StingrayL82
Nampa, Idaho
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toedtoes wrote:It's not on their website. Just email and ask for the schematic of their Dodge motorhome tank and they'll email it to you.
Ah, gotcha, thanks.
Fred
Retired Army Guy
2005 Monaco LaPalma 37PST
Workhorse W24 chassis
8.1L Vortec
Allison 2100 MH
Onyx Color Scheme
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RvFNG76
Michigan
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Joined: 07/14/2017
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Just called them and talked to a guy sending me pictures via text message. Btw not made of plastic made of steel and bolt to the frame. Awesome link mine needs a new one due to two cracks one at the full mark the other at half.
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toedtoes
California
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Joined: 05/17/2014
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Great! Yes, it is steel (sorry, I forgot to mention that). It includes the sending unit also.
Mine should be shipping any day now. Then just need to complete the install and i'm back in business. ![[emoticon]](http://www.coastresorts.com/sharedcontent/cfb/images/smile.gif "smile")
1975 American Clipper RV with Dodge 360 (photo in profile)
1998 American Clipper Fold n Roll Folding Trailer
Both born in Morgan Hill, CA to Irv Perch (Daddy of the Aristocrat trailers)
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Griff in Fairbanks
AK
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I've gotten my new computer system to the point where I can resume work that was put on hold when the old computer died in late January ... finally!! (New computer still not fully configured but it's usable in it's current state.)
Resuming work on a draft magazine article, Watts versus Lumens, that focuses on motorhome interior lighting. In the process, something occurred to me that's more appropriate in this thread than the article.
Many or most of our old motorhomes have two, completely separate, interior lighting circuits. One, with 12VDC light fixtures, is for use while on deep cycle battery or power converter. The other, with 120VAC fixtures, is for use when connected to 120/240VAC shore power or generator.
The 12VDC light fixtures tended to create a gloomy cave-like atmosphere. This is both an aspect of the light fixtures as well as an effort to extend time between needing to recharge the battery.
The 120VAC fixtures provided interior lighting similar to what you have in your home. (The stationary home versus your home on wheels.)
Upgrading to LED lighting means it's possible to eliminate the 120VAC fixtures and wiring. Depending on how you go about your upgrade, you can bring your 12VDC light levels to comparable to household lighting.
Simply replacing the old incandescent bulbs with equivalent LED bulbs may not change the light level. For example, 1156 incandescent bulbs and many 1156 LED replacements both produce 402 lumens. This similarity in light emitted holds true across multiple LED replacements, such as 192 bulbs. (Because these bulb can also be use in exterior lights, manufacturers have to maintain identical light levels. Otherwise, customers risk running afoul motor vehicle laws and regulations.)
It's possible to find LED replacement bulbs that emit more light but it'll require some searching. Motor vehicle bulb designations, such as 1156 and 192, are based on international standards, which is the basis for most national laws. So, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers avoid using the standard number designations on LEDs that have the same dimensions and installation while emitting more light. Alternatively, the package and literature may have a warning such as "Not for use in motor vehicle exterior signal lamps."
Replacing a fixture designed for old incandescent bulbs with a redesigned LED fixture will lead to greater improvements, both in terms of light emitted and electricity used.
-- Incandescent fixture with two 1156 bulbs ==> 804 lumens and 3 amps
-- Same fixture with two equivalent LED bulbs ==> 804 lumens and 0.5 amps
-- Fluorescent fixture (Thin-Lite 112) ==> 800 lumens and 1.6 amps
-- LED fixture (Thin-Lite LED112P) ==> 1920 lumens and 0.8 amps
Notice the significant reduction in energy consumed. This means your deep cycle battery will last much longer before needing to be recharged.
Specifically, you could install three Thin-Lite LED112P fixtures without using as much electricity as a single -- much dimmer -- fixture with two 1156 incandescent bulbs. However, you'd probably also find your motorhome's interior is uncomfortably bright with all three LED fixtures turned on.
This all means you could use a single 12VDC lighting circuit, running off deep cycle battery or power converter, with the same lighting level as a separate 120VAC circuit.
1970 Explorer Class A on a 1969 Dodge M300 chassis with 318 cu. in. (split year)
1972 Executive Class A on a Dodge M375 chassis with 413 cu. in.
1973 Explorer Class A on a Dodge RM350 (R4) chassis with 318 engine & tranny from 1970 Explorer Class A
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Griff in Fairbanks
AK
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As implied in my previous post, upgrading your motorhome's interior lighting is a matter of 'shooting in the dark.' (Pun intended.)
It's easy to miss the mark in terms of what's ideal for you. You can undershoot, leaving you with a gloomy cave ... or you can overshoot, resulting in unnecessary expense and a painfully bright interior.
The key is lumens. A way to find exactly how many lumens suit you best is a bit of trial and error.
One trial and error technique is to temporarily use 120VAC household lights, varying the bulb wattage and light location until you find what suits you. (Using either extension cords or shore power.)
Do not, however, rely on first impressions. Spend some time in your motorhome with the test lights. Play cards, read, mess with your electronic tablet or notebook, cook, and other things that you normally do when using your motorhome. From this, you'll know where you need lights and how many lumens you need at each location.
The figures for various 120VAC household incandescent screw-base light bulbs are:
-- 40 watt ==> 450 lumens
-- 60 watt ==> 800 lumens
-- 75 watt ==> 1100 lumens
-- 100 watt ==> 1600 lumens
In case you didn't notice, there's no easy relationship between power consumed (watts) and light emitted (lumens). For example, two 60 watt bulbs produce the same amount of light as a single 100 watt bulb but the two bulbs consume 20 percent more electricity. (This in one of the ways the effort to ban bulbs greater than 60 watts has backfired ... people just replace the higher wattage bulbs with two or more lower wattage bulbs, increasing rather than reducing energy consumption in the process.)
Once you know how many lumens you need -- and where you need them -- you can start looking at upgrades that suit you.
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StingrayL82
Nampa, Idaho
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Thankfully, our Monaco never had 120vAC lighting, just 12vDC. I replaced all the lights with LED units; the interior is at least twice as bright as the old ones. I bought all six for around $65.
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Griff in Fairbanks
AK
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My 1969/70 Explorer Class A had both lighting circuits/systems. All of our use was off-grid so the 120VAC system was redundant and unnecessary.
Not sure what the 1972 Executive Class A has. (Haven't done much with it since it was given to me ... as project needing work before using.)
What I was trying to say is you can have comfortable interior lighting without putting excessive strain on your deep cycle battery or power converter. (Power converter is on shore power or a generator so lighting becomes functionally the same as a separate 120VAC light system.)
A single Thin-Lite LED112P, left on constantly for 48 hours, uses 38.4 amp/hours ... well within the capacity of most deep cycle batteries. I might do that for experimental test purposes but just about everyone else wouldn't.
(BTW - we used Coleman propane lanterns to supplement the 12VDC electric lights.)
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TreeSeeker
San Diego
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Joined: 10/10/2007
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My 1979 Fleetwood has only 12vdc lighting. There are 13 1141 size lights and one E26 over the stove. An E26 is the same base as a standard 12vac bulb, but this is a 12vdc bulb.
The interior is plenty bright now. I do plan to replace them all with LEDs for the power savings. Even the E26 comes in an LED version now.
The one addition I would like to have is a tabletop LED work light for working on small items were you need bright light. I have looked at a couple of battery powered ones but I was not impressed. In the meantime I am just using a headlamp.
I carry a propane lamp too--useful inside and out.
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Griff in Fairbanks
AK
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https://www.superbrightleds.com has been recommended to me by a reliable source. I haven't purchased anything from them yet so I don't have direct experience.
TreeSeeker - 1141 bulbs are quickly becoming obsolete and replaced by the much more commonly used 1156 bulb. (1141 is rated at 264 lumens and 1156 at 402 lumens so 1156 is slightly brighter than 1141.) My research has focused on more common bulbs so I haven't researched E26 bulbs.
If your interior lighting levels suit you, go with the equivalent LED replacements with the same lumen ratings as the old incandescent bulbs. You're probably going to have to -- and should -- switch to the 1156 equivalent LED replacements. The increase in light emitted should be barely noticeable, if at all.
Normally, there'd be some concern due to increased current draw (1141 @ 1.44 amps versus 1156 @ 2.1 amps equals a 50 percent increase in current load). Switching to LEDs means a drastic decrease in current load so that concern is eliminated.
For your task light, look for a fixture made with LEDs rather than an incandescent fixture and bulb swap. LED replacement bulbs need to mimic the spherical emission pattern of incandescent bulbs to qualify as equivalent. Based on my experience with incandescent task lights, you'll probably want an LED fixture with roughly 400-500 lumens.
One of the advantages of LEDs is they can be focused in conical or semi-spherical emission pattern. This eliminates the need for reflectors to redirect incandescent spherical emission. (This is the reason for part of the Thin-Lite LED112P's higher lumen rating versus an incandescent fixture/LED bulb swap combination.)
BYW - as you explore LED possibilities, you'll probably run into mention of SMDs, which means Surface Mount Devices. This is newer KED 'packaging' that reduces manufacturing costs and dimensional limitations. (LED SMDs are about the size of a small finishing nail head, compared to the 3/16-1/4" diameter of older LED 'packaging.')
(Sorry if I have typos or aren't clear ... pain kept me from sleeping last night.)
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Griff in Fairbanks
AK
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Addendum -- Over the past several years, the variety of LED fixtures and bulbs has increased drastically and prices have dropped significantly due to increased demand, On the other hand, prices on incandescent bulbs have risen due to decreased demand.
For example, prices on my two tripod-mounted LED work-lights dropped roughly 20 percent in the 12 months between when I started looking at them and finally bought them. I haven't tried to run the figures but it's likely total long term LED cost is notably less than incandescent or fluorescent. (My gut feeling is total lifetime cost of LEDs is now 1/3-1/2 the cost of incandescents over the same period,)
Leean has mentioned replacing 4-foot fluorescent bulbs with LED equivalent bulbs. I plan to do likewise as soon as the bulbs I'm using and have on hand burn out. (Also, fluorescent bulbs take forever to warm up to full brightness in subzero temperatures ... hampering my ability to work on things throughout the year.)
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