Home Sweet Airstream! 1966 26’ Overlander

[Globie64]

Great project- i'm always so impressed to see how much progress people make in a short time. We did cork too, Cork Flooring : Cork Floating Floor : Flooring Supplies : Floor Materials : Non Toxic Floor : Amcork.com, tiles and I'm happy with it, in both my house and trailer. I think it may be important to seal the sub floor first, to minimize moisture that can get into the tiles, ours shrink and expand in the trailer, not in the house.

[brodjeaw]

Touring Dan: I also have an Overlander twin 26'. Interested in switching all exterior lighting to LEDs as when towing with lights on we lose dash lighting on our tow vehicle. Any insight you can supply will be appreciated.

Jean

[livinlightly]

Thanks for the feedback on cork!

[TouringDan]

Originally Posted by brodjeaw

Touring Dan: I also have an Overlander twin 26'. Interested in switching all exterior lighting to LEDs as when towing with lights on we lose dash lighting on our tow vehicle. Any insight you can supply will be appreciated.

Jean

Jean

I don't see any reason to go to exterior LED lights, as the TV alternator is providing the power to operate the lights while towing. I think that you may have an electrical problem that you will need to solve. LED lights won't help.

LED lights on the interior help a lot when you are boondocking. They only require about 10% of the battery energy that incandescent lights use, and they give off only 10% of the heat also. This makes LED interior lights a no brainer. I can tell you how to do it for low $ if you are interested.

Dan

[livinlightly]

Dan,

Would love to hear your tips on cheap LED conversion!

I was thinking of just buying the LED version of bulbs to fit my OEM fixtures...

[TouringDan]

Nick

Go to post 9 in the link in post 20 above. This provides the details of my LED installation in the stock overhead lights of my Tradewind. I ordered warm white 36 SMD light panels from Ebay. There are various suppliers you can order from directly from China. The cost is about $3-$4 each including shipping. Here is one link:

Car Interior Light Panel 36 SMD LED+T10+BA9S+Festoon Bulb Adapter DC 12V White | eBay

If this does not work, just plug into Ebay words like car interior light panel 36 SMD and you should find a few suppliers. I have been very happy with the results. The light output is more than the 4 original incandescent bulbs that were in each light fixture and of course the heat output is only about 10%.

I have also ordered some direct plug in Bulbs with 18 SMD on each bulb. I plan to use these on my reading lights and possibly some exterior lights. Here is the link for ordering these:

1156 BA15S SMD 18 5050 LED White Light Brake Bulb Car Stop Turn Tail DC 12V | eBay

The cost of these bulbs is only $1.88 each with free shipping.

Lastly there is a thread about $5 LED lights that is current. It includes info about ordering 16ft of ribbon LED lights and how to install them. I have ordered two strips plus a dimmer for $25. I think there are lots of places to put these light strips in an Airstream. I will post the link when I find it.

Dan

[TouringDan]

Nick

Here is the link for ordering the 16ft LED ribbon light strips:
Cost was only $10 for each 16ft Strip.

Flexible Light Strip 300 SMD White LED Ribbon 5 Meter or 16 Feet By Ledwholesalers,2026wh - Amazon.com


Dan

[livinlightly]

Its been WAY to long since I did an update! The trailer has come a long way since I've posted last and thought a quick update was due. Here are some past update videos + our most recent tour video.

Progress Video #3
Airstream Remodel Progress Video Update #3 - YouTube

Progress Video #4
Vintage Airstream Romodel Update #4 by: livinlightly.com - YouTube

Latest Tour Video
http://youtu.be/dRHd0DYNyh8

(Darn! I forgot how to embed videos...could a moderator help me out?)


Cheers!

-NICK