Replacing inside 12v lights in older Roadtrek

[rstl99]

New to me 2001 Roadtrek has the original incandescent bulbs inside (and the original circular fluorescent lamp above the back table).
I suppose it's good practice now to replace to LED's, to save on some amperage draw on the house batteries.
I'm a bit mystified by the plethora of options on amazon, and have gone through a few youtube videos with no clear indication of what kind of LED I should put in there.
Hopefully some of you can guide me to a decent choice.

Basically two lamps in the Roadtrek (see photo). On the right is the 1141 automotive bulb found in all the lights except the ones above the dash and on each side at the top front, those are the 906 bulb on the left in the photo.

Any suggestions on decent LED replacements for both?

I assume I may be recommended to just replace the original light fixture above the back table (fluorescent) and go with an LED light?

THanks a lot.

p.s. I'm amazed at how stock is my Roadtrek's inside. People on youtube love to tinker with their interiors, upgrade this and that, but the PO's of mine seemed to have been content to just live with the stock setup.

[mkguitar]

I prefer the light color/temperature of phillips LEDS


some cheap brands are hard on the eyes, I like warm light which looks incandescent or "brown"

you need adapters- bayonet to bi-pin


I bought mine from this seller:


https://www.ebay.com/itm/38209784431...wAAOxygj5SeBrw


I bought my leds at home depot, I use different types depending on location and task- galley, reading etc
On some of my dual fixtures I have a low lumen and a high lumen to match the light level needed


I used the Philips 3G4-1 and the Philips 1.2 watt 105 lumen leds #454116


I left the #93 bulbs as they were, I rarely if ever use these fixtures, in my van they are in the wrong position for reading


it's over 5 years and I'm happy with this- the cost was about $6 for fixture incl. adapter


if I turn on every led in the van...I am using the same current as 1 of the old 1156 lamps.
The lower energy use helps us extend or off grid camping


at one point I tried Philips LED 2 watt, 195 Lumens at 3000ºK #909001131, these were too bright to my taste





mike

[SteveJ]

When ordering LED bulbs make sure that their voltage is a range. i.e. 8-16 volts. The 12 volt bulbs tend to get all wonky and burn out with the up to 14+ volts in the system when charging.

[rstl99]

Originally Posted by mkguitar

you need adapters- bayonet to bi-pin

I bought mine from this seller:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/38209784431...wAAOxygj5SeBrw
mike

Thanks Mike for all the suggestions, including the adapters which I've just ordered a 10 pack! I'll carefully look at all your other suggestions. As you say the front lights are likely not used very often so may well stay as is.

I'll need to figure out the outside light but mine is riveted on so I'll have to take that apart to see what bulb is in there (likely another 1141 I would think)

Originally Posted by SteveJ

When ordering LED bulbs make sure that their voltage is a range. i.e. 8-16 volts. The 12 volt bulbs tend to get all wonky and burn out with the up to 14+ volts in the system when charging.

Thanks for that Steve, very good to know!!

[engnrsrule]

Most of the bulbs in my 2006 Roadtrek were swapped to LEDs by prior owner, and were of the bayonet direct plug in type. I had one of the undercounter fluorescent that went out and decided to change those to LED also. That was a bit more involved, as the fixtures had to be disassembled and have the ballast removed, and be rewired for the LED tube lights. These were also 2-way lights, with a 2 position rocker switch that lit either the tube lights or a smaller incandescent. I retained the small incandescent as this is a nice warm low intensity light good at night.

[Bud]

Originally Posted by rstl99

New to me 2001 Roadtrek has the original incandescent bulbs inside (and the original circular fluorescent lamp above the back table).
I suppose it's good practice now to replace to LED's, to save on some amperage draw on the house batteries.
I'm a bit mystified by the plethora of options on amazon, and have gone through a few youtube videos with no clear indication of what kind of LED I should put in there.
Hopefully some of you can guide me to a decent choice.

Basically two lamps in the Roadtrek (see photo). On the right is the 1141 automotive bulb found in all the lights except the ones above the dash and on each side at the top front, those are the 906 bulb on the left in the photo.

Any suggestions on decent LED replacements for both?

I assume I may be recommended to just replace the original light fixture above the back table (fluorescent) and go with an LED light?

THanks a lot.

p.s. I'm amazed at how stock is my Roadtrek's inside. People on youtube love to tinker with their interiors, upgrade this and that, but the PO's of mine seemed to have been content to just live with the stock setup.

Replaced the "circular fluorescent" with this 8.5 inch, not cheap but very nice with dimmer:
lamphttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01C5NMT1M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

[rstl99]

Originally Posted by Bud

Replaced the "circular fluorescent" with this 8.5 inch, not cheap but very nice with dimmer:
lamp https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

Thanks for the suggestion. Looks very nice indeed and I love the dimmability aspect of it, for the interior space at night.

I'm not someone who cares for very brightly lit rooms, so that's one reason I'm going to be careful what I choose as LED substitute for the various lamps, as some LEDs tend to be very bright indeed, and likely too bright for my preference. Anyway, I realize there are many many ways to setup suitable lighting inside a Class B, and it's nice in a way that with mine I have a "virgin" original setup to modify to my tastes.

[rogerstg]

I replaced my 1141 bulbs with these
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The 3K light is easy on the eyes.

I left the fluorescent alone since they are already fairly efficient and rarely keep them on for any length of time anyway.

[GeorgeRa]

I used lights by Command Electronics, some of them have built in switch. All LED lights I use are “Warm” color, somewhere from 2800–3200 K. 4000 K und up tend to be too daylight / bluish for my taste.

https://www.commandelectronics.com/shop

Many places carry these lights, so check prices. I found E-trailer to be the priciest scavenger, check Amazon or Walmart.

I installed them in my 2013 Camper Van, no issues.

[CanuckRV]

You didn't have to get adapters there are direct replacements.
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Gryphon]

Originally Posted by rstl99

I'll need to figure out the outside light but mine is riveted on so I'll have to take that apart to see what bulb is in there (likely another 1141 I would think)

The porch light fixture is riveted on but the lens does come off, so you can replace the bulb without messing with the rivets. Just be careful when removing the lens, replacements are hard to come by.


As for which bulbs to use, I used cool bulbs in the kitchen & cab areas for maximum visibility and warmer lights everywhere else.

[mkguitar]

Originally Posted by CanuckRV

You didn't have to get adapters there are direct replacements.

I use the adapters as it opens up a galaxy of quality bi pin leds

I have yet to see any led with the quality of light the philips leds put out
and I have over 5 years on these without failure


my first efforts were bayonet led replacements such as for turn signals- these flickered, failed and had horrible light quality- wasted money


with adapters and the philips leds I've chosen I'm at 6 or 7 bucks for fixture




Mike

[Lou]

Years ago we replaced our PW's incandescent lights with good quality LEDs. We carefully followed all of the instructions. One of the lights blew apart on our first trip with them installed (broke glass cover etc) . We asked our neighbour who is an electrical engineer and he suggested putting back one incandescent light. That solved the problem and they are all still working fine.

[GeorgeRa]

Originally Posted by Lou

Years ago we replaced our PW's incandescent lights with good quality LEDs. We carefully followed all of the instructions. One of the lights blew apart on our first trip with them installed (broke glass cover etc) . We asked our neighbour who is an electrical engineer and he suggested putting back one incandescent light. That solved the problem and they are all still working fine.

I used LED bulbs / lights for years, never had any blow-ups. Perhaps your bulb was not at the quality level you were let to believe.

[CanuckRV]

I also have been using LED's for years this is our 3rd RV and never an issue.

[Mfm]

Originally Posted by engnrsrule

Most of the bulbs in my 2006 Roadtrek were swapped to LEDs by prior owner, and were of the bayonet direct plug in type. I had one of the undercounter fluorescent that went out and decided to change those to LED also. That was a bit more involved, as the fixtures had to be disassembled and have the ballast removed, and be rewired for the LED tube lights. These were also 2-way lights, with a 2 position rocker switch that lit either the tube lights or a smaller incandescent. I retained the small incandescent as this is a nice warm low intensity light good at night.

I also have 3 Hg fluorescent lights in 2014/15 RoadTrek and took the cover off to take a look. Didn't see a ballast. Does anyone know if the ballast is under the fixture. I looked at a tube video, but removing the ballast and cutting various wires looking a little daunting. Any advice?

[rtbill]

Originally Posted by Gryphon

The porch light fixture is riveted on but the lens does come off, so you can replace the bulb without messing with the rivets. Just be careful when removing the lens, replacements are hard to come by.

The guy who repainted our 200 Roadtrek lost the lens. I cut and fitted a piece of thin lexan. I glued it on with clear caulk since the LED bulb will outlast the van.

[rvsprinterguy]

I've also gone through all the lights in my coach and replaced them with LEDs. The latest replacement was the two overhead fluorescent-tube fixtures made by a company called Thin-Lite, an OEM suppliers to many RV builders. I bought the updated LED version, model 766. The advantage to me was the fixtures were an exact fit.

[Road Toad]

Here is what we used:
Above table: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Brake lights: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bayonet based: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Wedge based: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[davef]

I replaced all of the interior bulbs. Problem was, the LED replacement bulbs shine light in every direction because the base can rotate. So then I replaced the entire fixture. The fixtures have flat panels of LEDs so they all point outward. $30 for 5 fixtures on Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also replaced all of the dash lights, running lights, backup lights, porch light, and so on by finding equivalent LED bulbs on Amazon. The only one to be really careful about is the turn signals. The flasher depends on a certain amount of current to operate and the LEDs are too efficient. For the chassis bulbs I wasn't so concerned about energy usage as life. No more burned out bulbs.

The porch light lens is a Entrance Step Light Lens 510732-01. At least it is on my rig.