Lighting Modifications
Printed From: R-pod Owners Forum
Category: General Camping
Forum Name: Miscellaneous
Forum Discription: For those odd appliances you got as a wedding gift
URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=12535
Printed Date: 02 May 2025 at 12:29pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 9.64 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Lighting Modifications
Posted By: LarryG
Subject: Lighting Modifications
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2019 at 10:42am
| Any suggestions to modifiy or enhance the interior lighting? 2018 179 has LED lights that are super bright. This if fine under certain circumstances but I'd like to have the option of more gentle lighting. I haven't figured out how to take the covers off the lights to see if I can just change the LED bulbs (is there such a thing?). I've thought of hanging some kind of light cloth on the ceiling to lower the intensity of the overhead lights. Or maybe battery operated table lamps for reading. Ideas? |
Replies:
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2019 at 1:08pm
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Many owners on the forum have put filters inside the semi-opaque covers to tone down the intensity of the lights. IIRC, there are no "bulbs" in the light fixtures, but they are surface mount LEDs. There are also very similar lights available that are dim-able. It may not be intuitively obvious, but the covers come off with a small counter-clockwise twist. You may want to use latex or other "grippy" gloves to get a good hold of the cover in order to twist them off. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2019 at 3:11pm
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LED's are dc devices. So while not all 120Vac LED lights are dimmable because of their power supply design I think (might be wrong, I haven't researched it) that 12Vdc LED lights should all be dimmable. Has anyone ever tried to put the lighting circuit on a central dimmer? ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: jato
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2019 at 3:36pm
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Larry, you should be able to find softer L.E.D.'s on Amazon with the same kind of base to plug into. On our 177 (2011) it came standard with filament bulbs and when we changed over they ran $ 9.00 a piece, that was in 2012. Fortunately prices have come way down since then! What you probably have in your unit are the L.E.D.'s that are the 5000 kelvin brightness scale, bluish white and harsh on the eyes. What we purchased are 2700's which are very similar in brightness to your incandescent bulb, more of a yellow color and not harsh at all on the eyes. ------------- God's pod '11 model 177 '17 Ford F-150 4WD 3.5 Ecoboost Jim and Diane by beautiful Torch Lake "...and you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free." |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2019 at 4:09pm
https://www.ngineering.com/led_circuits.htm - https://www.ngineering.com/led_circuits.htm ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2019 at 5:35pm
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A 2018 will not have changeable bulbs like the earlier builds.. You will need to either use filters, or change the entire light fixture.
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Posted By: marwayne
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2019 at 6:36pm
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 ------------- If you want something done right, do it yourself. 2011 RP172, 2016 Tundra 5.7 Litre, Ltd. |
Posted By: JR
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2019 at 7:16pm
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We just got our 2019 R-Pod 179 the end of July in 2018 so I am a newbie but am finding this forum very helpful with a lot of good humor but as far as lighting, one of the first things we wanted to do is cut down on the harsh lighting. To that end we found some task lighting on Amazon (acegoo 12v Reading light, RV Boats LED Reading Lamp Dual Lighting Mode Directional Lighting with Dimmable Touch Switch Brushed Nickel, Hard-Wired). I installed 2, 1 on either end of the bottom of the dinette overhead cabinet (was able to find the wiring in the overhead cabinet and install each light just short of the support in the cabinet floor which worked out ok. Then after installing the proverbial over the bed cabinet I used the third light we purchased mounted on the underside of the cabinet above the head of the bed giving a good reading light in bed. I find that we are using these lights a lot more than the factory installed lighting except for in the kitchen area, those ceiling lights seem to do the job pretty well. ------------- Jay 179/2019 |
Posted By: Wood River Pod
Date Posted: 15 Jan 2019 at 10:22pm
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I replaced most of my stock LEDs with these dimmable LEDs. They work great. We also purchased the warm light vs the cool light. Less harsh. They are a direct and simple replacement for the factory lights that came with the pod. Highly recommend. Wood River Pod http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06ZZDM19W/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_5?smid=AH6XXT6XRPY75&psc=1 - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06ZZDM19/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_5?smid=AH6XXT6XRPY75&psc=1 ------------- Smith's in Hailey Early 2017 179 HRE http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=9134&PN=1&title=wood-river-179-mods - Wood River Mods |
Posted By: offgrid
Date Posted: 16 Jan 2019 at 7:50am
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Looks like there are lots of low cost options for add on dimmers that can be added in series to RV lighting circuits. The drawback (if you consider it to be one) would be that multiple lights would be dimmed simultaneously. One or more of these can be wall mounted, which would save changing out or adding a lot of light fixtures. Here's an in depth technical discussion video going through various dimmers available on the market. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f843IYqifmk ------------- 1994 Chinook Concourse 1995 RV6A Experimental Aircraft 2015 Rpod 179 - sold |
Posted By: LarryG
Date Posted: 16 Jan 2019 at 11:01am
| Thank you for all the thoughtful replies. Task lighting is a great idea. A few people mentioned filters. Is that something you purchase or do you make them yourself? |
Posted By: GlueGuy
Date Posted: 16 Jan 2019 at 1:10pm
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You can buy cheap filter tape from 3M, or you can get some specialized filters from Lee ( http://leefilters.com/lighting/zircon.html - like these Zircon filters ), or you can experiment on your own with colored paper or plastic. ------------- bp 2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River 2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost |
Posted By: huskycrew
Date Posted: 29 May 2019 at 6:41pm
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We put cloth over the lights; the looking-into-the-sun glare is gone but the light is still bright. Modifying the cloth thickness adjusts the amount of light. The cloth pieces are 7" in diameter and are held in place with 18 gauge aluminum wire (17.5" is a good length per light). Dan 2017 R-Pod 178 1997 Dodge RAM 1500 Club Cab     |
Posted By: Billy Bob
Date Posted: 30 May 2019 at 8:45am
very nice job!! ------------- 2019 RPOD 190 2017 Chev Colorado 4 X 4 Yellow Lab and English Springer Spaniel |