Trailer interior lighting?

ZuluWhiskeyFox

Enlightened
Joined
Feb 29, 2004
Messages
405
Location
Ottawa, Canada
I'm considering some lighting for my trailer. Presently there are a number of fixtures that have 12 v bulbs. These fixtures have white plastic defusers over the bulbs. I'm thinking about something like an nFlex controlling a Cree,SSC or maybe a Rebel. The object is pure flood interior lighting.

Any words of wisdom or other bright ideas that I might consider?

cheers,

zwf
 
If your fixtures use those common square difusers then you should change them for the ones that are clear acrylic plastic first. The clear acrylic lenses allow way more light out of the fixture and they are not hard on the eyes when viewed from the side.
Pop one of those milky difusers off a light and compare the before and after output of the fixture and you'll see what I mean. Those white difusers are lumen robbers.

White and clear diffusers

Have you thought about 12 volt cold cathode fluorescent lighting?
There are very low cost white light kits available for less than $7.00 and they can go practically anywhere. Great for putting under wall mounted cabinets for increased countertop lighting.

There are 12 volt multi-led panels and replacement bulbs available.
Here is one example of a 28 led panel with a wired bayonet socket adapter. A pair of these panels would easily fit behind a single square difuser panel. Here is a 6 X 1 watt led panel that you could use if you heat sink it properly.
Here and here are a few examples of a multi-led 12V bayonet base bulbs.
 
Here and here are a few examples of a multi-led 12V bayonet base bulbs.

just like lighthound pointed out.
i got these http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=3286
and these http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5055
for my dads MoHo.
Replace the 1196 type bulb. The one with pirannah (square) type leds looks pretty darn good, cause those types of leds can handle heat removal better, more metal through the epoxy spreads the heat out.
http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=3286
this one, its long , and i THINK it will be small enough to fit still.

i will get a Report back from him.
on his MoHo there is 2 bulbs to each fixture, one goes on or both, so potentially he can keep the incan for "high" if the led is to low :-(
he was using 5LED crappy ones for low, barely enough for nightlight, i am hoping these will compare favorable (albiet blue) with the incan.

the WALLS of 5mm leds like http://www.kaidomain.com/WEBUI/ProductDetail.aspx?TranID=2082 , which have 1196 adapters, could DIRECT light in the MoHo fixtures , out where the light is more usable, Use the same Square Phiranah type leds, that will direct heat out well. probably best choice of all, but requires person to do more than shove bulb in hole. the round ones will waste light going into poor reflections (white plastic).
Poor refelections, if it was MY MoHo , i would have put aluminum tape (reflective and heat insulating) above the incan bulbs right from the start, stop the plastic from degrading, and pump more light back to the face of the fixture.

i used 2 of the Walls of 5mm lights in RED in my motorcycle, and finally got More output than the original 2X 2097 bulb in there. i also run all drop-in led replacements in my car, and they are not AS bright as the incan. the walls should work best, if you have some minor connecting and mounting skills.

FITTING these huge contraptions through normal automobile backup light containers , doesnt work, hopefully they will have a life in the MoHos of the world

because they are designed for 14.4V type automotive, when runnning off of 12V and no Alternator or generator charge, they will go lower in output.

using a cree or lux would blow these things all away, and last much longer, i use Lux3s in my car dome contraption. but if its campers and MoHos i dont see them getting thousands of hours of use yearly, so i donno if the investment in much longer life leds would be worth it. specially when in 2 years something more better might occur.
 
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stay away from cold cathode tube things for COMPUTERS, to put in cars, i put computer 12V Cold cathodes FOUR of them on a power supply that ran 14V, and they died one after the other, the drivers burnt out.
replaced those 4 with 4 More with different drivers, and they burnt out.

make sure any CCT you get will handle going over the perfectally regulated 12V , well specially the ones with cruddy cheap drivers made in , umm that other country :)

man i was ticked off about that, because i had spent hours aligning mounting and arranging it all.
 
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Some good ideas there guys. The trailer I wish to light up is a 1989 24ft 5th wheel camper trailer. It has the typical square fixtures with 2-12v bulbs and those crappy yellowish/white plastic defusers. I didn't even know that clear ones could be had. I shall certainly be buying a hockey sock full of those. I think also try some of those multi-led bayonet mount affairs. I've already done the shiny foil tape thing. Seemed to make good sense to me as well. May still try some kind of multi brightness controller and a CREE or SSC. The existing reflector if you wish to call it that is made of steel painted creamy white. They might suffice as a heat sink.

cheers,

zwf
 
I used a set of under-cabinet "puck lights" for the rear of my Defender I got at IKEA. I wired them to a NC momentary switch on the back door (factory part) and added a three-way switch above it.

The three-way allows the lights to operate on the door opening (normal operation), off no matter what (save power during the daytime), or on no matter what (digging for something in the truck and it's raining and/or cold outside? close the door!).

These are 12V DC lamps that are under $10.00 a pair (cheaper per light in the four pack too). I just chucked the Wall-Wart used to step down and convert the voltage and wired them in to the existing DC.

The pair of these (17 watt I think) halogen bulbs make the truck light up like high-noon any time! Larger and smaller bulbs are available as well...
 
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