REPLACING light bulbs with LEDs???

[Davdeb1]

I'm from the same camp, however, I did replace 6 bulbs in the living area because we do boondock. If I had it to do over, I would not have spent the money. If you want to do it for cosmetic purposes, that's fine, or, you could do a very expensive conversion simply by buying a brand new coach😁😁

[BigDBright]

I replaced all the interior lights with LEDs. I did it to both save power and reduce heat. It was not a cheap proposition, but I saved as much as I could by using eBay and Amazon as sources instead of Camping World or local part stores. I also replaced both cathode ray TVs with flat screens. As a result, I can boondock overnight in 32* temps, run the furnace and my cpap machine all night, and still have a little battery remaining in the morning. ;-)

[bamaboy473]

Originally Posted by Hikerdogs

I guess I don't see any advantage of replacing any exterior lights with LED's. They are only being used when the motorhome is under it's own power. There is already a large (in our case 175 amp) alternator charging the batteries and providing current for any accessory you would want to power up.

Several posts imply that LEDs don't supply as much light as incandescents, and I wonder about that statement.

Can't you get florescent replacements that are brighter, for ceiling lights?

Isn't the reason we get LED headlight replacements because of the significantly greater light output?

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by BigDBright

I replaced all the interior lights with LEDs. I did it to both save power and reduce heat. It was not a cheap proposition, but I saved as much as I could by using eBay and Amazon as sources instead of Camping World or local part stores. I also replaced both cathode ray TVs with flat screens. As a result, I can boondock overnight in 32* temps, run the furnace and my cpap machine all night, and still have a little battery remaining in the morning. ;-)

It's funny you mentioned changing out the old televisions for the new flat screens. We were considering doing the same thing in our 2001 Adventurer so I did some extensive research. At the time the flat screens used about 1/3 more power than the older tube types. The main advantage was that there could be 100 stations between full channel numbers (i.e. 12.1, 12.2, 12.3 - 12.99). This is one case where better use of band width took precedence over energy conservation. Maybe the energy issue has been resolved in the last couple years.

As for LED's supplying less light than incandescents, DON'T BELIEVE IT. The lumen output is a direct function of the quality of the bulb you purchase. We replaced the interior incandescent lights in our motorhome last year. The LED's we used were supposed to be direct replacements as far as light output and color were concerned. The new LED's are actually brighter than the incandescents they replaced. For us it was a win, win. Not only are we using less power per light, but we 're using fewer fixtures to light up the same space.

[ladagobago]

Originally Posted by Hikerdogs

It's funny you mentioned changing out the old televisions for the new flat screens. We were considering doing the same thing in our 2001 Adventurer so I did some extensive research. At the time the flat screens used about 1/3 more power than the older tube types.
ower per light, but we 're using fewer fixtures to light up the same space.

Were in the world could that true. CRT used huge amounts of power in the order of over 125 watts. LCD use in the range of 35 watts and the LED in my MH uses less than 10 watts.

[Hikerdogs]

Originally Posted by ladagobago

Were in the world could that true. CRT used huge amounts of power in the order of over 125 watts. LCD use in the range of 35 watts and the LED in my MH uses less than 10 watts.

I should have provided more detail on the power usage. At the time we were thinking of changing to a flat screen Plasma flat screens seemed to be the rage. When I started looking into them there were quite a few drawbacks. They were power hogs, they didn't deal with high and low temperatures well, (it often gets -20*or colder here), they don't like altitude changes, and they were susceptible to screen burn in among other problems. Another factor was the size of the old CRT vs. The size of the replacement we were considering.

After reading a number of articles on the subject I decided it wouldn't be a good move. Fast forward 8 years and I'm not sure anyone still makes a plasma television.

[terry735001]

make sure you get a NO LOAD flasher .. been there done that ..

[Grey Ghost I]

I have had more than a dozen campers in my life, one even had gas lights. All of the plastic covers on the lights get brittle and discolor and break. The led lights do not get hot enough to do that. That is the reason I, and probably others , replace incandescent bulbs with led. Less battery draw is a plus. Also, we all have forgotten to turn off a light at one time or another.

[Bad Bolt]

I recently fully converted the interior of my coach to LED and could not be happier. The cost was worth it to boondock longer. I also like the overall illumination it provides.

Used M4 for all the lights and followed the RVGeeks install videos for the two types of florescent lights I have. Easy as pie...

[TBS-POPS]

Amp draw is about 30 to 1 led vs incandesant. Meaning you can run about 30 leds for the same as 1 incandesant thus saving power for your furnace blower.