Artificial Light

[thomdial]

Originally Posted by ROBERT CROSS

Well you might try this.....

Bob

Great link.

[Hoonanea]

Great timing on this thread. I, too, have not been a fan of the harsh LED lights. The LEDs in mine must be the "bright white" because there's nothing warm about them at all. I appreciate their efficiency and their cool operating temperature. Those are features that would certainly come in handy if I ever boondock. So far I've always had shore power. Because I wanted the more traditional warm glow of incandescent lights I decided to purchase 3 of the wall sconce fixtures used in the Serenity models and install them in the front of the trailer on opposite sides of the pano windows and a single light in the corner bedroom. The part numbers are 512403 (light fixture, $51.75) and 512404 (lamp shade, $18.55).

I'm a fan of dimmer switches so my installations included dimmers. I'm very happy with the outcome. The light in the bedroom is great for reading or surfing with the iPad. The factory overhead LED light was just way too bright and it was directly overhead. The wall sconce can be dimmed and it is off to one side and high on the wall and works great for reading. It's also a good mood light to leave on at night.

I found unused available wiring from the factory behind the left panel inside the upper cabinet. This is in the area where the overhead speaker is. I had to empty the cabinet and remove the left panel to access it. I used a volt meter to test it and discovered the wires had power. From there, it was pretty simple to fish the wire down the wall between the two aluminum skins to the place where I had drilled a hole for the light. Getting the square hole for the dimmer switch was a little more challenging.

The lights in the front are installed in the same place that the factory uses for the Serenity models. Mine is an International and did not come with these fixtures. Lucky for me, though, it appears Airstream uses the same wiring harness for the Serenity and the International. The necessary wires were right behind the wall where the holes were drilled for installing the lights. And, of course, the dimmer gave me an additional challenge. Because I wanted one dimmer to control both lights I had to fish a wire from the switch on the curb side by the door up and over to the location of the fixture on the street side. To do this I had to empty the overhead cabinet and disassemble a few things like the Blue Ray player, the lower rail for the sliding doors, the left and right cabinet panels, and the Sony radio. With all of this stuff removed I was able to use one of those special tools that lets you feed wire through walls and get a wire from one side to the other. I pulled out the 3 LED fixtures in the upper cabinet to help move the wire along the ceiling. This was, by far, the most time consuming part of the project.

But, once it was finished and everything put back in place I can see how nice it will be on my next camping trip to have these lights in place. The fixtures can use LEDs or incandescent automotive lights -- 912's I believe. I have just one bulb in each fixture although they will accommodate two bulbs.

And, of course, pictures! I tried to make the interior as dark as possible but the pictures were taken in the late afternoon today. Two pictures at each location showing bulbs dim and bright.

[BAB]

I like the look of the LED's in my 2012 CCD. So much that I have just replaced all of the incandescent bulbs in my home with LED's. Very expensive to be sure, but the reduction in heat alone is noticeable. Particularly in the flush can lights which generate considerable therms that the A/C then has to cope with. (I wonder what people said when they went from gaslight to incandescent bulbs??)

[cwf]

Here is grid I built for the bow light replacement Here are the LED strip lights installed to add 'ambiance' and night lights for grandkritters.

[thomdial]

Originally Posted by Hoonanea

Great timing on this thread. I, too, have not been a fan of the harsh LED lights. The LEDs in mine must be the "bright white" because there's nothing warm about them at all. I appreciate their efficiency and their cool operating temperature. Those are features that would certainly come in handy if I ever boondock. So far I've always had shore power. Because I wanted the more traditional warm glow of incandescent lights I decided to purchase 3 of the wall sconce fixtures used in the Serenity models and install them in the front of the trailer on opposite sides of the pano windows and a single light in the corner bedroom. The part numbers are 512403 (light fixture, $51.75) and 512404 (lamp shade, $18.55).

I'm a fan of dimmer switches so my installations included dimmers. I'm very happy with the outcome. The light in the bedroom is great for reading or surfing with the iPad. The factory overhead LED light was just way too bright and it was directly overhead. The wall sconce can be dimmed and it is off to one side and high on the wall and works great for reading. It's also a good mood light to leave on at night.

I found unused available wiring from the factory behind the left panel inside the upper cabinet. This is in the area where the overhead speaker is. I had to empty the cabinet and remove the left panel to access it. I used a volt meter to test it and discovered the wires had power. From there, it was pretty simple to fish the wire down the wall between the two aluminum skins to the place where I had drilled a hole for the light. Getting the square hole for the dimmer switch was a little more challenging.

The lights in the front are installed in the same place that the factory uses for the Serenity models. Mine is an International and did not come with these fixtures. Lucky for me, though, it appears Airstream uses the same wiring harness for the Serenity and the International. The necessary wires were right behind the wall where the holes were drilled for installing the lights. And, of course, the dimmer gave me an additional challenge. Because I wanted one dimmer to control both lights I had to fish a wire from the switch on the curb side by the door up and over to the location of the fixture on the street side. To do this I had to empty the overhead cabinet and disassemble a few things like the Blue Ray player, the lower rail for the sliding doors, the left and right cabinet panels, and the Sony radio. With all of this stuff removed I was able to use one of those special tools that lets you feed wire through walls and get a wire from one side to the other. I pulled out the 3 LED fixtures in the upper cabinet to help move the wire along the ceiling. This was, by far, the most time consuming part of the project.

But, once it was finished and everything put back in place I can see how nice it will be on my next camping trip to have these lights in place. The fixtures can use LEDs or incandescent automotive lights -- 912's I believe. I have just one bulb in each fixture although they will accommodate two bulbs.

And, of course, pictures! I tried to make the interior as dark as possible but the pictures were taken in the late afternoon today. Two pictures at each location showing bulbs dim and bright.

Those certainly do make a wonderful difference. It looks like your hard work paid off. Space looks very livable.