Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
RV Trip Planning Discussions

Go Back   iRV2 Forums > MOTORHOME FORUMS > Class A Motorhome Discussions
Click Here to Login
Join iRV2 Today

Mission Statement: Supporting thoughtful exchange of knowledge, values and experience among RV enthusiasts.
Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on iRV2
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 07-30-2018, 08:47 PM   #29
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Metamora, MI
Posts: 5,518
Quote:
Originally Posted by DryCreek View Post
I like the idea, but I was told by coworkers with lifted GM pickups that the light will sit too high and tend to blind oncoming traffic. I know that I have been dazzled by many an HID headlight as it focused in on my retina while coming over a hill. The first clue is the color shift from bluish to bright and clear white. I definitely don't want to be "that guy".
Your friend should re-aim the headlights post lift kit.
In actuality, the lights will appear lower if they are mounted higher as they will be aimed at a steeper angle to the ground and away from oncoming traffic eyes.

The projector is LESS annoying to oncoming traffic, everything else being equal (same brightness bulb, all aimed correctly). The horizontal cutoff it much better at controlling the light than a non projector from appearing blinding to oncoming.

Most all higher end vehicles (RV included) are now using projector technology. BTW, HID bulbs can be in a projector or in a lower end reflector conventional housing. The difference is the reflector sprays the light "all over the place" and doesn't focus it to the ground.
__________________
2002 Newmar Mountain Aire Limited 4370 w/ Spartan K2 and Cummins 500hp
ASE Master Certified (a long.....time ago...)
Dav L is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 07-31-2018, 04:28 PM   #30
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 1,116
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dav L View Post
Your friend should re-aim the headlights post lift kit.
In actuality, the lights will appear lower if they are mounted higher as they will be aimed at a steeper angle to the ground and away from oncoming traffic eyes.
Well, to be honest - I've decided to verify his theory. Since yesterday was my day off, and I chose to dedicate it to RV repair and maintenance (oil change, lube all 9 points, replace leaky black water tank valve, etc.) I decided to do some empirical research. While the oil was draining into the pan, I measured the distance from the concrete floor to the center of the headlight on the motor home. It taped out to 35-1/2". On our 3/4 ton two wheel drive Dodge Ram 2500, that same measurement came to 35". On our 2011 Jeep Wrangler it was 38", and 36" on our stock '95 YJ Wrangler. The 2010 Chrysler 300 came in the lowest at 28", while our 2002 Nissan Xterra 4X4 measured in at 37".


So, it seems that those headlights are about stock height. I worked on polishing the passenger side up a little - had a small layer of haze. I also tried to adjust the drivers side up a bit, but it seems to be at max adjustment. I may need to check the mounting brackets on that side. It is still aimed correctly by measuring the light pattern against a piece of plywood out in front of the RV cover and pad.


I found a set of inexpensive LED low beam bulbs to try out. I will see how they do - not that we do much driving at night in the RV.
DryCreek is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2018, 06:23 PM   #31
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Metamora, MI
Posts: 5,518
How are you aiming? What measurements are you using?
FYI, no two LED bulbs are created equal. Maybe worth a shot, but if cheap, typically poor performance and longevity.
__________________
2002 Newmar Mountain Aire Limited 4370 w/ Spartan K2 and Cummins 500hp
ASE Master Certified (a long.....time ago...)
Dav L is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-31-2018, 06:35 PM   #32
Registered User
 
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 1,116
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dav L View Post
How are you aiming? What measurements are you using?
FYI, no two LED bulbs are created equal. Maybe worth a shot, but if cheap, typically poor performance and longevity.
At 25 feet the typical low beam "hotspot" should be 2 to 4 inches lower than it was at one foot. I set it using a sheet of plywood I normally keep up in the rafters of the barn. I have the wife lift me up in the bucket of the tractor and then we run over to where we keep our RV and then check the lights. I must have hit a bird or some of that rough road we were on earlier this year has jostled the drivers side and it was out of whack.


Here is a LINK TO the LED headlights I ordered. Not too much to spend for an experiment. I also ordered a set of Halogen replacements too. Never can be too cautious.
DryCreek is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-01-2018, 10:32 AM   #33
Senior Member
 
Roadfrog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: Chilliwack, BC Canada
Posts: 526
Unlike the comment from followingsea, I felt the OP's question was pretty clear and not a statement. He wants LED's and info on how. Pretty straightforward, sheesh.

Sooooo... I too have crappy lights and find driving at night to be an issue, resulting in needing to drive with the high beams on in order to get the equivalent light i'd get in my passenger vehicles (or my previous C class). I agree with the others - make sure you get proper LED setups and not just a cheap EBay "one-size-fits-all" setup. Also, if your unit is like mine, the headlight assembly on your coach has no adjustments for the housing. Mine are literally just screwed in to the front fascia, which makes adjustments futile. You may have also seen posts, youtube etc that show how to get better light output from your current setup by adding a solenoid in your electrical bay in order to provide direct current to the headlights, improving output (apparently) by 50% or more. I'll be doing this mod at some point and hope to get good results.
__________________
Chris
1998 Beaver Patriot Monticello - 330 HP Cat "Ruby"
TOAD: 2017 Ford SHO "Luna" 365 hp
Roadfrog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-03-2018, 05:24 PM   #34
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 1969
Posts: 2,635
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roadfrog View Post
Unlike the comment from followingsea, I felt the OP's question was pretty clear and not a statement. He wants LED's and info on how. Pretty straightforward, sheesh.

Sooooo... I too have crappy lights and find driving at night to be an issue, ...
Actually the OP, did not make it clear. Which is why I asked why.

I use LED to save energy in applications where lights are on a lot. For example, my son works second shift and comes home in the dark. The front of the house is dark even with the light by the front door on. I put in LED path lights in.

This spring I helped remodel BIL kitchen. The sisters came hone with new LED kitchen lights. I liked the $20 over the sink light so much that I got two more. I put them so they shined on the garage door at our sons.

They provide lighting for safety, male the front of the house look nicer, and do not use a lot of energy. The point is I had reasons for doing what I did.

Since I have never had crappy headlights I am more than about changing safety equipment. I put chrome wheels and bay moon hub caps on a car when I was young and dumb.

So if you want to pimp out your ride, that could answer the answer to the why thing.

However, if you can not see down the road maybe you should address the root cause of that issue.
__________________
Kit & Rita (in memory)
37 foot ‘98 HolidayRambler Endeavor diesel pusher
followingsea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2018, 12:37 PM   #35
Member
 
FLynes's Avatar
 
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Nampa, ID
Posts: 91
Quote:
Originally Posted by TriMoot View Post
Knoxie90 - I think you solved my issue...these are inexpensive, easy to install (at least I think they will be) and already are in my Amazon cart!

There's another thread like this over here:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/weak...ne-402895.html

There's some good info, but you'll need to skip over the some of the silly flaming one poster starts.

On that thread you'll see where I was/am a newbie when it comes to LED/HID lights and someone posted a good link to learning about them. But the more I researched the more I found a lot of folks were having issues with just buying bulbs and getting them to last. Some were having them die after just a few months, even though they say many LEDs have a 30K hour lifespan.

I happened to remove the bulb from my 1997 RexAir which uses lights from a 95 Lincoln Town Car, and looked at the date...it was from August of 1996!!

Here's what I wrote: "Life span of LEDs bulbs...30,000 hours. Hmm, how long is that actually? Well, if you used your lights 24 hours a day, that comes out to 3.42 YEARS. The halogen bulb I just took out of my rig...192,720 hours...or 22 YEARS!!!!!"

So yeah, I'm thinking the 'easy' fix for me is what you posted. If I'm out at night and having issues seeing, I'll just flip these on to help out!

Thanks for posting that info!

Although our rig is much older than yours (it uses the old incandescent round sealed lamp), I found the other thread very informative, aside from the flaming jerkoff whom I've put on my ignore list. As I wrote in the other thread, I converted to LEDs in my Z06 and saw a remarkable improvement.


I think the first thing I'll do with our Monaco is add relays, to reduce the voltage draw. Since this model still uses an ammeter vs voltmeter, it's a bit of a different electrical animal than the newer stuff.


The link that was posted on the other thread to Daniel Stern's website is an oldie but goodie. I have used his site for reference with our 1976 Jeep CJ-5, which is our toad.


If the relays don't make a noticeable difference in our Monaco, I'll go to LEDs or HIDs.
__________________
Frederic & Brooke
2005 Monaco LaPalma 37PST
W24 Chassis
FLynes is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2018, 01:32 PM   #36
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: bis. nd
Posts: 1,124
this place is the best I have found and will get this kit this fall..
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/bi...rojectors.html
__________________
2007 Alfa Gold!! model 1008. 400hp Freightliner, IFS!!
beenthere is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2018, 01:39 PM   #37
Senior Member/RVM #90
 
MSHappyCampers's Avatar


 
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Columbus, MS
Posts: 54,626
Quote:
Originally Posted by beenthere View Post
this place is the best I have found and will get this kit this fall..
https://www.theretrofitsource.com/bi...rojectors.html

I checked that company for the 9007 bulb that I need and the output lumens was 3000. The same bulb from M4 Products has a 6000 lumen output!
__________________
Joe & Annette
Sometimes I sits and thinks, sometimes I just sits.....
2002 Monaco Windsor 40PBT, 2013 Honda CRV AWD
MSHappyCampers is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2018, 02:19 PM   #38
Senior Member
 
Tetonchief's Avatar
 
Newmar Owners Club
Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: SW FL
Posts: 586
I went to the recent FMCA rally in Gillett WY last month and attended the seminar on upgrading lighting to LED's. It was very informative and was given by an electrical engineer with several patents on LED lighting especially RV. What was interesting is there is a whole lot of science to this. For one, LED lighting for the vehicle headlights is just not swapping out bulbs. Some cars now have them standard or as options but they are very expensive. Also, vehicle headlights have to be DOT approved (that is why many of these ad on LED spot light are "off road use" and are not legal to use on the highway/streets. The big problem with taking out you own bulb and replacing with the led is the led bulb is most likely not water proof and so the led drivers will be exposed to moisture and failure. If a bulb has water proof drivers it most likely won't have adequate heat elimination in a conventional headlight assembly. So, to up grade legally you have to go to led headlight assemblies or an hid kit. Changing bulbs inside the coach is another problem entirely because of the need for 12v/110v use, and the heat transfer is a huge factor too. Suggest attending one of these seminars or doing so intense research before throwing money at a problem--especially since all the rv shows have numerous booths of people selling LED's made in China but not what the rv industry uses for LED's when they build them into their coach.
__________________
Don Kostyal
CMSgt, USAF ret.
2012 Canyon Star 3856//2017 Corolla SE
Tetonchief is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-05-2018, 02:48 PM   #39
Member
 
FLynes's Avatar
 
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Nampa, ID
Posts: 91
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tetonchief View Post
I went to the recent FMCA rally in Gillett WY last month and attended the seminar on upgrading lighting to LED's. It was very informative and was given by an electrical engineer with several patents on LED lighting especially RV. What was interesting is there is a whole lot of science to this. For one, LED lighting for the vehicle headlights is just not swapping out bulbs. Some cars now have them standard or as options but they are very expensive. Also, vehicle headlights have to be DOT approved (that is why many of these ad on LED spot light are "off road use" and are not legal to use on the highway/streets. The big problem with taking out you own bulb and replacing with the led is the led bulb is most likely not water proof and so the led drivers will be exposed to moisture and failure. If a bulb has water proof drivers it most likely won't have adequate heat elimination in a conventional headlight assembly. So, to up grade legally you have to go to led headlight assemblies or an hid kit. Changing bulbs inside the coach is another problem entirely because of the need for 12v/110v use, and the heat transfer is a huge factor too. Suggest attending one of these seminars or doing so intense research before throwing money at a problem--especially since all the rv shows have numerous booths of people selling LED's made in China but not what the rv industry uses for LED's when they build them into their coach.

For the inside of our Monaco....again, I realize the insides of your rigs are newer, I used these LED light fixtures, and the world of difference they made is astounding. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


They are much brighter and are cooler than the old incandescent bulb fixtures.


For those of you that still have this style light fixture, I can't say enough good things about them.


This is a pic I took of the inside of our rig, after I installed the LED lights.


__________________
Frederic & Brooke
2005 Monaco LaPalma 37PST
W24 Chassis
FLynes is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-06-2018, 03:05 PM   #40
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: bis. nd
Posts: 1,124
do you rdeally think a headlight bulb can put that amount of lite out?? really,? is it raw lumens.. and how is the lite spread.. did you read anything about lite scatter and such?? not dissing just seams you really believe 6000 lumans.. none of the best led will out shine the best hid.and None of the hid even go beyond the 3 thousands in lumens. actually call them see how informed and what you have to know.. the internet is not the savior on the truth.. but you can believe if want.


Quote:
Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers View Post
I checked that company for the 9007 bulb that I need and the output lumens was 3000. The same bulb from M4 Products has a 6000 lumen output!
__________________
2007 Alfa Gold!! model 1008. 400hp Freightliner, IFS!!
beenthere is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-06-2018, 03:23 PM   #41
Senior Member/RVM #90
 
MSHappyCampers's Avatar


 
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Columbus, MS
Posts: 54,626
Quote:
Originally Posted by beenthere View Post
do you rdeally think a headlight bulb can put that amount of lite out?? really,? is it raw lumens.. and how is the lite spread.. did you read anything about lite scatter and such?? not dissing just seams you really believe 6000 lumans.. none of the best led will out shine the best hid.and None of the hid even go beyond the 3 thousands in lumens. actually call them see how informed and what you have to know.. the internet is not the savior on the truth.. but you can believe if want.
I just got off the phone with the guy at M4Products. He says that the 6000 lumens is the rating from the manufacturer of the bulbs he uses.

He also said that the "scatter" is determined by the position of the bulb in the housing and the design of the housing itself.

He has been using the 9007 bulb for 2 1/2 years with a very high satisfaction rate.

You're right in saying that the internet is not always known for the truth. From what I've seen, M4Products is known for quality products so I would have more faith in them than some fly-by-night operation that may not be around tomorrow if you have a problem.
__________________
Joe & Annette
Sometimes I sits and thinks, sometimes I just sits.....
2002 Monaco Windsor 40PBT, 2013 Honda CRV AWD
MSHappyCampers is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-06-2018, 04:27 PM   #42
Senior Member
 
TriMoot's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Melbourne Beach, FL
Posts: 1,945
Blog Entries: 2
Quote:
Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers View Post
I just got off the phone with the guy at M4Products. He says that the 6000 lumens is the rating from the manufacturer of the bulbs he uses.
Is it possible he meant 6000 for two bulbs? I only ask because that's how some of them are advertised, but it's easy to miss the two part.

Thanks.
__________________
___________________
2005 Newmar Essex 4502
1997 Suzuki Sidekick JX, Spokane, WA (Hoping to replace this soon)
1997 RexAir 32' Ford F53 Chassis, Banks system.
TriMoot is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
led, light, lights



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Replace fixture or just bulbs when converting to LED? Msbehavin MH-General Discussions & Problems 31 04-27-2015 07:29 PM
Converting over to LED cimplexsound MH-General Discussions & Problems 34 12-19-2014 07:08 AM
Converting to LED's jim81147 RV Systems & Appliances 6 09-22-2014 10:51 AM
Option for converting fluorescent lights to LED bcbounders Class A Motorhome Discussions 33 04-03-2013 07:42 PM
Converting to LED's need help identifying bulbs bdpreece Monaco Owner's Forum 40 01-15-2013 08:51 PM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:11 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.