Forum Discussion

bazaarsoft's avatar
bazaarsoft
Explorer
Apr 27, 2013

Lighting our new TT

We just recently bought a TT and am looking forward to doing a lot of traveling. One thing that we noticed on our first trip out is that the inside lighting is, well, pretty horrible: the dome lights are bright, glaring, direct, and frankly extremely unattractive. For instance, when watching TV, it's pretty much impossible to do anything but turn off all the lights. I can imagine if we were sitting in the living area chatting with guests, the lighting would be very distracting.

After spending a few hours looking online, I've yet to find anything to replace them that look reasonable. When we designed our house, we went to great efforts to make sure that there was mostly indirect lighting - it's warmer and less distracting. I was hoping to find some low-profile fixtures to replace the dome lights where at least part of the light was indirect.

What are others doing about this? Or do I just have unreasonable expectations?

20 Replies

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  • ZeeLet50's avatar
    ZeeLet50
    Explorer
    Apr 28, 2013
    I changed the bulbs in my trailer with warm white LEDs on the ceiling and used white LED's which has a hint of blue for reading over the bed and under the kitchen cabinets. I would think a tape string of LED's along the under side of the cabinets might give you some good results. They can be dim-able or even change colors. Good luck!
  • Shadow_Catcher's avatar
    Shadow_Catcher
    Explorer
    Apr 28, 2013
    Our trailer was custom built and I do not care for cheap RV lights and found some marine lights that look good use LED's which I supplied.
  • qtla9111's avatar
    qtla9111
    Nomad
    Apr 27, 2013
    We use table lamps with LED bulbs. We like the look and the light.
  • JiminDenver's avatar
    JiminDenver
    Explorer II
    Apr 27, 2013
    In our trailer we replaced all of the lights with LEDs' The ones that directly replace the incandescent bulb are just as bright or brighter too the point of being uncomfortable except in task areas where bright light is needed.
    I put LEDs with a 5th of the emitters in the overheads and the make a nice mood effect for eating, watching TV, talking etc.

    Some people are very creative with the LED tapes. Cut to length, tuck it in somewhere and hook up a few leads for instant indirect lighting.
  • Sea_Six's avatar
    Sea_Six
    Explorer
    Apr 27, 2013
    Bazaarsoft,

    I went around to all of my TT's light fixtures and changed the bulbs to produce the light scheme I need for various times of the day, as well as specific uses (like watching TV for instance).

    All of the overhead lights in the center of the ceiling have high-wattage bright bulbs. Whenever I need bright light I can turn on those lights.

    All of the overhead lights around the edges of the ceiling (near the walls) and under the countertops have low-wattage bulbs. At night, I usually turn off all the bright lights and turn on all the dim ones. I can see the tv easily and if I need momentary light for a particular task, I just flip on one of the bright ones.
  • LeBout's avatar
    LeBout
    Explorer
    Apr 27, 2013
    Lamps are the answer! We have a lamp that we keep plugged in on the kitchen counter and we have matching lamps on either side of our queen bed. I'm TOTALLY with you...I hate overhead lights...even in our home. Lamps give a warm and friendly glow and make it look MUCH more comfortable. We picked up our bedroom lamps at Walmart and (I think) my wife found our kitchen lamp at a yard sale for $5. :)
  • Chuck_Gail's avatar
    Chuck_Gail
    Explorer
    Apr 27, 2013
    Since we rarely boondock, we installed some additional 120 VAC lighting that we liked. Works great.
  • Blazing_Zippers's avatar
    Blazing_Zippers
    Explorer II
    Apr 27, 2013
    My bride found a small lamp at a thrift store and it is a great addition to the trailer. The lighting in the unit isn't like the house, but it works to see with.
    Keep trying things, and you'll get it right.
  • JJBIRISH's avatar
    JJBIRISH
    Explorer
    Apr 27, 2013
    I think your expectations might be too much…

    While I wouldn’t call the dome lights attractive I do think they are quite functional… customized lighting in a cracker box would be limited at best, but if you put the same effort into it as you did your house you will come up with something, maybe something similar to your home lighting adapted to the camper…

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