he is back in stock.

[somewhereinusa]

I have all led lights, I make my own fixtures and rarely have more that a few dollars in any of them.

I just finished the lights under the kitchen cabinets. I think they came out rather nice. Please excuse the mess,

this is work in progress.

 

These are 6500K

 

 

Light inside shower

 

 

 

Light for inside of cabinets and closets. None of these will be visible unless you look for it.

 

 

Dick

[reed and elaine]

Somewhereinusa

 

Like your work. Some of those LEDs look as if they should be quite bright.

 

We replaced the fluorescent lamp above the sink with an LED lamp and it has proven extremely bright. We got this from a maritime supply house on-line. We checked the wattage on the BMS (battery management system) and it was only a few watts.

 

We are thinking of putting a few more LED strips above the bed and the lounge chairs for reading. They would just hook directly into the 12 V lamps already there. May put an LED strip next to the "scare light" on the left side of 5th wheel and perhaps another near the hitch.

 

Has anyone replaced the headlamps of their vehicle with LED? They are supposed to be extremely bright.

 

Reed and Elaine

[Double-Trouble]

This is for 10 with the 1156 base$1.53 each. If you contact the seller he has other options available. I ordered the wrong bases, contacted him and he got me the proper bases. Great customer service!

 

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10X-RV-Trailer-48-SMD-Warm-White-High-Power-LED-Light-Panel-1156-BA15S-Adapter-/201086212273?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2ed1ac18b1&vxp=mtr

[RV_]

Just ordered them.

Thanks!

[RV_]

Oops!

I did order them and realized when I went out to test the single one with all the connectors, I found it uses 921 bayonet bulbs!

I went back and found that he had those for the same price here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/10X-Cool-White-RV-1141-1156-BA15S-T10-921-194-48-SMD-Panel-Interior-LED-Lights-/201161822452?hash=item2ed62dd0f4&vxp=mtr

 

And they are in stock. The regular incandescent bulbs use 22 watts and these use only 3.1 Watts. I'm going to order enough to have a few spares. Despite saying they expect 100,000 hour life, like my fluorescents, there may be a few with bad solder or something. I did cancel within two hours after I went out to see how I liked the first one from another vendor. These things are better light than the incandescent bulbs in the warm color temperature.

[jerryneal]

We replaced every bulb in the 5'ver with LEDs. Color is really a personal preference. We found the 6000k bulbs to be a little, blue white, but prefer the brighter light especially around the kitchen and cook top. Using Amazon, we ordered one of several types of bulbs before we ordered bulk. Most of the ones we didn't use ended up in our F350 just because . Our favorite upgrade were the 2 reading lights over the bed. We chose a LED light that's used in elevators. Very bright and zero heat. The old incandescent lights would burn your finger tips off if you missed the light switch.

[RV_]

Jerry,

Good idea on the cooler white for the galley. I made a mental note of that. Just hope I don't lose my notebook again!

 

I already got one of the 24 LED better quality setups with the LEDs on a rectangular board and double sided tape on the back. It has a 921 Bayonet plug attached to the wire coming out. It also came with a round standard base either of which can be plugged in. Beyond making sure that you ordered the right bulb socket, these things are stupid easy to install. I am trying one of the Ping Pong Paddle types that just stocks in as a whole. And another five item batch of the more expensive stick on ones. That still won't cover the whole RV lighting, and I want spares on hand, at least two of each type as despite the potential to run a gazillion hours there can still be manufacturing defects. I love these things!

[IdeLVice]

We replaced the living area bulbs a couple of months ago. Not the bedroom or bathroom. At the time I didn't know much other than they didn't put out the tons of heat that regular bulb do, and last a much, much longer time. Now I have found out that I don't like the color of the light. Maybe I am oversensitive, but I always have sort of a background feeling that I am in a hospital waiting room. Hubby spent a lot on them, so I am stuck for awhile, but my thought is to get a couple of the "warmer color" bulbs to replace the clinical ones every so often, and save the old ones for emergency replacement.

 

Now the question, which I could probably find out by reading all the posts above, but am going to ask anyway... How do I make sure I get the "yellowish, incandesant" color bulbs and not the white hospital bulbs?