Community Forums

Dunner · 03-01-2012, 02:48 AM

A 1141/1156 will draw over 1 amp of current. The equivalent LED will draw .1 amp.

336muffin · 03-01-2012, 03:44 AM

I have replaced all of mine from ebay. Be careful of the kelvin color, G24 replacement for halogen was $2.08 delivered. Also non polarity sensitive. Cannot tell the difference.

OSP1268 · 03-01-2012, 04:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldbeek

I posted in ( Boondocking) Title, LED that I like. Not expensive white color. Bought on E-Bay

+1 on E-Bay shopping.
I got all the lights changed out and we could
not be happier with the LED's.
They also run a lot cooler too.

Steve N Sal · 03-01-2012, 04:51 AM

For the amount of time that any one fixture gets used I'll just stick with the incadescents. Can't justify the cost of the LED's.

Dunner · 03-01-2012, 05:01 AM

I got mine direct from China at a substantial savings. If you can wait a couple months to get them and know what you are looking for, you can save a bunch of money. I only dry camp and need to conserve battery power.

teera travel · 03-01-2012, 08:30 AM

just got 10 1156 style with 30 leds per light on ebay .love them no big draw on batts. anymore. these came in a 10 pack for $21.95 .it takes a long time to get threw all the choices .but well worth the time. go to 12v led lights on ebay

dan & cathy 07 36' fleetwood terra lx love that boondocking!

daveshan · 03-01-2012, 08:48 AM

X2 on the 10 pack from ebay, I just got some with 18 of the flat LEDs in warm white. Plenty of light, little heat and only ~$5.50 each. Got some of the ones with 30 LEDs a few years ago for my truck camper and they're still going strong.

The newer flat LEDs seem to put our more light.

Dunner · 03-01-2012, 09:09 AM

The 1156 ones I got had the flat LEDs all around it. I Ebay'd some chrome tape and covered the white reflector on all my lights. Slightly more light output. The best ones are the ones that have all the flat LEDs on one side.

The flat LEDs are called SMD, Surface Mount Diode.

John H... · 03-01-2012, 09:16 AM

I switched and wasn't really impressed. Don't boondock, so saving a little battery isn't a concern. Just didn't like the white light.

daveshan · 03-01-2012, 09:40 AM

Make sure you get "warm white" very natural light. However if you don't boondock there is little benefit.

Ramblin · 03-01-2012, 10:02 AM

LEDs are not for everyone. From a purely cost perspective it's probably a wash, though we can probably expect prices to come down over time.

LEDs strengths are:

They produce good light. You can get a variety of light 'temperatrures' and use them different places for different uses. Reading may require bright white light, while ambient lighting might need a more yellowish color.
They produce this light using a LOT less power. This means for those of us that boondock and depend heavily on batteries, they are a godsend. You can burn an LED 10x as long as a standard incandescent on a given amount of battery power.
They produce less heat. Again, if you are boondocking and you want to stay cool, this means a lot. You have to PAY to run your AC to overcome the heat your lighting produces. And if you don't want to run your AC, lighting can make a noticable difference in your interior temperature. (this can be a CON if you cold-weather camp, but you can make heat a lot more efficiently than using your lights)
They last longer. Face it, changing bulbs can be a hassle. Why change bulbs every year when you can do it once and last several years. Time you spend changing bulbs is better spent sipping a nice cocktail out under the awning.
They pack a lot of lighting power into a tiny package. You will be able to illuminate places you may not have been able to before. Somewhere I saw wood trim pieces with tiny led lights embedded like rope lights for use under cabinets.

So, you won't necessarily save any MONEY switching to LED, but you'll save power, time, and make less heat with them.

texnet · 03-01-2012, 10:54 AM

One other item that makes LEDS better... with less amps to run the lights the on/off switches last a lot longer!

Dwight · 03-02-2012, 01:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dunner

The 1156 ones I got had the flat LEDs all around it. I Ebay'd some chrome tape and covered the white reflector on all my lights. Slightly more light output. The best ones are the ones that have all the flat LEDs on one side.

The flat LEDs are called SMD, Surface Mount Diode.

Even after cleaning & polishing my square red stop-turn-tail lights have always appeared dim. I used double sided thin sponge tape in the corners and household aluminum foil behind my 1156 or LED bulbs to make them appear brighter. Don't worry if it is slightly crinkled, that gives it more reflective surface.

Wanderman · 03-02-2012, 02:50 PM

First off, I am a MAJOR believer in LED replacements for both incandescent and fluorescent bulbs. Secondly, I like to boondock so every bit of power savings helps.

Color temperature (Warm White, Cool White, Brite White, etc) will be a major factor in determining whether you like or hat LEDs try them all. I like the Warm White versions at around 3200K (Kelvin) color temperature as they look the closest to incandescent and halogen and give off a warmer light.

I wrote an article about this for the RV Newsletter, you can read all about it at:

WanderMan: And The Lord Said..."Let There Be Low Power Light"

Rich "The Wanderman"