Born Free Leap'n Lions RV Club Info & Discussion Forum

I took the plunge and updated several of my incandescent bulbs to LEDs. I didn't do anything with my fluorescent fixtures because they are quite efficient already. I purchased 14 of the circuit board type units, 10 warm-white and 4 white from eBay. The vendor is in China. It took 9 days for delivery.

I purchased the following:
Warm-white: http://www.ebay.com/itm/180853536054?ss ... 1497.l2649

White: http://www.ebay.com/itm/170913135889?ss ... 1497.l2649

I placed the warm-white LEDs in my reading fixtures, and the white LEDs over my stove and in the porch light.

Here's some photos of the project:

LED board with plug attached.


I removed the wires and soldered the plug direct to the board and glued the plug in place.


I used PL-Premium to attach the plug. This stuff is the greatest.


Board plugged into reading fixture.


Shot comparing 921 bulb with LED. Shot at night with the single fixture turned on.


I checked the light output using a photographic light meter.

For the side-by-side comparisons, the camera was set for manual exposure, auto white balance off, and white balance set for daylight. The colors look quite different in the photos, but to the eye they seem much closer.

Voltage: 12.7 vdc
921 bulb current: 1.30 amps
LED module current: 0.17 amps
Measured with a Fluke 77 multimeter.

7 of the LED units consume slightly less power than a single 921 bulb.

I'm quite pleased with the results.

Nice! I'm wondering if these type of lights will be available at the massive RV markets in Quartzsite. They seem to have everything.
LEDs are cooler than incandescent, right?

My rig is old enough that I have the little wooden reading lights. Very retro, but a hassle to get bulbs out. Also both of the ones over the bed are not working. The PO must have given up as he added a small battery operated light instead.

I've already put 2 battery operated LED fixtures with motion sensors over sink and dining table. I got them at Costco, seems like 2 for about $15.00, seemed reasonable for LEDs. That way i can have some light even if my house battery is low. The motion sensor aspect can be turned off.

Nice write up. Thanks.
Has anybody converted their florescent lights over to LED?

LEDs run much cooler then incandescent. The ones that I got do get fairly warm though.

Fluorescent lamps are quite efficient so you don't gain as much of a power saving as changing out incandescent bulbs. My Thin-Lite units are actually too bright most of the time. It would be nice if you could select between one or both tubes. There are LED replacement tubes available. You have to bypass the ballast to use them.

I have an older BF 1990 vintage, What type of base is used on those small reading lights? Do the bulbs need to be twisted to remove or are they push in style? I hate to damage the fixture to replace the bulbs. Thanks for your help!

I am so glad you asked that. Mine is a 1992, probably the same reading lights? Small wooden ones? Push in and turn or twist? I, too, am afraid to wrench on them.....

The older style bulbs have a bayonet base. You have to push in slightly and turn it counter clockwise a bit then pull it out. The bulbs that I replaced have a wedge base. You just pull them straight out.

Hi Tom, what LED bulb did you use for the porch light? Mine just burned out today and I'd like to replace with LED type. Thanks!

I purchased my bulbs on eBay from here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/170913135889?ss ... 1497.l2649

They come from China and took 9 days for delivery.

The price is for two bulbs and they come with adapters. My porch light uses a bayonet bulb and the LED bulbs do not come with the proper adapter. I broke the base off the stock bulb and soldered wires to the base. Here's a couple of photos:



The bulbs come with a peel-and-stick backing that holds them in place.

tomzleapin wrote:The older style bulbs have a bayonet base. You have to push in slightly and turn it counter clockwise a bit then pull it out. The bulbs that I replaced have a wedge base. You just pull them straight out.

My 1992 lights are not twist in- they just push straight in.
I finally got serious about fixing my reading lights. So I took a breath and pulled out a bulb. Tight, but it came out. I took this to an auto parts store and voila, they had he bulbs. So I was able to get both bedside lights working for first time. I'm slowly getting this rig in shape.

Hey, lets show some sophistication here! As a former club president noted, a Born Free is not a 'rig', it is a motorcoach.

Well, Bill.... I know it is, in fact, a motorcoach, but I live in rural Montana, where anything that isn't a car is a "rig".
I tried referring to it as "my motorhome" and "my coach"and it just didn't roll off my tongue.... Sometimes I say "my RV", but mostly it's my rig.
If you read my posts, you know I love it.

Am sitting in it right now, in the mountains in Arizona. Running generator to charge up phone, ipad and laptop. Running a small electric heater. I'm making breakfast. The refrigerator is staying cold.....ice is still frozen after 2 days off shore power.
The more time I spend in it, the more I appreciate all the storage, the big windows, the cushy upholstery...... It's a nice rig.

It's my rig, it's my ride, it's my little house on wheels!

Trix, exactly!
Tiny home, indeed. It is so homey, I am surprised it drives....
Yesterday I drove through some seriously curvy, steep roads here in AZ. This morning, as I open cabinets, I am seeing what I need to pack better.....
I guess everything needs a little bin or tray? Nothing broken, just some disarray unbecoming to a motor coach.

Target has some nice bins and baskets. You can also tuck your pillows and dish towels in your cabinets to keep things from sliding around. Stuff your wineglasses in an old sock. Preferably a clean old sock.