Upgrade headlight options

Might ask a body shop. They replace headlight assemblies a lot.

An LED bulb in the existing housing is not a good idea. The pattern of the light produced by the LED bulbs is radically different than that of the halogen bulbs, and this throws the overall focus and pattern of the headlight all out, quite possibly making it more blinding to other drivers and/or illuminating the road directly in front of (and close to) the motorhome excessively, which is counterproductive even though it makes the lights look really bright. The same general thing applies to aftermarket HID bulb kits, too.

The simplest reasonable upgrade is brighter halogen bulbs, but they're somewhat limited in what they can do and to burn more brightly their lifespan is reduced by a considerable amount. If you don't do much night driving, that may still be a reasonable tradeoff.

My son changed out his headlights to LED and changes them back a couple of weeks later. Yes they were brighter but the light did not shine far enough down the road. He was constantly being flashed by oncoming drivers. It was a $150 hard lesson learned.

New LEDs are pretty good, and just about match the halogen bulb for pattern, unlike HIDs.

I went with OPT7 (many of the cheaper options did not seem to match beam patterns as well). The wiring configuration had to be swapped around (just pop the pins out of the connector) but the pattern is excellent, brightness is far improved, and I've never been flashed once. The cutoff is sharp enough to make adjustments simple.

Try this guy. If he can't help you with your lighting needs, you can't be helped. Very knowledgeable guy. (no affiliation)

www.danielsternlighting.com

Chum lee

carringb wrote:
New LEDs are pretty good, and just about match the halogen bulb for pattern, unlike HIDs.

I went with OPT7 (many of the cheaper options did not seem to match beam patterns as well). The wiring configuration had to be swapped around (just pop the pins out of the connector) but the pattern is excellent, brightness is far improved, and I've never been flashed once. The cutoff is sharp enough to make adjustments simple.

Did my truck two years ago with these. The mounts are adjustable so you can get the pattern correct. Never been flashed, even the car inspector asked what type they were, he wanted to get a set.

On my 97 E-series (I know, headlight before yours), I learned the most efficient thing to do was to put in Sylvania XtraVision headlamps. They are overdriven some for the increase in output, but not to the extreme the SilverStar headlamps were, thus they kept a decent life span (nearly that of the original). I used the van for expedited cargo transportation, so it has many hours of night driving like that.

The second piece of advice is to have them re-aimed. I found that mine were just a bit too high when loaded, and the high beams became no help. I bet that yours were aimed by Ford to factory specs, then the house was put on the back, lowering it considerably (and raising the headlight aim). Have them pointed down a bit to actually see the road, and not the trees.

All good pointers. Thanks guys. I think as a first step, I’ll upgrade the bulbs to Sylvania XtraVision or some other top tier bulbs before going the more extreme route.

I’ll Be sure to post results for future readers.

2009 Itasca Cambria, I went with headlight revolution LED and the improvement is fantastic. They are plug and play and easy to install. I was considering installing driving lights because there was a dark spot in the pattern i couldn't eliminate with adjustments.

The website has a video that fully explains how to install them . Once installed find another video that explains how to adjust your headlights to eliminate "flashing" from oncoming vehicles. Headlights have no side to side adjustments, only up and down and with a piece of chalk and a looong screwdriver it is easily done. Its as easy as a chalk markon a wall at night then backing up 25 feet away and lining the pattern with the chalk.
My mistake was installing the LED'S then driving to Phoenix, my lights were illuminating the overhead signs, interestingly enough oncoming traffic was not affected. Totally eliminated my need for driving lights.

Summit Racing has LED headlight assemblies and housings for most vehicles, including for spotlights and antique vehicles. With these housings you can put in outrageously bright LEDs if you so desire.