Replaced my 921s incandescents with LEDs

[Mrs Evans]

Wow! What a difference! The thingy that controls the power to the trailer never 'turned on' once with ALL the LED lights turned on. Usually if I turn one or two lights on I can hear a noise 'turn on' from where the electrical panel is and with every light I turn on it gets louder. Now, having replaced with LEDS it doesn't turn on at all. I appreciate the forum recommendations for which LEDs to buy and went with what I read from Allistah on this post: http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...nts-69974.html

I love the result! I put the 'brighter' ones over the kitchen area and one over the bath vanity. Everything else, I used the less bright ones - I chose warm spectrum over the cool for all of them. I've attached pics

First, here is a side by side comparison of the old (left) vs the new (right). I may not have let the LED warm up enough. Also keep in mind that I did not use 360 LED bulbs, but the flat ones. Still like them lots :-)



And here is the view looking straight up at them:



Finally, here is a before and after 'big picture' comparison:
Before:



And After:



Hope this helps someone else and if you haven't changed yours to LEDs yet, please do it! So worth the $$ and effort.

PS - one more helpful tip about getting the covers off I found on this youtube video:

LED Bulb Replacement RV and Travel Trailers - YouTube

It made the task easy peasy

[f5moab]

I went LEDs in my trailer since I disperse camp a lot and don't like running the generator that much to keep the batteries up. Slowly converting my lights in the house to LEDs, and my outside security lights are all LEDs now.

[bob7794]

Just to let people know...you can get LED bulbs much cheaper on Ebay. You have to search but you can find free shipping also. I did my whole trailer for about $15 two years ago and am very happy. No matter where you get them, they all come from China so don't be afraid of that. Sometimes it might take weeks instead of days to get them but I think it's worth it. Be sure to search for type of bulb you need to find what you want easier.

[techntrek]

Ditto to what bob7794 said, ebay is the cheap way to go.

BTW, Mrs Evans, they don't have any warm-up time like CFLs. Full brightness from the first microsecond.

[Mrs Evans]

Originally Posted by techntrek

Ditto to what bob7794 said, ebay is the cheap way to go.

BTW, Mrs Evans, they don't have any warm-up time like CFLs. Full brightness from the first microsecond.

Yep, ebay is cheaper but Amazon is faster and I wanted to get them in before my trip

I guess it was just how they appeared to me once I had them all in as far as seeming brighter :-)

[elind]

Does anyone have interference with the radio on and the LEDs on? My FM radio cuts out when the lights are turned on.

[MrJoe]

While watching a weak station on the tv, I'll lose the station by turning on the closest led light. The other LEDs have no affect.


Sent from my iPhone using Forest River Forums

[RPAspey]

Originally Posted by elind

Does anyone have interference with the radio on and the LEDs on? My FM radio cuts out when the lights are turned on.

Pretty common. I just deal with it. Some say there's a cure, I hope they'll chime in for you.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by elind

Does anyone have interference with the radio on and the LEDs on? My FM radio cuts out when the lights are turned on.

If your LEDs were "OEM", contact Forest River (your Division) customer service. I know some have had all the OEM ones replaced "under warranty" for this issue. (Unshielded and very electronically noisy LED circuits). This was a big issue at the last Rally.


If not, I suggest replacing the LEDs in the fixtures that are causing your problem with new ones (the RF interference issue should have been fixed - even in the cheap import ones - by now).

[techntrek]

Originally Posted by Mrs Evans

Yep, ebay is cheaper but Amazon is faster and I wanted to get them in before my trip

I guess it was just how they appeared to me once I had them all in as far as seeming brighter :-)

I've noticed brightness and even color variations depending on where I stand. Partly because the LED "paddle" lights are directional, and partly because the lens covers are slightly prismatic, and magnify in the direction of the floor. Nature of the beast. Enjoy the LEDs, I am!

[VT Skier]

MRS Evans,
Nice trailer ours is the exact same one same colors! We are picking it up finally this week. By chance what model #'s did you use wattage etc. I know I'm being lazy......

[Mrs Evans]

Originally Posted by VT Skier

MRS Evans,
Nice trailer ours is the exact same one same colors! We are picking it up finally this week. By chance what model #'s did you use wattage etc. I know I'm being lazy......

How exciting! We are really enjoying our trailer If you're asking about the LEDs, I wanted them fast so I bought mine from 'GRV-LED' off of Amazon.

For the ones over the kitchen area and above the bathroom vanity, I chose the 24-5050 SMD super bright warm white. They are 3 watts and the lumens are 320-350. Link is: Amazon.com: GRV T10 921 194 24-5050 SMD LED Bulb lamp Super Bright Warm White AC/DC 12V -28V Pack of 2: Automotive

For the rest of them, I chose the 24-3528 SMD super bright warm white. They are 1.5 watts and the lumens are 90-110. Link is: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Personally, I liked how they turned out Some may like a more bright or luminous output than the 3528's so keep that in mind when choosing, but I would definitely choose a warm or natural white over the cool white to avoid a blue hue - this is not from personal experience but from what others on the forum have recommended

I hope everything goes well for you

[elind]

Originally Posted by Herk7769

If your LEDs were "OEM", contact Forest River (your Division) customer service. I know some have had all the OEM ones replaced "under warranty" for this issue. (Unshielded and very electronically noisy LED circuits). This was a big issue at the last Rally.


If not, I suggest replacing the LEDs in the fixtures that are causing your problem with new ones (the RF interference issue should have been fixed - even in the cheap import ones - by now).

My Wildcat came with LEDs so this would be a warrant issue. I talked to my dealer and they told me it needs to be rewired to a separate circuit. But I think your right, new LEDs will do the trick. Where's Wildcat Chris when you need him. (working for Jayco) But I do have all the Wildcat numbers to call.

[Herk7769]

Originally Posted by elind

My Wildcat came with LEDs so this would be a warrant issue. I talked to my dealer and they told me it needs to be rewired to a separate circuit. But I think your right, new LEDs will do the trick. Where's Wildcat Chris when you need him. (working for Jayco) But I do have all the Wildcat numbers to call.

I know for a fact that re-wiring was not required; just light replacement.

[onetonford]

1 word of caution if you buy on Ebay make sure they give you a tracking number if they don't cancel the order before the 30 days are up or you lose I found out the hard way had bought from 1 vendor and it turned out to be a scammer. I t was only a few dollars but I chalk it up to live and learn. I thought I checked him out from the reviews he had but they can be manipulated by the seller to look good. So be real careful I am going to buy from Amazon from now on I rather pay more and get what I ordered..