LED Lights in my Solaris

Boomer485 · 05-08-2018, 04:42 PM

Today I finished replacing ALL the bulbs inside my 2653 Solaris. I found them on Amazon, and I am really pleased with the end results. The light is bright and uses much less electricity when you are on the battery. Also the bulbs generate little or no heat. I even replaced the bulb in the fan over the stove.

These are the bulbs I ordered.
Aucan 20pcs Super Bright RV Trailer T10 921 194 42-SMD 12V Car Backup Reverse LED Lights Bulbs Light Width Lamp Xenon White

They were Fifteen Dollars with Prime. Well worth every penny.

NOTE:** If you plug it in and it does not work, remove, rotate 180 degrees and plug in again.

When I turn all of them on the inside is bright and cheery! Just a suggestion to improve the lighting.

mainah · 05-08-2018, 05:19 PM

When I bought my camper it had 13 1156 bulbs I turned them all on it drew 23 amps! I now have 15 LED's they draw 3.08 amps. If you are a off grid camper that's the first thing you should do.

Thomascine · 05-08-2018, 08:19 PM

After reading many posts here on the subject, I too replaced all of the interior bulbs with LEDs. Does make a big difference. Not ready for off grid camping but with not much experience, not sure how often campgrounds lose power.

**JohnB** · 05-08-2018, 10:57 PM

Yes, it is almost a must now a days to convert to LED's if you are off grid camping. We did ours a good while back. Took 3 years to change them all. Cost$$$$ back then there were a "lot" more costly then they are now.

You did the whole camper for $15. Back when I was getting them that was about pre bulb...

mainah · 05-09-2018, 05:15 AM

The old bulbs made far better heaters than lights. Even if you do not camp off grid the LED's make light in one direction unlike the bulbs that scatter light everywhere giving you more light in the direction you need it the most. For us old guys the higher color temp LED's make it easier to see for those that like a homey effect go with a lower color temp LED. They have become ridiculously cheap and won't burn up the lens on vintage fixtures so what's not to like? Best bet is on line buying I was in an RV shop yesterday and could not believe the price they were asking for them I could have bought a bag of them for what they wanted for one!

Boomer485 · 05-09-2018, 10:28 PM

I will be doing some off grid camping, as it is cheaper. I also bought a Ryobi 900 watt generator that runs off propane. I can get about 3.5 hours on a one pound canister, and it came with the adapter hose to connect it to a 20 pound tank. This combined with the solar panel I have will keep the battery fresh and up to snuff for me. My Solaris has a fiber glass awning for the front window. I mounted the solar panel to that. It looks nice and is very functional. Plus when the girl is parked the sunshine keeps the battery in good shape. One of several projects I have for my Solaris.

mainah · 05-11-2018, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boomer485

I will be doing some off grid camping, as it is cheaper. I also bought a Ryobi 900 watt generator that runs off propane. I can get about 3.5 hours on a one pound canister, and it came with the adapter hose to connect it to a 20 pound tank. This combined with the solar panel I have will keep the battery fresh and up to snuff for me. My Solaris has a fiber glass awning for the front window. I mounted the solar panel to that. It looks nice and is very functional. Plus when the girl is parked the sunshine keeps the battery in good shape. One of several projects I have for my Solaris.

Don't mean spoil your fun but how do you protect your panel from stones? Does it come off for transport? The ideal is good because you can actually elevate it to capture max sunlight but they are fairly fragile.

Boomer485 · 05-13-2018, 12:47 AM

I have a good friend who is kind of a weird genius with this solar panel stuff who is helping. I added a piece of clear plexiglass over the entire panel, which I am sure I will have to replace in a couple of years as it yellows. My tow vehicle is an older Chevy Tahoe and I have mud flaps. So my fingers are crossed that I do not have any damage from debris. No it does not come off easily. I suppose if I needed to I could pull it in 30 minutes or so. I suppose I am taking a leap of faith here in that it will not get damaged. They are not quite as fragile as they used to be.

mainah · 05-13-2018, 05:57 AM

Yeah they are not plastic just for that reason you stated it will darken thus reducing the output it doesn't take much. Most are tempered glass. Maybe you could fabricate a removable cover for transport. The window cover is there to protect the front windows from stone damage. I use a home built frame for my 100 watt panel that allows me to elevate and rotate my panel the entire rig folds up flat and I put it on the bed when I travel. For a little piece of mind I pad lock it to the safety chains if I leave the camp ground.

Boomer485 · 05-14-2018, 06:39 AM

You have to pad lock it to the safety chains? Wow. Well I suppose we need to keep the honest people honest. Sigh. I am going with the recommendation from a couple of friends to use braided cable to secure the battery box and LP tanks for the same reason. I mounted the solar panel directly to window cover. Drilled holes in it, put in rubber grommets to protect the window panel so the holes don't get bigger. Sad the state of the world is such that we have to take these measures. The previous owners put small steel plates by the door locks so the doors to the trailer could not be pried open.

mainah · 05-14-2018, 08:07 AM

I often park in things like parking lots then head out in the pickup do do radio coms for events mainly auto racing otherwise I wouldn't worry about it. It is highly portable and only weighs about 18# so it's an easy target. Yeah my friend owns a small motor home from NY and it has plated locks.

**JohnB** · 05-14-2018, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mainah

It is highly portable and only weighs about 18# so it's an easy target. Yeah my friend owns a small motor home from NY and it has plated locks.

Mainah, that is one nice looking setup! Thanks for sharing. My mind is already racing to, OK when is the solar upgrade coming...

mainah · 05-14-2018, 11:49 AM

Because the panel frame is very rugged all of the aluminum parts are very light weight and don't really add any structural value to the setup. The upright are drilled in increments to allow me to elevate it or lay it flat at high noon or to store it. All the hardware is stainless. The connector either plugs directly into the batteries or into a connector in the rear compartment connected to the converter/charger. Because I wanted portability and be able to use it to charge batteries other than the camper the charge controller is fixed to the panel assembly all it needs is a battery to function. The SG cord is a number 10 wire maybe 10-12 feet so I was not real concerned with voltage drop. My contention has always been why on the flat roof it will only get max output at noon when I can all day long dawn to dusk.

**JohnB** · 05-14-2018, 07:22 PM

Thanks Mainah