LED replacement bulbs

[Joesjunk]

Has anyone tried the LED replacement for the 1156 bulbs in the TM?
They are about $17.00 each but they would reduce the battery drain significantly. ( http://www.ledtrailerlights.com/stt/1157.htm )

[Bill]

Joe -

I have not tried it, and I'm not sure why anyone would. According to the web site referenced in your post, it is primarily for replacement of turn/brake lights. But when turn/brake lights are illuminated, they are powered by the tow vehicle's alternator, and power consumption is not an issue.

It says that you could use them for interior applications, but also says that they are dimmer and a different color, and so they may not be acceptable.

And the site doesn't specify a current draw for either the original incandescent light, or the replacement LED. That makes an evaluation pretty hard.

So why do it? If you want to replace interior lights, you might find better alternatives at places like theledlight.com, or any of several other sources.

I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but there is a lot of scamming going on in LED lights.

Bill

I am not sure I would switch for the running( stop side lithgt etc) as they are powered by the TV as Bill states. One thing to be careful of is that many of the retrofit bulbs are not DOT approved for use in Motor vehicles. I have some retrofit bulbs inside to save power, but they are very different color light. I have dual fixtures in several places and replaced one side of the dual with LED retrofits so I have an easy option.

[B_and_D]

Over the years it seems like some people have tried these and really weren't too happy with them. In my case, with my older converter, it would seem that the LED lights would burn out before their time when our TM was hooked up to shore power, and that to prevent this, they would have to be removed and have the regular 1157 bulbs put in. Things get so harried when we're on the road that I knew this wouldn't work for us.

I replaced the light over the sink, over the stove, and in the front hatch (over the dinette) with fluorescent lights. They're not as efficient as the LED's, but they give off a lot more light than the 1157 bulbs and use a lot less power. The only problem I had was with the one over the dinette in the hatch, I had to send it back twice to Thin-Lite twice because it stopped working right after I put them in. The third one has been fine after over a year.

I'm setting in my TM typing this using an LED to see by the replacement in the vent light came from J.C. Whitney as a replacement for interior dome lights. You can read the thread that started a month ago which pointed out a source on EBAY for $9.97.

I went ahead and bought one (straight from Hong Kong and used PayPal) and soldered it inline with the present light fixture and I'm seeing the light!!!!!!! I' m getting a few more to make it half and half LED / Incandescent.

So far so good I keep mine open all the time and play with the lights all week as I'm goofing off in the TM and they really light it up.

Good Luck
Bob

Originally Posted by B_and_D

I replaced the light over the sink, over the stove, and in the front hatch (over the dinette) with fluorescent lights. They're not as efficient as the LED's, but they give off a lot more light than the 1157 bulbs and use a lot less power. The only problem I had was with the one over the dinette in the hatch, I had to send it back twice to Thin-Lite twice because it stopped working right after I put them in. The third one has been fine after over a year.

On my 2916, the lights on the back shell are all florescent, the front shell lights are "normal" incandescent. IIRC, the incandescent lights actually draw less amps than the florescent (although I think the florescent give more light). I used to think the florescent lights were less power-hungry, but then I found the actual current draws somewhere. That said, you might have more efficient florescent lights than in mine.

[Joesjunk]

The interior light bulbs are 1156 not 1157. The 1156 is single element and the 1157 is a dual element like the running and brake light bulbs on the back of the TM. I've been looking locally for a white 1156 that I could just pop into the existing socket. Then see how much light it produces. No luck locally.

[B_and_D]

Originally Posted by Joesjunk

The interior light bulbs are 1156 not 1157. The 1156 is single element and the 1157 is a dual element like the running and brake light bulbs on the back of the TM.

You're right, I've got 1157 on the brain because I have had to replace the ones in my car twice in the last year or so.

I have been thinking of trying a few of these and see which ones would work. a couple of them even offer a warm white version.

http://www.ledlight.com/1156-1157-au...ed-lights.aspx

[B_and_D]

Originally Posted by grakin

On my 2916, the lights on the back shell are all florescent, the front shell lights are "normal" incandescent. IIRC, the incandescent lights actually draw less amps than the florescent (although I think the florescent give more light). I used to think the florescent lights were less power-hungry, but then I found the actual current draws somewhere. That said, you might have more efficient florescent lights than in mine.

I looked up the amp draw for the 1156 bulbs, what I found was they draw 2.1 amps each (times 2 for the dinette light totaling 4.2) and my double fluorescent lamp that gives off much more light draws 1.5 amps, so this seems like a good reduction. Are the amps the draw on the battery? From what I've read things are always in terms of amp hours. We are really happy with that lamp inside the front hatch, it lights up the whole front of the trailer. The LED's sound good too. There are some posts on RV.net where people have added LED lamps right next to their other fixtures to use when they are on battery power.