Community Forums

scbwr · 08-08-2020, 02:41 AM

Can't respond to the poll because the answer for me isn't there. In two years we've had our Bay Star, I haven't driven at night and we don't plan on driving at night. We plan our trips to start driving at daylight or later, and we're off the road by 5 p.m. at the latest. I can't really evaluate the headlights of my rig!

Dav L · 08-08-2020, 03:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtofell

I generally drive during the day but headlights aren't really the reason. Is this some ad for headlights? The poll doesn't have an answer that fits me.

Nope no commercial interest. Just a poll to get to discuss our driving habits and rigs. Something other than tire pressure

As always when setting up these polls, after one posts it, the poll design leaves options that should have been listed. From the responses, there should have been "I don't drive at night but not because of my headlights".

R.Wold · 08-08-2020, 05:33 AM

My Ventana suits me so perfectly I’ll be going back to long hauls which include night driving and safety stops in rest areas and turnpike service centers plazas for 4-5 hour sleep periods. This is how I used to make it across the country in 3 days.

But since moving to the Bay Star, I had to quit that both because of the headlights and because the F53 wore me out trying to drive more than 8 hours/ day. I think the most I pushed the Bay Star was 12 hours in one day and that was fairly brutal.

So it will be interesting to see how the headlights on a 2016 Ventana compare to a 2010 Bay Star. Probably won’t be much different so I’m guessing I’ll be looking for an upgrade and this is a coach worth spending some money on. But when driving long hauls at night I slow it down and fall in with truckers and I’ll need headlights that aren’t a distraction or irritation to other drivers in close proximity.

Ideas? t

RandDescape · 08-08-2020, 08:01 AM

2015 Canyon Star - horrible headlights for night driving. Really had to use the high-beams and the fog lights and slow down.

2019 Ventana - mediocre like an entry level sedan when it's stock. I bought a new set of projector housings (~2011 - 2014 Dodge Nitro) that I hope to swap in later this Fall when it gets cooler and I have some spare time. The physical housing is a direct match but the DRL wiring will probably need some work so I want to plan for 2 weekends (so I have time to get parts between work sessions). The 300+ for new housings and whatever the LED replacement bulbs will work out to is something I see as an insurance policy.

I drive my cars at night a lot and I always pick the higher trim level to get the better headlights. I live outside of Washington DC and commuting starts at 4am when there isn't a pandemic keeping the cars off the roads. During the winter there is a lot of time I'm driving at night (at least both commutes).

In the RV most of our travel time is during the day - but we will deliberately leave early or arrive back home late to avoid the stop and go traffic of a major metro area while driving an RV & tow. If our travels are going to involve I95 we try to leave home by 5am and on the return leg try to return about 10pm. So that means driving a few hours in the dark. Trying to avoid rush hour at our destination or a "next stop city" will also cause us to leave early/late to avoid sitting in traffic.

If Newmar had an option to rip me off for 1K more than it will cost me to do it myself I'd have happily bought that option when we ordered and spent my time on other projects instead. They lost easy money there.

- Richard

BCam · 08-08-2020, 08:09 AM

The only time I drive at night (other than emergencies) is to get through big metropolitan areas like Los Angeles at 0-dark-30.

dssl · 08-08-2020, 08:58 AM

I have only driven after dark once and realized the headlamps that came on my 2015 Tiffin gasser were practically useless.

I picked up some LED bulbs from Amazon on sale that should help if I ever need to drive it at night.

Sundancer268 · 08-08-2020, 09:16 AM

My headlights are so BAD, I have to hold a match up to them to see if they are lit. Gulf Stream used Headlights from the Audi 100 series that went out of production in 1990 I believe and there are no new units available to replace them. Hella made them and when I contacted them, they said no longer available. I have tried salvage yard units and they are as bad or worse than my existing units. There should be some kind of resource available to get safety items refurbished or replaced with no time or age limit. Part that really grinds me is I can still get head lights for my 64 Ford, 75 Scout and other old vehicles that used standard parts.

n2zon · 08-08-2020, 02:13 PM

It's not driving at night that I mind. It's maneuvering when I arrive in the dark that I mind. As a result, I rarely drive at night, and when I do I know my destination is clear of obstructions and I have a pull-through or my driveway waiting at the end!

creativepart · 08-08-2020, 02:28 PM

I've never driven my RV even one mile at night. The headlights work fine if you never drive at night. The headlights on my RV have been used in a couple of dark thunderstorms during daylight hours, but that's all.

So, your survey lacked a response that was valid for those of us that wouldn't think of driving at night.

Tha_Rooster · 08-08-2020, 02:44 PM

I have driven many miles at night, do I like it no but sometimes you need to.

tommar · 08-08-2020, 02:47 PM

I have driven my DS at night but the headlights were horrible. They were fogged over and also dim. Started my trip to Michigan at 430 a.m. Then on the way back, due to a deadline the DW had, ended up driving for 17 hours with the same bad headlights. Not fun and won't ever drive the rig 17 hours straight again! Then, early this summer, we waited too long to leave (was having a really fun gabfest with a forum member in person...) and ran out of daylight. The headlights were even worse. So after arriving home, new headlights were my A-1, number 1 priority. Bought 2 new after-market euro-style assemblies and Hikari LEDs. Lights are hugely brighter now. Funny thing is, I haven't used them since I replaced them although I've made 3 trips since the replacement. So the headlights are still "virgin!"

mike toon · 08-08-2020, 02:52 PM

I changed my headlights out 2 years ago and they work great now. LEd s low and high beams and the fog lights.Wired with relays so they get great voltage without the volts going through the switch. The relays are the best way to wire headlights for voltage.
I enjoy driving at night with all the tourists sleeping. The traffic is light and I can put some good distance on, till I'm tired.

Old-Biscuit · 08-08-2020, 03:18 PM

ZERO.........

When FTng we would leave CG at 10am and are enjoying cocktails by 3PM

Going camping......leave S&B around 8AM and setting up by late afternoon long before Dark

Don't even drive at night living in S&B

Unless an Emergency should happen....don't intend on changing either.

Growing up, working etc I did LOTS of Night Time driving.....don't have to now so see no reason to do so

Dutch Star Don · 08-08-2020, 03:49 PM

Yes....you need one more category....people that don't drive at night, no matter what the lighting situation is.

The lighting issue has more to do with the position of the driver in Class A motor homes than anything else. Think about it, Class C's and truck campers don't have the issue, as you sit behind the headlights, just like a car. Most headlight assemblies in Class A RV's come from cars. They worked fine in the cars.

In a Class A, you're well above the headlights looking down at an angle over them. In a car, you're sitting behind them, looking over the top of them.

Adding LED's to a lens designed for a standard halogen bulb, really doesn't help. LED's in a standard lens, just scatter a lot of light in front of the RV, looking brighter, but adding no value unless you intend to only drive about 15mph. They don't add lighting down the road, where you need it at night, unless you install them in a "focused" lens (fisheye type) like you see on new cars.

If you want to improve your down the road lighting, add some driving lights down low. I added Hella driving lights years ago and was finally able to see the road at 65mph.

Almost all Class A RV's use a headlight assembly from an automobile like a Ford or Buick. Replace your lenses with an aftermarket lens that has converted that Ford or Buick lens to a fisheye type that will accept LED's or HID bulbs.