When you roll your RV or trailer out to a music festival or campground, the rig’s lighting can be an overlooked source of functionality and aesthetic. But do you have the right light for the job? An easy hack which gets a lot of attention is upgrading your RV’s lights to LED.
Easy to replace but just as easily overlooked, LEDs have many advantages over conventional (incandescent) bulbs. Only if you see the light. LED lights last much, much longer than conventional bulbs, and they have dropped in price over the last few years. So it’s a no brainer to upgrade your bulbs.
Your rig can benefit – both inside and out. The yellow LED running lights that are located on the side of your rig, and red LEDs along the rear top, are very often incandescent. Even on new rigs, which brag about how “green” and eco-friendly they are, may have interior LED lights, but may not have exterior LED lights.
When boondocking, or “dry” camping with only battery or solar power, the energy you save switching to LED bulbs is well worth it, both in terms of one-fourth or less battery consumption, and in a large reduction in unwanted heat.
Many still have predominantly incandescent bulbs inside and out that burn out relatively fast. Inside your rig you may or may not already have LED lights, depending on the age of your rig and the manufacturer.
What’s your fix? If you have incandescent bulbs, inexpensive LED replacements are quick and (usually) easy to exchange. Truth be told, it can sometimes be a challenge to remove the plastic lenses that cover the bulbs. If it’s a struggle, don’t force it. Ask for advice on a Facebook page dedicated to your particular rig, or, search on Youtube. Failure to pop the lens in just the right way can lead to cracking the lens, especially if they are older and brittle.
LED bulb choices have been improving. Options now include the color of the light (temperature, measured in Kelvin) and in the brightness (wattage/lumens).
Most RV manufacturers do not put much consideration into the light output or color of the LED fixtures they install, as they are usually looking for cheap options. Most RVs have LED lights that are too bright, and too white for many. Very few RVs have dimmers for the overhead interior lights. Dimmers can be installed, though it’s important to make sure they are compatible with 12V LED bulbs. If your fixtures have actual LED bulbs that can removed, it is often possible to replace your led bulbs with a lower wattage/lumen bulb. Most newer LED interior fixtures will not have replaceable bulbs, so the entire fixture would need to be replaced. Fortunately they are often available very inexpensively on Amazon.
The outside awning light on our rig is one of the newer LED ribbon style lights. Its so bright and strikingly white it has an ice blue hue to it. It is not possible to use this light at night, it is so blinding. Carefree of Colorado has nice options for LED awning lights.
Instead, we almost always use the LED lights we mounted under the coach. These cost next to nothing and came with a remote control that not only can dim the recessed under-coach lights, but can change the color and pattern.
LED lights can be super bright, but you don’t have to live with blindingly bright LED lights as manufacturers figure out how to improve the aesthetic look of their RV lighting. LED lights are now very inexpensive and readily available.
Stay tuned for more posts on RV lighting hacks that will brighten your adventure. In the meantime, Keep your Love Light on!