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On a recent trip I was told there was a remarkable difference between my truck's brake lights (good) and my trailer's brake lights (bad). Today I swapped the trailer's tail lights with Optronics part # RVSTLB61 (w/license plate holder) and RVSTLB60 (passenger side). They are exactly the same size as the original lights--even the screw holes line up.
This is not exactly an original mod (lots of other threads on multiple sites) but I do have a couple of notes that may help if you choose to do this mod, too.
1) A plastic trim (automobile) removal tool makes a great sealant scraper. A few times around and then a good scrubbing with 91% rubbing alcohol prepared the surface for the new sealant.
2) Make sure and dig into the hole in the camper to pull out ALL of the wires. They might be tucked back inside out of view. Do this so you can attach the original trailer wires to the new LEDs, not the old light's wires. (In other words the trailer side of the crimped wires.) Also, I found it easy to do a one-for-one swap of the wires. For example, whatever trailer wire(s) were connected to the green wire on the old light (regardless of their color coming out of the trailer) were attached to the green wire on the new LED light. I did the same for the LED's black and white wires. In other words, ignore the colors on the trailer side--if they were connected to the (black, white or green) wire on the old light then connect the same wire(s) to the (black, white or green) wire on the new LED light.
3) I resealed the base of the lights to the camper using Geocel GC28100 Pro Flex Rv Flexible Clear. As recommended by Rob (known here as moderator Cate&Rob) I sealed the screws before reinserting them. (On a side note some of the screws exhibited signs of rust on the screw threads!)
4) Nothing special about connecting the wires--I used weatherproof crimped butt splices and overlayed each connection with another layer of heat shrink.
Here's a shot with only side completed--can you tell which one is the LED and which one is the OEM? (This is with the brakes applied. Sorry about the vertical pole in the middle of the picture--that's an umbrella--it's HOT outside.)
One more note--I'm sorry to report that I had a bad experience with etrailer.com and these lights. Their shipping department tossed them all in a box with no protection. One was broken and they had to send a replacement. Others had scratches on the lenses. etrailer is well aware of my dissatisfaction and they know I am posting this experience here on this forum. They've been great in the past so I will order from them again--but if you order lights from them insist on proper packaging with the order agent (call--don't order online).
-Howard
P.S. I had to send back the marker lights--I got the wrong color base! I need black, not white. (Oops.) I'll post about replacing the marker lights in the future.
This is not exactly an original mod (lots of other threads on multiple sites) but I do have a couple of notes that may help if you choose to do this mod, too.
1) A plastic trim (automobile) removal tool makes a great sealant scraper. A few times around and then a good scrubbing with 91% rubbing alcohol prepared the surface for the new sealant.
2) Make sure and dig into the hole in the camper to pull out ALL of the wires. They might be tucked back inside out of view. Do this so you can attach the original trailer wires to the new LEDs, not the old light's wires. (In other words the trailer side of the crimped wires.) Also, I found it easy to do a one-for-one swap of the wires. For example, whatever trailer wire(s) were connected to the green wire on the old light (regardless of their color coming out of the trailer) were attached to the green wire on the new LED light. I did the same for the LED's black and white wires. In other words, ignore the colors on the trailer side--if they were connected to the (black, white or green) wire on the old light then connect the same wire(s) to the (black, white or green) wire on the new LED light.
3) I resealed the base of the lights to the camper using Geocel GC28100 Pro Flex Rv Flexible Clear. As recommended by Rob (known here as moderator Cate&Rob) I sealed the screws before reinserting them. (On a side note some of the screws exhibited signs of rust on the screw threads!)
4) Nothing special about connecting the wires--I used weatherproof crimped butt splices and overlayed each connection with another layer of heat shrink.
Here's a shot with only side completed--can you tell which one is the LED and which one is the OEM? (This is with the brakes applied. Sorry about the vertical pole in the middle of the picture--that's an umbrella--it's HOT outside.)
One more note--I'm sorry to report that I had a bad experience with etrailer.com and these lights. Their shipping department tossed them all in a box with no protection. One was broken and they had to send a replacement. Others had scratches on the lenses. etrailer is well aware of my dissatisfaction and they know I am posting this experience here on this forum. They've been great in the past so I will order from them again--but if you order lights from them insist on proper packaging with the order agent (call--don't order online).
-Howard
P.S. I had to send back the marker lights--I got the wrong color base! I need black, not white. (Oops.) I'll post about replacing the marker lights in the future.
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