changing to LED lights

[lamoz]

Sorry if I'm posting things that have been covered already but I did a search and nothing came up. I keep seeing how everyone is changing their light bulbs to led lights. Obviously a good idea to save current. I will do the same, so my question is what type of leds should I use,
I can just remove the old bulbs and wire in new ones, do I keep the light fixtures? in other words do keep the light covers?
I'm sure I can just buy the lights from ebay..
Suggestions please and thank you

[pugslyyy]

dhgate.com is another great resource. all of the bulbs are coming out of China, so why not buy direct (but it can take 3-4 weeks).

[BigDaddyHfx]

Make sure you get the correct bulb base for your fixture. I bought some ebay lights that came with 3 interchangeable bases - none of which fit my trailer.

Check the base on your present bulbs and note if they are single or double contact.

There are two types of LED that you can get - panels or corn cob. I think which type you get is up to you. I ordered 2 panels (wrong base) the fist time and then ordered 6 panels with the correct base. I placed 1 panel in each of 6 fixtures since we rarely turn on both lights in a fixture.

[Hondavalk]

2012Coleman wrote:

Hondavalk wrote:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002QA386A/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BRBBYO/ref=oh_details_o08_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got these from Amazon. The first bulb is very white. The second is warm white. They carry a large variety as does E bay. As a general rule a light fixture that's designed for LEDs will produce a better result. That being said I'm happy with my results with the replacement bulbs.

So which one do you like better - very white or warm white?

For the bedrooms I used the warm white and I prefer the white every ware else. In the beginning I bought 4 of each to see how I liked each set

[tenbear]

Here are links to 3 classic LED threads.

My LEDs
How to convert to LED lighting
Low priced leds, fast shipping

Buy 1 or 2 and see how you like them before buying a whole bunch.

I personally like the 36-1210 panels and the 18-5050 cob lights. Warm white is the color of the incandescent lights.

[zenbuck]

I just did mine...

LED Install

[Campfire_Time]

Hondavalk wrote:
Also my converter fan runs less often so hoping it might extend it's life

Ah yes! Another potential benefit. I wondered how hard we were making the convertor work when turning on the main set of lights.

[lamoz]

thanks for the info guys.. Sound like I'm buying from Ebay 🙂

[2012Coleman]

Hondavalk wrote:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002QA386A/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BRBBYO/ref=oh_details_o08_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got these from Amazon. The first bulb is very white. The second is warm white. They carry a large variety as does E bay. As a general rule a light fixture that's designed for LEDs will produce a better result. That being said I'm happy with my results with the replacement bulbs.

So which one do you like better - very white or warm white?

[Hondavalk]

X2 on the heat difference. Not only more comfortable,I feel its better on the light lens. Also my converter fan runs less often so hoping it might extend it's life

[Campfire_Time]

Our purpose in going with LEDs had nothing to do with boon docking and everything to do with how hot those fixtures get. There is a light right above the couch. If the light is on and we sit on the couch you could feel the heat radiate off of the fixture. My wife would not leave them on if we were not in the camper.

We got the cheap e-bay replacement bulbs and couldn't be happier. Beware, you can buy from online retailers, but you will pay anywhere from $3-$12 each. I had to replace 14 bulbs. 15 from Ebay cost me $21.

[Sandia_Man]

We did a full LED conversion and they have been performing flawlessly going on their third camping season. Used the same receptacles and purchased the majority of the LEDs from Ebay, although I did purchase a few from truck stops. In either case, all LEDs were manufactured in China, only noticeable difference was the LEDs I didn't purchased from Ebay were about 4 times the price. Great mod for those who tend to camp off the grid often, it almost seemed that I added an extra battery the first time we camped without hook-ups.

[paulcardoza]

One more thing...... Check to be sure they are dimmable,if you will be using them in a dimmable fixture and want them to be adjustable.

[Hondavalk]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002QA386A/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BRBBYO/ref=oh_details_o08_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got these from Amazon. The first bulb is very white. The second is warm white. They carry a large variety as does E bay. As a general rule a light fixture that's designed for LEDs will produce a better result. That being said I'm happy with my results with the replacement bulbs.

[Effy]

paulcardoza wrote:
The easiest and least expensive way is to simply swap out the bulbs in your current fixtures.

Things to concern yourself with are:
1. The brightness of the LED bulbs you buy
2. The color temp of the bulbs you buy (cool is bluish light and warm is more like yellowish incandescent light)

x2 - I wasted a lot of money swapping my bulbs out not paying attention to color. Could not stand the cool bluish light. Ended up swapping again.