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Old 08-23-2009, 10:41 AM   #1
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Headlight upgrades

I guess I am getting older because the headlights on my 2005 TS 42DS04 just don't seem to put out enough light. The factory lights are suprisingly small for a coach of this size. When driving at nite, the low beams are not quite bright enough or far enough out. I am forced to turn on the highbeams and that works but the concern is for oncoming traffic. It seems I don't get many oncoming vehicles flashing me when the highbeam lights are on. I have repeatedly tried to get the lowbeams adjusted up but apparently there is no more adjustment.

Is anyone else having a similiar problem? Would some sort of aftermarket lights work better?

In the Dark
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Old 08-23-2009, 09:58 PM   #2
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I can tell you I ordered mine with the xenon upgrade and the lighting is absolutely fantastic. My son, who has a Damon, recently upgraded his std. lighting with a xenon upgrade kit which I think he bought online somewhere. He really likes the extra light this produces. So that's the route I'd persue if I were you.
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Old 08-23-2009, 11:38 PM   #3
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Bob,

Thanks for the input. I have appreciated many of your comments on various issues for us TS owners.
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Old 08-24-2009, 07:16 AM   #4
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One other thought about "getting old". I had that problem a few years ago and found I had cataracts that were making my vision bad at night. After putting in the new lenses I woke up to find someone had turned on the lights! I told the DW I had never realized they printed the newspaper on WHITE paper! All this time I thought it was an amber color.

So it could be you have this problem that's contributing to your night vision issues.
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Old 08-25-2009, 09:55 AM   #5
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I have ordered an upgrade kit for my lowbeam lights from an outfit online. I found out I had projector type lights with the designator H9 which was the lamp/bulb. The upgrade kit, HID type lights, provides two new bulbs, wiring harness, two ballasts and some other misc. parts for about $170. incl. shipping. They promise a gain in light output of 3 times greater than the original bulb. That should make a huge difference even with eyes that are getting older. The kits are plug and play with no modifications to existing housings. After installation, I'll let you know how they work. Thanks for the help.
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Old 09-06-2009, 05:12 PM   #6
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Just had mine upgraded to Xenon at Midwest Coach Rv (www.travelsupremerv.com) along with replacing the sorry weldex camera system with a new sony system and some other upgrades, boy, Bishop and his crew did a fantastic job and at a really good price, but thats another story). The lights made all the difference in the world, man, I could not belive how much more light and how much better I can see with the Xenon lights. Well worth the time, effort and expense to get them upgraded. Just my 2 cents. Gene
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Old 09-06-2009, 06:51 PM   #7
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Sorry about the double post above. Cant figure out how to delete one and edit the other, no edit button on my screen. ACTUALLY should be www.travelsupremeservice.com the Address of Midwest Custom Rv in Elkhart. Gene
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Old 11-19-2009, 04:05 AM   #8
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I have the HB1/9004 bulbs - hi/lo beam in one bulb. They make a bulb where hi beam is a simple halogen bulb and low is HID, a hi/lo bulb that moves up/down for high beam, and bi-xenon kits where both hi and lo are HID. I heard that HID's take quite a while to come on.
I still want to be able to flash my headlights off/on for passing rigs.
What type of HID conversion did folks get and can you still flash your lights?

Thanks,
Tom
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Old 11-20-2009, 10:34 PM   #9
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Update on my lighting project

After starting this thread and getting all your good advice, I took the jump and installed the upgrade kit that promised three times more light. The installation was simple and required mounting a starter ballast of sorts near the headlight location. I found several bracing struts that were conveniently located near the headlights and used a self tapping screw bolt to mount the ballast. I must say that the jury is still out on this upgrade. There does seem to be more intense light and in a brighter light spectrum. We have all seen the intense "blue" lights on approaching vehicles. My coach now sports that same blue hue in low beam configuration. The new light pattern has a very distinct line on the upper limit of the beam. Unfortunately, I am not able to adjust the upper limit using the current adjusting screws in the housing. The result is a beam that does not extend far enough out and I can easily "overdrive" the light beam. I am probably going to do some adjusting and customizing in order to get more adjustment.

I too want to be able to flash my high beams to facilitate lane changes for overtaking vehicles. I have found it somewhat uncomfortable to toggle between my low and high beams because the hue of the light is significantly different. Going from a low beam intense blue light to a high beam yellowish light may take some getting used to.

I have found the new low beam lights do need some time to attain full intensity. It is just like turning on one of those newer light bulbs that use florescent technology. When you first turn the light on, it is very dim. Within two to five seconds the light will attain full intensity. If you toggle quickly between the high and low beam, you will not notice any decrease in intensity. However, if you cruise on high beams for a longer period of time and then select low beam, you will experience a start up lag.

On balance, the original low beams on my '05 42DS04 were terrible and were easy to overdrive. Not a safe situation. I won't be going back to the old lights but still a work in progress on the new upgrades. I may need to change out the high beams as well do to the difference in light spectrums. Time will tell.

Bob and Lulu
'05 42DS04
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