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Originally Posted by dw624
I too have a 2012 Knight. Please keep us informed as to how they fix your issues. Our smoke detector also sounds off even when running the toaster! They should have put it 10' further forward. We have to run the exhaust fan on conv. oven every time we cook or toast. We received service bulletin for the trans/eng and took it to be re-scanned. That made a big difference. No more jerking and a noticeable increase in mileage. I've also had to replace several (10+) halogen 10 watt G4 base light bulbs at over $5 a pop. Has anyone tried the LEDs if so how do you like them? Also had a heater hose that wasn't properly routed spring a leak because it was rubbing on the engine and had to cut it and splice and tie it up. The door didn't latch properly or hold open in even a light breeze. Hydraulic pump leak. Air leveler was shorted. Several shades that have to be rewound regularly. Toilet that the pedal has to be pulled up to stop the water. Most items have been resolved. The latest thing is the ice maker quit working. Will be trying to get this fixed 1/7/13 or at least a start!
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The sooner you get rid of those halogen bulbs the better. They are hot, inefficient, and prone to failure. LED's are cool, and efficient. A replacement LED will cost you about three times the cost of a halogen bulb but will likely last the lifetime of your RV.
When I bought my 2010 Winnie, I was replacing halogen bulbs on every trip and paying more like $7 a pop. The combination of the heat and vibration just makes them a bad choice for a motorhome application.
You can find excellent quality LED's online at sites like -
LED Lights, Bulbs & Accessories - SUPER BRIGHT LEDS . Wherever you buy there are four important things to consider, fixture type, brightness, physical size and color of light created. While ordering online will get you the best price, doing your initial trials at a Rally may be a better approach as you can work with a vendor to find the right LED. This is especially true of the visual appeal of the light as that is quite subjective.
I struggled to find LED's that were the same temperature (light color) as my halogens. My wife didn't like the brighter, whiter colored light that the first LED's I tried produced. Also, unless you want a hodgepodge appearance to your lighting, you probably want to replace them in groups, i.e. all the lounge area lights at once. I started out just replacing them on an attrition basis but, again, the wife didn't like that approach. Finally, I just bit the bullet and swapped the vast majority out together.
You can get the size right by just measuring your fixture and choosing the right size replacement. As another poster mentioned, the replacement LED's usually come in a disc-shaped package and you need to make sure it is of small enough diameter to fit inside the fixture.
Replacing the halogen bulbs is one of the best upgrades I've made to my coach. We do a lot of dry camping and I no longer worry about the power draw when leaving on a few lights. I've been running mostly LED's for over two years now (about 30 throughout the coach) and haven't had to replace one yet. I kept halogen in a few seldom used locations (reading lights and the like) and use my stash of removed halogen bulbs to replace them when they, inevitably burn out.
Good luck with your new coach. We've been very happy with our Winne but it took about a year to get all the little nuisance issues corrected! A trip back to the factory, towards the end of our warranty period was very helpful.