Converting RV Lights to LEDs - PART 1 - Incandescent & Halogen
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 เม.ย. 2014
- Use M4 Products Coupon Code RVGEEKS5 for a special discount! Visit M4products.com and enter the code "RVgeeks5" at checkout to receive a 5% discount on your entire order!
Replace your RV's incandescent & halogen bulbs with LEDs! It's easy and we'll show you how to choose bulb sizes, colors and brightness to match or improve your existing lights, using a fraction of the power.
Watch the other videos in our LED Your RV series:
Part 2 - LED Color & Brightness: • Converting RV Lights t...
Part 3 - 18" Fluorescent Tubes: • Converting RV Lights t...
Part 4 - 12" Fluorescent Tubes: • Converting RV Lights t...
Part 5 - Docking & Patio Lights: • Converting RV Lights t...
Part 6 - Security, Entry & Reading: • Converting RV Lights t...
Our complete playlist of LED conversion videos:
• LED Your RV!
If you've seen our original video about converting our RV's fluorescent lights to LED strip lights (if not, you can view it here: • HOW TO: Convert Fluore... ), you may have noticed that it's been a while since we've shared any more tips about switching to LEDs.
The reason for that is because we've been experimenting with converting our RV's other lights (halogen, incandescent and even other fluorescent light options). But it's been a bit frustrating, since options for LED color and brightness can be confusing, and many suppliers don't accurately convey the information you need to choose the color temperature and brightness you want.
Then we heard about a company on the iRV2 discussion forums called M4 Products. The information on their website was really thorough, and the owner's fast, detailed response to our questions made us confident that his lights would be the right color and brightness.
After so much trial & error, buying from M4 was the best experience we've had so far. Since we were heading toward southern California, where M4 is located, we made an appointment to stop by to see about upgrading more of our lights.
Being a fellow RVer, Steve, M4's owner, was incredibly knowledgeable about LED applications for RVs, and the quality of his products was obvious. We've looked at, and tried, our fair share of LED bulbs, and Steve's are the best quality and best value we've found so far.
Click here to visit M4 Products:
M4Products.com
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Visit m4products.com and use Coupon Code RVGEEKS5 to get a 5% discount on the same great M4 LEDs we use in our own RV.
As usual, the most trusted, down to earth guys tell it straight. Thank you boys. Competition is a great marketing tool.
I too have purchased LED conversion bulbs in the past, only to have them fail in a few months. When I bought this new to us 2008 Newmar Kountry Air fifth wheel back in 2016, I contacted Steve at M4 and bought replacment LEDs for all the lights in the trailer interior as well as exterior. I had used some of his lights in my last RV, a Newmar Moutain Aire fifth wheel. If I can recall correctly, I had about 35 halogen puck lights in the ceiling alone. In total I converted over 60 lights to Steve's LEDs. In two years of full timing, I don't recall having a single failure. In addition, Steve's customer service is second to none. I highly recommend his products.
Thanks so much, Casey! Great to hear. Steve is the BEST!!
I really like the difference between LED & Incandescent bulbs. Happy to have found the website so I can upgrade my older camper to LED
Over 1,000 people have already entered our latest RVgeeks contest, where we're giving away $250 worth of LEDs! The contest ends at 8pm Pacific Time tomorrow, April 14, 2014, so if you haven't entered yet, don't wait! Good luck to everyone, and thanks for watching our videos. :)
RVgeeks Thank you for adding me back I appreciate it :-)
Thank you too, Diannah! :)
Thanks for the info
We've done some more LED upgrades on our RV and we're giving away a $250 gift certificate for FREE LEDs in our latest RVgeeks contest! Watch the video for complete details.
I'm gonna ck that out. Been wanting to do leds in my toy hauler for awhile, I to have blue sky controller charger in my rv
We love our controller. Never had a day of trouble with it in 9 years. Had the same one in our first RV, and it worked like a charm too. Best of luck in the contest!
I'd love to have all LED's in my motorhome but the cost for upgrading to led lighting takes me back it's so expensive for my 34 footer. Still using old fashioned incandescent lighting until they come down on the price of LED's.
Airomee Wind LEDs are definitely more expensive, so we've been doing them a few at a time. We started out with the lights we use most when boondocking, like the courtesy lights and the ones over the table. We're slowly doing more and more over time. Luckily, the prices have dropped a lot since LEDs first came out, and will hopefully continue to come down.
Thanks to your videos, I found M4 and have already purchased 10 bulbs to replace the main lights in my camper. I am so pleased with the product and service I will be replacing all of the bulbs in my camper soon. Thanks for the advice and the 5% off!!! Keep up the good work.
I agree. The options are as vast as the price ranges. It adds up quick once you count how many bulbs you really need. I've taken the "meh...good enough" approach to my cheapest-I-could-get LED replacements.
Hi Brian! We got some of the cheapies too, and while they're probably good enough quality to last a while, the color was often nothing like we expected. We decided to spend a little more to get the combination of quality, color and brightness we want. It's amazing how much you can spend though. Have you seen what they get for a single LED bulb at Camping World!?! =:-O
Camping World...I can imagine. I'm pretty sure my warranty was written in Mandarin. Just kidding....no warranty. By the way great video. You've got quite a collection of bulbs there.
I have been using M4 products for several years. Recently converted our Newmar Kountry Aire fifth wheel to LEDs. Over 50 bulbs were changed out. Great products and excellent service from Steve.
Great to hear, Casey! Steve is the BEST! :)
Great video guys. Thanks for the info, very helpful.
I just want to thank you for this info !! I just replaced all of the lights in our RV with the led lights, Sooooo much brighter !!! Again THANK YOU for sharing your knowledge :)))
Awesome! So great to hear that you're happy with your LEDs! We're working on two more videos right now, where we'll be showing our conversion from 12" and 18" fluorescent tubes. Stay tuned!
thank you so much for posting such great information! I am planning to convert my MH over to LED once I pick it up in the next few weeks... this is so helpful!
+Lin Moore Congrats on you new RV, Lin!c😊
Did you ever convert your lights and if so what do you think?
still a great video! along with the rest of the Conversion series. Thank you for making this one and sharing your experience! We went with M4 on your recommendation. The coupon code was a nice bonus and shipping over $50 was free.
Keep up the good work. Us newbies appreciate you!
Thanks! Great to hear. We do indeed love M4, so it's always good to hear they're taking care of everyone. :)
Great information. Thanks!
Great info, thanks!
Just wanted to say thanks. Been following you two for several years. We finally got our 1st travel trailer. Just got done installing outside LED lights from M4 and used your discount code. Thanks. Also M4 is a fantastic company with top notch customer service.
Thanks so much, Jeffrey, and congrats on your new RV! Love that you're upgrading to M4 lights. Steve runs an awesome company!
like this video, so I had to watch it again, thanks for sharing.
Great video I am sure you are very happy with the changes you made with the upgrades to LEDS where you have made them. I know I am I have a large coach (39 ft. 5th wheel) and for now I use it on a seasonal site in NY, and because of the park we are in and NY regs electric is very expensive. In the living area, alone I have 12 lights and this is not including reading lamps, halogen lamps bedroom lighting or, bath. The living area alone with incandescing and halogen bulbs the bill racks up quickly,
I needed to do something, and when I was looking around for LEDS a couple of years back the prices were crazy (still expensive now) but price keeps coming down like all things news and hot. But I needed over 30 bulbs to replace to make any difference so price is a big deal, so with shopping local and rv shops the pricing was making it impossible to do what I needed, but I did find a location on the internet (a lot of work to find them) but they are a manufacture not a dealer or retailer and will sell direct!
Therefore, at that time when I put an order in all 30 bulbs with shipping was about the cost of four bulbs local. Here is the web address (www.ledlightbulb.net/index.htm) the last time I looked they still did not have the vanity bulbs (frosted large globe) but did have every other bulb in my coach, for inside or out. So take a look at the site it will take a minute or two the figure the site out (not a retail site) but all the info you might need is there (light temperature guides, conversion charts and more) but take your time and you should find most every bulb you might need for your Rv or house.
My camper didn't come with LED marker, stop and turn signals. Even though it's a 2018 model we purchased brand new. The manufacturer of our camper didn't make them with LED lights. I will very soon be upgrading them and possibly add a extra pair of turn/stop LED lights for extra visibility and safety. Love your videos👍👍
Awesome info
Excellent info! I've got a handful of different brands, most of which are crap. I've been looking for a good source. I just purchased two of the 1" step lights for starters. FWIW, the coupon code still works, thanks!
Hope you like your M4 bulbs as much as we do! 👍😊
entered! really like your courtesy lights! I so need those!
We love those lights! :) Best of luck in the contest!
Great info. Thanks for having this giveaway.
~Dave~
M4 was a big help to me also I converted about 4 years ago
That’s great to hear, Dave! Steve at M4 is just about the greatest guy we know.
Nice infomercial
We weren't paid to make this video. We're end users who bought LEDs from M4 and discovered what a great company they are and what great products they sell. Since our mission is to share worthwhile information about RVing, that includes excellent RV products we use and love ourselves.
Just ordered from M4. the extra 5% was appreciated.
Awesome John! Hope you love your M4 LEDs as much as we do. :)
Okay, it's a 5 minute commercial for M-4, but there's still a lot of good information there.
We do love M4!! :)
Liked, +1, shared and subscribed! Please put me down for contest....I must have more LEDs! I'm in AZ and the less heat is very helpful!
We have an '05 Monaco Knight. We converted all the lights per your vids using M4 and your discount code. Thanks! We have 3 candle style fixtures in our living room that would look great with flickering flame LED bulb. Have you heard of such an animal for 12v?
That’s great that you’ve done that upgrade! We absolutely love our all LED RV! We’ve never heard of flickering flame LEDs for RVs, and if you’re not seeing them on M4’s website, we wouldn’t know where else to look for a reliable source. We did a little search on Amazon, and see some that look a little cheesy, but if yours are hidden inside a translucent fixture, they might do the trick.
Just heard the news that the thread I started on IRV2....about the best LED lights you can get! Drew RVgeeks to look into M4 and Steve the owner(he's awesome and helped tremendously with our coach). Very impressed with the channel and love when we get a new blog/video from RVgeeks also. Both business owners should be proud at what they created here! Troy Reeves(business owner in Gilbert, AZ)
Thanks so much Troy. Steve is the best, and so deserves the positive comments that we see about him everywhere. I hope when you said "put me down for the contest" that you actually entered yourself, since we can't enter for you! Thanks again for the awesome comments and posting.
Yes...I did go to the contest area, thank you! One other quick question for you.....do you spend a lot of your time in AZ? I noticed the videos with cactus and familiar palms and dessert!
Troy Reeves We hate cold weather, so snowbirds we are! We've spent most of our winters for the past 11 years in the Desert SW, mostly in Desert Hot Springs, Apache Junction, Quartzsite... even one winter in Mexico. All of the warmest spots. Our motto is "Winter is a Choice!"
Troy Reeves
Leon Hendrickson
I am not sure about RV LED lights, but residential LED lights do not do well in one particular location, that is the stove light in the stove hood. We have replaced nearly every incandescent bulb in our home with LED bulbs, with the exception of the light in the stove hood.On advice from the sales man that was selling the LED bulbs, that advised that LED lights do not do well in high heat areas like the stove hood. He advised that they just do not last, so that is the one bulb that we still have filled with an incandescent bulb. That unit is usually only on when we are using the kitchen at any rate, so It does not cost us that much. If you have better information about LED performance in high heat areas please advise.
I have been enjoying your informative videos for years! I purchased nearly 30 LED lights from M4 in July of 2014. We have had our 5th light quit working properly... one or more of the individual diodes flicker. I purchased the more expensive "elite series" hoping for a better outcome. I estimate on the high side around 10,000 hours of use. Their website speaks of 50,000 hours! If I had left them on 24 hours a day that would only be 35,000 hours! How has your luck been?
Oh wow, sorry to hear about your experience, especially since it is so completely the opposite of our own. We retrofitted nearly every bulb in our rig, and over many years of use haven’t had a single bulb fail. Have you spoken with Steve at M4 about this? It sounds to us like there might be some kind of power or interference issue going on, and he’s usually very good at helping to work through it. Plus we know that he would want to know about any trouble you’re having.
Great and informative video! Thanks for posting as I have been looking for information on how to do this. This utube video really helps!
Thanks for the comment! So glad this helps. We have a follow up video posting on our blog at 4 pm Pacific time today. If you aren't already subscribed to our blog, you can do it here: howtorvgeeks.com. New content often appears there before TH-cam even! ;-)
Thanks for the info about the LED lights. Mine burn too hot & ruin those plastic covers on them. This would be a good resolution to the problem + the benefits of lighter usage on the battery for boondocking! It is confusing as you explained as to what to get.
We shot a follow-up video last night with more detail about light color and the exact LEDs we used. Should have that video up within a few days. Stay tuned!
RVgeeks Very good. Thank you!
I really enjoy all the tuts that you put on TH-cam. I am in the midst of upgrading my TT interior lights with LEDs. Have you picked a winner from your contest yet?
So glad that our videos have been helpful! We have a couple more about LEDs coming up in the next month or two... one about a neat way to upgrade fluorescents an another about exterior lighting. A contest winner has indeed been selected! We're expecting confirmation of there eligibility today and plan to have an announcement in a new posting tomorrow afternoon. If you haven't already done so, be sure to subscribe to our video blog to get the notice, and also to be notified about more upcoming contest (and there will indeed be more very soon). Thanks for watching!
howtorvgeeks.com
M4products.com is the best place to buy LED bulbs hands down. With fast shipping and great customer service, I was able to convert all of my 5th wheel RV bulbs right down to the bulb in my Norco refrigerator, an LED bulb hard to find elsewhere. I can now go from one day to four days on a single 12 volt deep cycle marine battery, before having to charge it. I bought a spare charged battery to swap out the discharged battery. Using an extra RV power cord with just the black and white leads running to the discharged battery, we’ll go sightseeing, at which time the truck charges the battery while tied down in the bed of the pickup.
That's great, Dean! So glad to hear you've had the same experience with M4 that we have. Steve's a great guy and really takes care of his customers! And it sounds like you've got yourself a sweet setup that keeps you off the grid for a long time!
Do these retrofit bulbs require a driver. I want to switch out all of my inside 12v bulbs to LED’s but I was led to believe that I will be required to install a driver in each fixture and then plug these bulbs in. Also, for exterior clearance and marker lights is a driver required?
The only bulbs that M4 sells that require a driver are the smaller 12” fluorescent tube replacements... but they come with the drivers included. Other than that, the circuitry required for M4 LEDs is built into each bulb, so no drivers are required. For lots more detail check out our complete LED playlist of about 11 videos total, including detailed instructions on installing both 18 inch and 12 inch fluorescent tube replacements. And be sure to use the RVGEEKS5 discount code at M4 to get 5% off!
I bought some large packet of leds for my rv. The leds are bright enough, I will give them that but the base is not deep enough for a good contact in the socket. These were from Amazon and were 921 type bulb bases. Besides the M4 people, how many led segments would you go with and what color? 2700k?
The number of segments isn’t actually relevant. Most important is the light output and quality of the bulb overall including heat sinks and electronics. Nothing you can buy on Amazon will compare with the quality of M4!
the M4 site doesn't isn't bothering to use SSL, I was interested, but there is no excuse to not use a secure connection these days when you can get certificates for free.
Hi Doug... the main pages of the M4 website (where you're browsing products) isn't secured... because it doesn't need to be. Once you add something to your cart, the cart and entire checkout process ARE secure. Your information is safe. We've ordered tons of things from the site... and so have tons of our viewers... and we've never heard of there being a problem. Steve's a sharp guy, and he wouldn't let something like that get past him.
Do you have to also change the fixture? Or just the bulbs?
Tim Shull Just the bulbs, Tim. It's a breeze. The only ones that require anything more than a simple bulb replacement are the fluorescents, which we cover in detail in part 3 & 4 of this series. But they still only require re-wiring the same fixture, and not replacing it.
There is a serious risk with not knowing how / where the bulbs were manufactured as I discovered in my 5th wheel. One light started to smoke and it not caught it could have destroyed our rig. The base eas not attached to the head very well and just during install the bulb had crossed the contacts. But that was minor compared to the issue with those exposed electrical connections which can carry enough amperage to kill or cause serious harm.
This is exactly why we recommend that people not buy the super cheap bulbs from Amazon, and go with higher quality bulbs like M4. The circuitry and heat sinks in their bulbs are far superior.
I have a question : if I have a Wall lights on 120V with a "normal" or 120V LED bulb, can I just replace the bulb to a 12V and run the Wall lights on my DC system ? Thank you !
+Julien Bourbon you should be able to
+RVgeeks .... if you connect the wire to the 12-volt system instead, there isn't any reason why you shouldn't be able to connect a 12 V LED light there.
Ok thank you ! My interrogation was more about the wires (but I can ignore the ground and use only the black/white (or red) wire I guess).
I have another question also, I saw that in the NEC Code, for 12V, the Black is for negative and White for positive. But I often see ceiling lights or another lights where the White is for negative and Black for positive.. Any thoughts about that ?
+Julien Bourbon Just use a circuit tester to see which wire is positive, and connect it to the correct lead on the new light fixture, and you should be good.
What can I do if my new LED light bulbs are smoking in my camper?
Jennifer! You should turn them off, and remove them immediately! They are a fire hazard. We assume that you did not buy them from M4. One of the reasons we use their bulbs exclusively is the superior electronics and heat sinks in them. Cheaper bulbs, commonly available on places like Amazon, or a dangerous way to go.
I replaced all our halogens with LED T10's off ebay at about $1 per bulb shipped. They suffice for the job.
My first concern is the extra cost of these LED lights. My next concern is I have a 1987 29ft.travel trailer that uses the old style automotive push & twist sockets. Most of my light fixtures use #1140 or #1141 bulbs. Are LED lights made with this style of connector? I could see upgrading the lights where I read to LEDs to give me extra light for reading at night. Also my trailer is permanently set up in a trailer park so I can't take advantage of any power savings. The electrical usage is included in the site fee.
We're switching to LEDs for several reasons, none of which may be applicable in your case. 1) Uses less power to save electric costs when hooked up and batteries when dry camping. 2) Cooler, since bulbs don't get hot. 3) Brighter light (in some cases). 4) They're cool and modern (obviously the least of our concerns, but a plus anyway). lol As it takes a long time to recoup the savings from switching to LEDs anyway, you may have no incentive other than the possibility of brighter light for reading, and possibly cooler if very hot weather is a consideration. They do indeed make LEDs with the push-and-twist automotive sockets.
rob891 - I have a 26' travel trailer, about same age as yours with the push and turn bulbs. My utilities are also included in my rent. But I'm still considering replacing the bulbs for better lighting, as well as maybe reducing the load on the battery, AND reduce the owner's electric bill. But I figure if I ever have to move the trailer in the future and get solar, it's one less thing to worry about.
+Grannieannie F One of the biggest benefits is how much less heat LEDs put out, too. 😊
Any update on the lights reliability?
We have replaced virtually ever light in our RV with M4 LEDs over a several-year period, and literally not a single failure. Incredibly well made bulbs.
Is it true replacement LEDs will explode?!? I was all about it until I heard about them randomly exploding when on. Has this happened to anyone?
Cheap Chinese LEDs with crummy heat sinks can indeed overheat. Buy them from a reputable source like M4 and there's no problem with overheating. They even give RVgeeks viewers 5% off by using the discount code "rvgeeks5" when checking out. m4products.com/
I assumed that would be the case, makes sense, get what you pay for. Thanks for the help and the discount!
Love your videos and all but this just sounded like an all out commercial for m4
Sorry it sounded that way. If you'd researched LEDs as much as we had, and wasted as much time and money trying lights that were the wrong color or brightness, you'd probably be enthusiastic when you found a great vendor too! :) For whatever it's worth, any time you read threads on iRV2 or other forums that mention M4, you'll see that Steve has justly earned an awful lot of fans. Maybe it's because of all the cheap Chinese lights out there that it's so hard (and gratifying) to find a great source. We have another video in the works that we hope you'll like better! ;-)
I went to a local automotive parts store back home and for 2 1157 LED bulbs was like $100
Randy Bobandy
need replacement bulb nmbr to led light for rg 921
Hi Donald. Here's a link for you:
www.m4products.com/wedge-based-led-lights/
This is the page at M4 for wedge base bulbs. All of the bulbs on the page that will work for you start with "921" in the part number. The ones we prefer are the 921-24-5050-WW (warm white). Those are those ones we use over our dining room table. Warm color, but nice light output. If you need something smaller and or brighter, the Elite series will work, but are a bit more expensive (part number 921-17-5630-WW.) The Elites are also available in natural white, which is "whiter" and brighter. If you have any questions, Steve at M4 is extremely helpful. Don't forget to use the code "rvgeeks5" to get a 5% discount off your entire order.
Needed to replace some cheap LED's I found on Amazon a year ago that are already burning out. Everyone is complaining it's dark in the rooms...lol
img.adambryner.com/images/img3890.jpg
I remembered this video, and after talking with Steve, I ordered 20 of his elite series LED's...excited to have much brighter and higher quality LED's.
Thanks for the coupon code, saved me $10 bucks.
Great to hear, Adam! Steve is the best!
Who won ?
Winner posted on our blog: howtorvgeeks.com/updates-and-upgrades/led-your-rv/
It was Don & Carol B. (entry #1001). Be sure to enter our current contest to win one of two RV autoformers with a total retail value over $900!
howtorvgeeks.com/electrical/rv-low-voltage-protection/
and so this th-cam.com/video/CsZWNM1Iuig/w-d-xo.html is why I'm ordering my LED's from your referenced manufacturer. Can his experience be due to the sensitivity to charge fluctuation that LEDs are susceptible to?
SHELLEY!! SO sorry your comment slipped past us and we didn't reply before now! Absolutely! The cheap (mostly Chinese-made) bulbs are missing quality heat sinks and circuitry that's needed to protect them from the voltage fluctuations that are common in RVs. M4 LEDs are more expensive, but a very good value considering their high quality (and much less expensive than bulbs from Camping World, and a lot better too). Hope you got your 5% discount using the "RVgeeks5" discount code at M4! Again, sorry of the much-delayed response. Hope you're out enjoying your rig! :)
RVgeeks No problem! I love you guys! You've helped me sooo much. I haven't made the led switch yet, still fixing up the rig, bought 2 new house batteries and I think i'll be on he road soon. I cant wait to show it to you. We will meet somewhere "on the circuit" one o' these days. Happy and healthy traveling to you both!!!
My understanding all these bulbs are made in china, so it would just be a matter of what you pay for the same bulbs. Knowing what to buy is the key I guess.
+mike arg All things made in China are NOT the same. M4 bulbs are the highest quality LEDs we've ever seen, and are the polar opposite of "cheap."
As I am fairly new to the led bulb swap thing and have purchased the so called cheap bulbs and have not had them long I reserve judgement on them. The whole led light thing is very confusing as far as bright, cool, hot warm, super bright. I have not found any led bulbs made in America so far. What I have found is price spread is enormous, from like a dollar a bulb to 10 dollars a bulb or more. Thats the part that doesnt make sense to me, quality seems to be based on what? I dont know. To me they are led chips wired up and create light. Fairly simple I think.
The industry is strange, I started buying an off road led light bar, I went so called cheap because the bar I bought was 60 dollars, the same size, brightness on the other hand from an American company was 800 dollars? Now I am sure that the bulbs in the 800 dollar one were so much better, well not really, both light bars, the cheap and the expensive used the same china manufacture of the bulbs, CREE I believe. The housing seemed the same to. So its very confusing why one would cost 800 dollars and the other was 60 dollars.
If I have problems with my new cheap led replacement bulbs I would certainly say so.
Like I said its confusing to me all I can do is try the products and see as information out there is sketchy at best. Most people that swapped over to led interior bulbs for their rv seem pleased.
I am not putting the company down that you mentioned, I just dont know enough yet to judge. I will say though I went through the same kind of thing with generators. I bought a Yamaha, and a honda 1000 and 2000 watt, near a grand for each, they are reliable and serve me well, but when I changed over to a trailer from a motor home, I needed a generator that was more powerful. The 4000 watt honda and yamaha were thousands of dollars, I thought I would try a cheap generator, champion made in China. Its been 4 years now, the champion with electric start, as well as remote start has served us well at a cost of 400 dollars for the 4000 watt. Now I still use the honda and the yamaha, because who needs 4000 watts all the time?
Point is I found out the honda and yamaha are not made in japan like I thought, one is made in Taiwan the other made in china I think.
I guess it all comes down to are we satisfied, does it last a long time, are they safe? I dont know about the led's yet. I do know I am not ready to pay 10 dollars a bulb when I may be able to get something that works as well for a dollar a bulb. In my case time will tell. You tube videos like yours we have to take them with a grain of salt, not saying you are bought or biased for some reason but there is so much on you tube that is pushed that is questionable.
Like the big push for solar for the RV's. At some point we have to use common sense and think it through. Like a 20 thousand dollar solar system, that would put out less power as say my 1000 watt yamaha generator that cost 900 bucks and will run for 9 hours on a half gallon of gas, day or night, and I can get away with one battery instead of a whole bank of expensive battery's
Now your friends the Wynns have shamelessly pushed elaborate solar systems costing thousands of dollars to run curling Irons and such, and in doing so have degraded the credibility of most of the RV you tube bloggers. I mean who needs to run thousands of dollars in solar to curl their hair that is 3 inches short, but worse, can just pull start a 1000 watt generator, run it for ten minutes to do so.
So I guess I have to see for myself about the cheap led's. If they turn out not worth it, I would certainly say so, but if they turn out to be fine and work great, well those selling Chinese LED'S for ten dollars or more a pop look out cause I will point that out too. Keep up the good work, you do provide a service.
Michael
+mike arg All China's ARE NOT the same I've talked to people and seen reports where even the little leds died quickly and/or some even had the solder melt on some of the elements. I had to read a lot of reviews and Google searches since my toy hauler uses a ton of lights. Also you have to get the color you want. The LED's are a big deal they use a fraction of the amperage of the halogen or even incandescent. I don't even turn on both bulbs in the fixtures now. Mine are too white, so be sure of the color, I bought 32 bulbs )( 16 2 packs) $10.00 per pack. Early 2016 they worked fine so far. Company Luyed from Amazon. I also bought others for all the outdoor lights, but haven't installed those yet.
We replaced all our LEDs in our RV using M4 elite series led lights. They are not cheap. We spent over $400 on replacing all our LEDs. We have had 4 LEDs go out in the last 3 years. Called Steve and they only have a 2 year warranty. Very disappointed
Sorry you’ve had some bulb failures. We’ve had our entire rig equipped with M4 LEDs for years, including a considerable number of elites, and have not had a single failure, including the three over our dining/work table which are almost always on. A 2-year warranty seems reasonable, and isn’t the same as a lifetime warranty.
:)
Obviously a vid produced by M4 and Steve. Just a little too many "plugs" to not make it obviouse.
CP H This video was actually produced by an extremely satisfied customer of Steve's who happens to have a TH-cam channel where they share all of their favorite RV tips and tricks. ;-)
Didn't your mother teach you to just say thank you, even if you haven't anything positive, Finding and buying leds is tough, prices and quality all over the board.
I would LOVE to convert my crappy awful LED light fixtures back to incandescent.
LEDs would be great if they werent made so goddamned cheap. Ive tried half a dozen different LED light fixtures and they all have some major drawback usually relating to the cheapness of their construction.
Why does everything have to be so "bottom dollar" now? If i could pay $100 extra per light fixture and get something that actually works reliably i would gladly do it.
Most LED light fixtures available now dont even let you change out the bulb, its all integrated just so they can be manufactured 1/10th of a penny cheaper.... ugh!
Instead im scouring the RV junkyards for the good old fashioned incandescent light fixtures.
This was 7 years ago.. update your video. M4 products did work though.
Videos can’t be updated, and we’ve done a whole series of them since this one.