I recently had a truck driver pull up next to me and tell me my camper taillights weren’t working. Strange, I thought, since I had just seen them working the night before as I backed into a camping spot. I thanked him and pulled over to check them for myself, and just as I thought, they were working.
I did notice that the lenses were pretty hazy, and when you looked down on them like a truck driver would be, they seemed very dim. This was also late in the day, and I was heading east on I-40, so the sun would have been shining on the back of the camper. I figured I better do something about this.
The camper taillights are Bargman three-lens type 84, with two red and one backup light. Dual filament bulbs behind the red lenses. I had tried the replacement LED bulbs a few years ago, but wasn’t happy with the results. They didn’t seem as bright as the incandescent bulbs, so I didn’t use them. In hindsight, the lenses were probably the problem then too. These are recessed, not surface mount lights, so my preference was to not have to replace the entire assembly. I had also replaced the backup lights with LED floods, and wasn’t going to give those up. I need those bright backup lights!
I found that Bargman makes a replacement LED upgrade lens kit with a dual-filament bulb type plug. The cheapest I could find was on Amazon.
Bargman LED Upgrade Kit
Due to the light, these aren’t great pics, but hopefully you can tell that the new taillights are much brighter.
Old lenses
New lenses (sorry, this is the best the iPhone could do)
So, not a cheap upgrade at about $115, but they are truly “plug and play”, and it sure beats getting rear-ended.
:):)
I did notice that the lenses were pretty hazy, and when you looked down on them like a truck driver would be, they seemed very dim. This was also late in the day, and I was heading east on I-40, so the sun would have been shining on the back of the camper. I figured I better do something about this.
The camper taillights are Bargman three-lens type 84, with two red and one backup light. Dual filament bulbs behind the red lenses. I had tried the replacement LED bulbs a few years ago, but wasn’t happy with the results. They didn’t seem as bright as the incandescent bulbs, so I didn’t use them. In hindsight, the lenses were probably the problem then too. These are recessed, not surface mount lights, so my preference was to not have to replace the entire assembly. I had also replaced the backup lights with LED floods, and wasn’t going to give those up. I need those bright backup lights!
I found that Bargman makes a replacement LED upgrade lens kit with a dual-filament bulb type plug. The cheapest I could find was on Amazon.
Bargman LED Upgrade Kit
Due to the light, these aren’t great pics, but hopefully you can tell that the new taillights are much brighter.
Old lenses
New lenses (sorry, this is the best the iPhone could do)
So, not a cheap upgrade at about $115, but they are truly “plug and play”, and it sure beats getting rear-ended.
:):)
