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LarryG View Drop Down
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Joined: 07 Dec 2018
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Posts: 2 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: Lighting Modifications
    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?
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2654 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jan 2019 at 1:08pm
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
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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jan 2019 at 3:11pm
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
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jato View Drop Down
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Posts: 3255 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jan 2019 at 3:36pm
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.
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'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."
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GlueGuy View Drop Down
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Posts: 2654 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jan 2019 at 4:09pm
Originally posted by offgrid

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? 
LEDs are DC devices. The ones you use in regular AC appliances and fixtures have voltage conveters in them to control the voltage and current because most LEDs only require a very small forward voltage in order to "light up". In addition, LEDs can not handle very much reverse bias, so there are often protections built into DC devices to prevent them from getting blown out from the reverse voltage.
bp
2017 R-Pod 179 Hood River
2015 Ford F150 SuperCrew 4WD 3.5L Ecoboost
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furpod View Drop Down
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Joined: 25 Jul 2011
Location: Central KY
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Posts: 6128 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jan 2019 at 5:35pm
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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marwayne View Drop Down
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Posts: 1002 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jan 2019 at 6:36pm



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JR View Drop Down
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Posts: 364 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jan 2019 at 7:16pm
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

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Wood River Pod View Drop Down
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Posts: 153 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 15 Jan 2019 at 10:22pm
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.
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Early 2017 179 HRE

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offgrid View Drop Down
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Posts: 5290 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16 Jan 2019 at 7:50am
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
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