Upgraded my sealed beams and fogs...

[Rcdukes]

I upgraded to Truck-lite headlights and fog lights. One of the best upgrades to date.

[thedark1]

I have been looking for upgrades for my 2003 journey 36dl. What type and info did you use to find them? I typed it in Amazon and gave me a bunch of other crap and so did camping world.

[FIRE UP]

Well,.
The very first think one needs to do when they think they're having issues with *dim* headlights is, you need to break out your trusty VOM or, Volt Ohm Meter and set it to 12VDC and, with the engine not running, turn on your headlights to low beam. Then back probe (for those that are not sure of what that means, you clip your ground of the VOM to a known good ground and then, you stick the tip of the red positive cable of the VOM into the back side of the connector that plugs into the headlight.

Take note of the reading. Most of the time, especially on an older coach, you'll get a reading of around 12.0 V or so. NOT GOOD! Then, start the engine and take the same reading. Yes, it may come up some but, not significantly. Now, here's the true test. Take a wire, oh, maybe 12GA or better yet, 10 GA and run it directly from the battery of the coach, all the way up to the back of that same plug.

At that point, if you can pull the plug partially off of the head light tangs, then touch the tip of that 12 or 10GA wire to the tang for low beam, I'd bet my house you'll get a considerably brighter bulb! You see, there are multiple reasons for low quality beams in head lights in motor homes. But, mainly it's because of the long runs with too small of gauge of wire. And, in many cases, the power for the headlight goes RIGHT THROUGH the headlight switch which, is an INCORRECT way of doing it. The manufacturers get away with doing it that way because is passes inspection. That doesn't mean it's good, it just passes inspection.

But, by getting direct power from the battery, you're now feeding the direct 13.5 or so volts that the alternator is feeding the battery. So, the thing to do is, add a relay and use the original low beam power wire to trigger the relay. Many, many folks have done this and are very, very happy with the results. And that's even before they went to LED head lights. Just some information for ya.
Scott

[Rcdukes]

Not sure I can post links but here goes. I used these headlights:
https://www.truck-lite.com/27270c.html

They were plug and play. I just removed the trim ring, removed the old sealed beams and replaced with these. No changes to the connector at all.

The fogs were a bit more involved. I bought these:
https://www.truck-lite.com/80275.html

I then bought these for mounting:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The fogs are PAR36 size so any PAR36 rubber housing should work. I think Truck-lite has the housing as well. The fogs were a bit tight fitting into the housing but they did fit. I also had to cut the supplied connector on the fogs and add the connector that matches the motorhome blade connectors.

If you want the best, I installed these in my Jeep:
https://www.jwspeaker.com/products/l...700-evo-2-pro/
I installed the Jeep version in my Wrangler. Even though the Truck-lites are great and better than any halogen, the JW Speakers will rival anything on the road.

[GypsyR]

Originally Posted by Rcdukes

Not sure I can post links but here goes. I used these headlights:
https://www.truck-lite.com/27270c.html

The link works fine but they strangely offer little actual information in all that list of specifications. My first question would be "How bright are they?" No mention of candlepower, lumens, or even equivalent "wattage".
Second question would be "How much?" Perhaps you might help with that one though?
.

[AnotherMike]

I agree with FIRE UP...

The first thing I'd do is measure the voltage at the chassis battery and at the backside of the bulbs.

There are two wiring diagrams on headlight bulbs that I've run into over the years - see the wiring diagram below.

See the diagram image below. You can tell the difference by where the ground (usually) wire is located on the back of the bulb.

A few times when I've done upgrades from tungsten bulbs to halogen bulbs I've needed to pop the pins out of the plastic housing and rearrange them.

Please post both battery and headlight voltages - low voltage means low light level. If the difference is significant then we'll walk you through why it is, and how to fix it.

If the voltage difference is small then no relay kit will be needed and you'll have to look at changing the headlights. Look closely at the headlight housings, both the front and back sides, for a "DOT" number or "SAE" number or some other unique number. The DOT requires either a DOT or SAE number on certified housings. You may have to demount one of the housings from the body to do the inspection. Please post the info or a photo of yours if you can.

With that number / those numbers we will be able to tell you what vehicle the lighting housings were originally made for.

Once you know that, then you can go looking for replacement / upgrade bulbs, lenses or housings.

For example, the DOT number from a 2007 Winnebago Journey 34H crossed over to a late 90’s Pontiac Grand Am, a 2001 Dynasty came from a 2000 BMW 500 series, a 1997 RexAir 32' Ford F53 crosses to a 95 Lincoln Town Car, the 2017 Newmar Bay Star Sport 2903 uses 2005-2011 Toyota Tacoma headlight housings, a 2005 Country Coach Affinity uses 2002 Yukon Denali headlamp fixtures, the 2004 Holiday Rambler came from a 2003 Nissan Frontier, a 2009 Holliday Rambler were from the 2004 -2009 Ford F150, 2018 Newmar Canyon Star are from a 2008-2011 Dodge Dakota pickup and the 2003 Monaco Diplomat uses headlights and housings from a long list of Ford Econoline vans.

Obviously it's easier for Google to find replacement fixtures / headlights / lenses for a common passenger car / van / truck than a specific MH.

These may help:
https: // www.carid.com

https: // gtrlighting.com/cross-reference
And GTR Lighting is a good source of bulbs.

This may be of interest as well:
https: //

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQF5ESBHLrw

Fire trucks are similar to MHs in that the manufacturers have such low volume that they have to use headlight assemblies originally made for cars or trucks. Fire departments are very picky about headlights! I remember seeing one posting where the person mentioned that his Bluebird has LED's that are made in the USA, the brand is spec's by many fire departments. They are around $900 a pair!

Mike

[Rcdukes]

Originally Posted by GypsyR

The link works fine but they strangely offer little actual information in all that list of specifications. My first question would be "How bright are they?" No mention of candlepower, lumens, or even equivalent "wattage".
Second question would be "How much?" Perhaps you might help with that one though?
.

I hesitate to answer the question of "how bright". That is subjective. I can tell you that they are much brighter than my originals. The price is available several places online. Just enter "Truck-lite 27270c" in the search window. Here's one:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=truck-lit..._ts-doa-p_3_11

[GypsyR]

I would npt expect anyone but the manufacturer or a testing company to actually know how bright they are. I was just pointing out how the plethora of mostly useless info presented on that page was sadly lacking a really major point or two. They did give the depth though, which is nice. Some older cars have metal headlight "buckets" which don't get along with some of the deeper bulbs.

I appreciate the price link. They seem about in line with other choices. They caught my eye as a possible upgrade to a '67 Mustang. Other Mustang owners have pointed out how too modern of a headlight looks out of place on an older car unless it has a few other obvious modifications too. Those caught my eye as being a possible middle ground look. I have no doubt they are plenty bright enough. of course any LED at that price point darn well better be. Right?

[Rcdukes]

Originally Posted by GypsyR

I would npt expect anyone but the manufacturer or a testing company to actually know how bright they are. I was just pointing out how the plethora of mostly useless info presented on that page was sadly lacking a really major point or two. They did give the depth though, which is nice. Some older cars have metal headlight "buckets" which don't get along with some of the deeper bulbs.

I appreciate the price link. They seem about in line with other choices. They caught my eye as a possible upgrade to a '67 Mustang. Other Mustang owners have pointed out how too modern of a headlight looks out of place on an older car unless it has a few other obvious modifications too. Those caught my eye as being a possible middle ground look. I have no doubt they are plenty bright enough. of course any LED at that price point darn well better be. Right?

I wouldn't say they look like sealed beams but they do look less modern than most LED's. For me, the choice came down to "Made in USA" and the quality of the beam. Nothing aggravates me more than meeting a car or truck with cheap LED headlights. The lack of focus on the cheap beams is actually dangerous in some cases.

The Truck-lites are quality headlights. I am extremely pleased with the performance. They are only exceeded in quality by the JW Speakers in my Jeep but they are totally modern looking.