LED Bulb Replacement

I am getting conflicting information on the net about replacing my interior RV incandescent light bults with LED's. There are two things I am trying to find out if anyone here knows.

1. Are there any problems I should be aware of with a simple bulb swap? A bulb swap seems the cheapest route to take or is a complete housing replacement made for LED's more trouble-free?

2. It seems that replacement LED's do not put out the same amount of lumens as a similar incandescent. Is it just as simple as acquiring the right number of LED diodes (15 or 25 diodes) or is it just something you have to accept?

Ideally I want the same brightness as OEM otherwise I will just replace a couple LED bulbs just for boondocking situations. I don't want to take on the expense of replacing most bulbs and have to put up with inferior lighting when hooked up to shore power.

thanks, Kim

Hi Kim,
I replaced some of our bulbs to see if we liked them and what kind of difference they made. We are really pleased with just the replacement ones we got. I cant tell you what lumen's they are, but they are a whiter light, with hardly no heat.


I did purchase ours from someone in the Montana forum, here is the post I put in about them. I'm sure if you send him a note, he can tell you the info. Be sure to mention the Wildcat Forum if you e-mail him.

http://www.wildcatcamperforum.com/t4702-led-replacement-bulbs

Do you know off-hand if he has them in warm white? I find the cool whites too stark and institutional. Warm white just feels more cozy to me

Thanks!

Kim wrote:Do you know off-hand if he has them in warm white? I find the cool whites too stark and institutional. Warm white just feels more cozy to me

That's the biggest problem with LEDs that we've seen. Trying to get the right color (what's called temperature) is the most important factor in making the switch. The cool whites just don't look right, especially in an RV.

Kim wrote:Do you know off-hand if he has them in warm white? I find the cool whites too stark and institutional. Warm white just feels more cozy to me

Thanks!

Kim,

I think they are the warm white, but it would be best to send him a note and ask.......

I have replace blubs and replaced fixtures. Brighter light light when I replaced fixtures. I will see if I can find the web site for fixtures. I only replaced what I might to use for dry camping and.or park use. The only exception is the lights above the vanity.

What you want to look for is color temperature.

For reference, incandescent bulbs are between 2,700k and 3,300k

Warm white LEDs are between 2,000k and 4,000k

Cool white LEDs are between 5,500k and 10,000k

Natural white LEDs are between 4,000k and 5,000k

We have replaced all of our interior (K-9010 & K-9020) and exterior fixtures with LED's from http://commandelectronics.com/led-tail-lights.html#LedInteriorUpgradeKit I had tried replacing the bulbs, but was not satisfied with the color and light output. The new ones are brighter than the OEM's and cool to the touch but warm in color. If I turn on all of the interior lights, it is hard to notice any battery drain. I have actually had people come up to me when I stopped asking what kind of light I have because the stoplights are so visible in the bright sun and are unbelievably visible at night..

Looks like the right color temperature. I'm just having a hard time with the $24 cost to replace each bulb. That's more than $500 to replace all the lights in my trailer (I'm guessing at the number of bulbs needed from my head since the trailer is in storage). If I dry camped more, this would be a no brainer at 1/3 the power draw.

@WildcatChris - Forest River should offer a LED interior lighting package option. It'd should be cheaper than an after market retrofit with Forest River's potential buying volume.

That really would be a good option to offer. It is expensive, that is why I did it in stages.

mattebury wrote:Looks like the right color temperature. I'm just having a hard time with the $24 cost to replace each bulb. That's more than $500 to replace all the lights in my trailer (I'm guessing at the number of bulbs needed from my head since the trailer is in storage). If I dry camped more, this would be a no brainer at 1/3 the power draw.

@WildcatChris - Forest River should offer a LED interior lighting package option. It'd should be cheaper than an after market retrofit with Forest River's potential buying volume.

Chris mention on my factory tour that they would be moving to LED's in the future. They moved up to halogen lighting and than will move to LED's. Timeframe is unknown.



Earl

mattebury wrote:@WildcatChris - Forest River should offer a LED interior lighting package option. It'd should be cheaper than an after market retrofit with Forest River's potential buying volume.

We've been working on this as an ongoing project for almost 2 years. The costs and real-world usability have only recently started to meet our requirements. I'm hoping we'll get there soon!