Outside Patio light too dim

[JV2LY]

I’m sure some of you have modified this. Our 2017 Bay Star 3401 only has a small light above the door; not enough lighting for the outside. I really don’t want to hang lights on the awning or punch holes in the body to add more of the same type in the photo. I also wish our coach would have came with an outside speaker, but I have been using a Bose Bluetooth for that.

[10 fan]

Perfect timing, look at my post (a few more mods to share). I put one on the back engine cover. there is a close up of the light and one at night showing how bright it is. It is 5" and they had a 11" or 13" also. I got it from M4 Products.

[Dutch Star Don]

I just ordered these for my two scare/side lights. I used them on my previous coach. It is one big LED (1" x 1") called a COB LED. Just remove your lens and old bulb. The new LED comes with three different connectors for different style bulbs. Since it doesn't screw in, I used two sided tape to install and angled it down at a 45 degree angle.

On my side lights, I installed two per side (two in each light fixture). You just need to solder one set of wires to the other. It really lights up the area alongside the coach. Would probably be too much for the porch.

They come in three colors, warm, cool and natural white. The cool will be the whitest looking and the war will be close to what a your old porch bulb color is.

M4 also sells the twist bulbs like you have now, that are LED. You can buy them in several brightness levels.

COB04-NW Natural White Elite Series Super Bright COB LED Plate - M4 Products

[WoodyS]

I'm not familiar with the newer Newmars such as yours, but that porch light on our 2008 KSDP uses a standard single contact 12v automotive bulb. These come in a couple of different wattages (brightnesses) and you can substitute a L.E.D. bulb.

I substituted an amber L.E.D. bulb in ours so it wouldn't attract so many bugs and to make it easier to spot at night in a dark RV Park.

But if you want a brighter light in there, take a look at replacement L.E.D. bulbs and find one with a high "Lumen" output. Higher wattage also usually means brighter.

On the other hand, if your light is a new sealed L.E.D. type, your only option is to replace the entire fixture.

I assume your coach also has what Newmar calls "Security Lights." On our 2008 KSDP, these are the large 8" round ones in the middle of the coach, up near the roof. There's one on each side. These are usually brighter. And once again, I changed our original incandescent bulb for a L.E.D. replacement bulb.

I believe the new versions of these lights have multiple L.E.D. bulbs inside and can be quite bright.

And finally, our coach also has what Newmar calls "Dock Lights." Our coach has 4 of these, two on each side. They're mounted low and there's one in the front, and one near the back on both sides of the couch. Unfortunately, there's only one switch that turns all four on at the same time.

If you turn all those lights on at the same time (patio, security, Dock), it's pretty bright.

[signet63]

Originally Posted by JV2LY

I’m sure some of you have modified this. Our 2017 Bay Star 3401 only has a small light above the door; not enough lighting for the outside. I really don’t want to hang lights on the awning or punch holes in the body to add more of the same type in the photo. I also wish our coach would have came with an outside speaker, but I have been using a Bose Bluetooth for that. Attachment 228071

I want to monitor this post. On my unit I have a tiny light way up next to the top of the door, and our grab handle lights up with a few leds. I would like to find a replacement for this. I thought about an LED strip that runs down under the awning like on the new stuff, but I don't know what the power draw will be.
Will this use more energy than factory? I also thought about getting the King RVM 2000, but it is expensive and I do not know the light output from this our the sound output for that matter. I am very interisted in what other people have done here.

Thanks,
Bill

[khocke]

Ever have a look at one of these? You might be able to kill 2 birds with 1 stone...
King Controls RVM2001 RV Premium Media Bluetooth Weatherproof Speaker and Awning Light with App Control, Black

[joes2901]

A brighter light with a motion detector would be a nice improvement. I purchased a Star Lite several years ago and use it for the door light.

Check Amazon by searching for star lite or solar light and pick the one you like with a motion detector.

[l1v3fr33ord1]

John-

This bulb replacement worked very well for us:

https://rvledlites.com/product/nk-1141-450ww/

The Web site also features motion lights, should you want to replace the entire fixture (uncharacteristcally, I decided against it). Replacing just the bulb took all of one minute!

[scbwr]

On my Bay Star, I've added LED strip lighting below the awning and tapped into the patio light for power. I purchased strip lights from recpro.com as I like the fact that the light strip is mounted in a black channel. Lights were easy to install.

https://www.recpro.com/led-rv-awning...nting-channel/

[JV2LY]

Thank you everyone for your input. You make this forum great. I’m switching out the porch bulb and adding the party strip. That should fix the issue.

[wildtoad]

I replaced the one on my BSS with an LED and it is much brighter, but due to the kitchen slide, still not very effective. One thing to note is that once I installed the LED bulb, I started getting interference on some but not all TV channels when using the antenna.

[JV2LY]

Originally Posted by khocke

Ever have a look at one of these? You might be able to kill 2 birds with 1 stone...
King Controls RVM2001 RV Premium Media Bluetooth Weatherproof Speaker and Awning Light with App Control, Black

Perfect, thank you. I will ask Mrs Claus to put it under the tree.