The list of repairs, maintenance and improvements needed in the RV is never short, and it seems to grow each time we go out on the road. We try to go on a trip at least once a month. We are by no means pros, but we aren’t amateurs either. We’ve been doing this a long time and over the years, I have gotten better at taking care of the repairs and maintenance. I have also made some mistakes, hopefully I can help you before you do too.

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We finally got around to one of the improvements I’ve been meaning to do ever since we got the Winnebago. We swapped out the RV lightbulbs for LED ones. This time I got the right ones, and I’m going to tell you how to make sure you get the right ones for you. Our last RV, a 1993 Gulfstream Sun Voyager, was my favorite. April did not like the lighting situation, though. She felt like there weren’t enough windows and not enough light. In an effort to make my beautiful bride happy, I ordered the brightest LED lights I could find. That was a mistake. The lights gave off a bluish tint that was unnerving and caused headaches. This time, I did my research. I figured out all there is to know about Kelvins and Lumens and Watts. Oh my.
Replacing the bulbs with LED’s was actually more about conserving energy than April’s lighting preferences, sorry Hun. But to make sure April is happy, I bought LED’s rated 3000 Kelvins and 800 Lumens. Kelvins are a measurement of the temperature of the light. 3000 K is approximately the same “temperature” as a 60 watt incandescent. When talking about LED’s, the Lumens is a measure of how bright the light is. The higher the Lumens, the brighter the bulb. An LED rated 800lm (800 Lumens), is approximately the same brightness as a 60 watt incandescent.

Our current RV has a total of 19 light fixtures throughout, excluding the three fluorescent light fixtures on the living area ceiling. The LED replacement bulbs for those were just too expensive. Eventually, I will just replace the whole fixtures. An LED bulb uses approximately 1/10thof the power required by a standard incandescent light bulb. By replacing the 19 incandescent bulbs with LEDs, we are using the power of less than two of the old bulbs. And, we can run all of our LED lights, and be using the same amount of power as one of the fluorescent bulbs. Used 12 hours a day, a 50,000 hour bulb will last more than 11 years. This means your house battery charge will last much longer and you may never need to replace your bulbs!
So, by changing out the bulbs, I get to relax a little about having the lights on and April is happy with the quality of the lights. Let us know what methods you use to conserve energy while you are dry camping or boondocking, and remember Happy Glamping!