Upgrading to LED lights

[denali]

I want to replace all the lighting inside my '09 Flying Cloud with LED lights for the obvious benefits (less energy, no heat) but am not sure what to buy. The local Airstream dealer said they would cost me $45 per pair. I know they're expensive but have a hard time believing they can't be purchased for less.

Does anybody have a source I could contact?

[FullTimin2HI]

Webtrippin did up his TT with LED's, his blog was here... Airstream LED Lights | WebTrippin

Looks like he sourced this place... LEDs 4, Recreational Vehicles

Hope it helps! I think this will be one of my first upgrades, as bulbs fail...

[tkasten]

I updated our 65 Safari with LED's from both Airstream and LED's for RV.com and both about the same price. It is fairly expensive compared to old bulbs. We do a bunch of boondocking so the LED's work great for us. Very little juice to run them.

[dalefox]

$22.50 apiece is highway robbery. Try doing a search outside the regular Aistream circles. Replacement LED automotive bulbs can be had for just a few bucks. Try searching on Amazon or eBay.

[cosmotini]

These are in the Airstream Store for $11.95. They have others for $14.95 and $20.00.

I bought several of these last year while attending Alumapalooza. The output seems to be about the same as the halogens - as well as the color.

I bought some others from Superbriteleds for a few dollars more. The ones at the Airstream Store seem to be as good as the ones from Superbriteleds.

[Mexray]

You can check out some of the LED's we've put in our older AS...start at POST #259 to see some photos of our conversions...

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f447...tml#post930936

I've now converted all our incandescent bulbs and fixtures to LED units; marker lites, tail/turn/stop/backup, lic plate, outside door lite, outside curbside lite (scare), hall, bath and over-bed reading lites, overhead illumination lites (14 total recessed into center ceiling), over sink lites, front reading lites, compartment lites, and of course, all our flashlites are LED types!

They're not cheap, when you add them all up! But most will outlast the AS, and probably use about 1/3 the amperage of the old bulbs - a factor if you boonedock like we do...

I purchased many of our LED's here - prompt service & shipping info: LEDTrailerlights.com - LED lights for RVs, cargo / utility trailers, boat and watercraft trailers and trucks

[JFScheck]

Are they dimable and same color as the originals?

[denali]

Thanks so much to everybody. I really appreciate all your input.

[webtrippin]

Originally Posted by cosmotini

These are in the Airstream Store for $11.95. They have others for $14.95 and $20.00.

A few places including Airstream and LED4RV.com where I bought it plus others I found, Amazon, etc. have various prices in this range. Seems the price relates mostly to the number of LED diodes on the chip, the cheaper ones having less and the more expensive having more.

I have the 12 LED ones, I would not go smaller or bigger, but thats just me. Smaller would not put off the same amount of light and bigger probably wouldn't fit too well in the light housing. I suppose smaller might be okay for reading lamps if you have those - we do by the bed on each end and at the lounge. I'm thinking I'll do those in bright white to eliminate some of the yellowness of the warm white pattern - see below about the bath, it does project some color onto close surfaces which might be annoying for reading or a laptop.

I didn't upload a picture of the new bright white in the shower, but it's much much much better. It looks normal since the shower is yellow/almond and the bright white is more blue it balances out well and no, it doesn't look green - the warm white was just too yellow in there.

I have also noticed that on the white counters in the galley and bath it looks just a touch yellow from the warm white but not bad, and a bit in the pattern of the LED diodes on the chip. Mostly noticeable in the bath and only when I'm looking for it. Absolutely looks just like the halogens in the ceiling fixtures though. I haven't changed them out in the cabinets as I only bought enough to do main lights until some more G4 bulbs blow but I may play with bright white in there too, since it has a greenish bamboo "floor" in our cabinets.

So, I recommend you buy one or two of each type to test them in different places depending on your cabinet and interior colors, as that can affect the results. I'm thinking a mix and match will probably work best rather than all one type.

I also noticed that some places seem to sell the same item. Ex: notice any similarities between the photos on these 2 pages:
12 LED Bright White Chip C12BW [15751W-20] - $14.95 : LEDs 4, Recreational Vehicles
https://store.airstream.com/product_...roducts_id=508

Or just google the model number and you'll see a few places that sell them:
15751W-20 - Google Search

I chose LED4RV.com because they're active on this forum and had good images and descriptions. Dan shipped to our RV park, was very responsive and the price was fair. I didn't have to pay shipping - possibly due to over some $ amount order size but I don't know for sure, other than I wasn't charged for it.

[UAPachyderm]

I changed all the lights on my 2004 CCD to LEDs in October 2010 by ordering from Airstream:

1 x LED Replacement - 1156 40x50 Pad Warm White (15751W-07)
35 x LED Replacement - Halogen Puck Style Warm White (15751W-09)
5 x LED Replacement - 1156 Socket 13 LED Bright White (15751W-12)
4 x LED Replacement - Halogen Spot Light Bright (15751W-10)
1 x LED Replacement - Wedge Based Bulbs (912) (15751W-02)

Rhonda Fisher from Airstream called me back and recommended a newer and less expensive Puck style than the one I listed above. I took her advice (although I don't know the model specifications). The newer pucks are now housed in a plastic container that prevents you from breaking them when pushing them in. Also, the newer pucks have more LEDs.

My wife and I enjoy boon docking. We are extremely pleased. The LED change was less expensive than adding a larger solar panel and another battery. It was the right decision for us.

[dljosephson]

Oop, I should have read this thread before starting a new one (see up one level in this forum). But adding to that...

Nearly all of these LED lights are made in China and the quality/efficiency of the individual LED chips vary greatly. The number of LEDs is not as important as the quality (Cree, Nichia and Luxeon are the top makers of the chips and would be a good indication that the whole bulb-replacement unit was higher quality than the no-name ones.) Some single-chip ones are brighter than some with dozens of LEDs. Just look for a 14 volt rating, or preferably a 10-30 volt "current regulator" type.

I am happy with the ones I got from superbrightleds.com ... the RV ones for a little less money were not good.

[dalefox]

Originally Posted by dljosephson

I am happy with the ones I got from superbrightleds.com ... the RV ones for a little less money were not good.

I'll second that. I have been ordering LEDs for years from superbrightleds.com and they are indeed great. Everything is quality and they have great service, all at much lower price than the suppliers of 'RV' specific LEDs.

[dalefox]

I just took one for the team...and it paid off.

I went on eBay and bought these on a whim: 2x Ba15s 12 SMD LED Light Bulbs 4500K WHITE 250 Lumen - eBay (item 390280507619 end time Feb-13-11 07:29:04 PST)

They're the spotlight config to replace the BA15 bulbs that are in the overhead spots in my Airstream 280. VERY pleased with the product. Good warm white, not blue, light. High output, and only 0.1A of power consumption--nearly 1/9th the incandescent bulbs they replaced.

Cost, including shipping, was just over $12 for a PAIR of lights. l would totally recommend them if you're in the market for the spots. I also ordered some in a different format. I'll let you know how those turned out when they arrive!

/dale

[dalefox]

Here are a couple shots of the lights installed.

.df

[masseyfarm]

Specifically I want a direct replacement for a 12V "thinliite fluorescent" used in the Airstream MH's. Has anyone been satisfied with a brand or LED color?
I have one with a bad ballast, and thought I would upgrade if something else works.

[masseyfarm]

The ballast was bad so I took it out and wired in some LED's. Simple job but I am still not happy with the fix.
LED's do not light up the area like the dual fluorescent lamps did.
Still open to suggestions???
We are dealing with the Thinlight 30W dual fluorescent recessed type that was used in the CLIPPER and other motorhomes in mid. 90's.
See picture in previous post.
Any ideas?
Dave

[dljosephson]

Dave, there are a lot of dim LEDs out there. I think you have the same thinlite bulb and ballast that I had in the rear valances in my 83 310 motorhome. I have been through three generations of LED replacements, and am now happy with the light bar from superbrightleds LFWW30SMD. It is about as bright as one of the fluorescent tubes and you could install two.

[masseyfarm]

Thanks for the lead. My lamp tubes are 17 5/8" long so will contact them for a possible solution.

Super Bright LEDs - Information and Policies

Dave