Replace OEM Marker Lights w/LEDs (2019 315RLTS)

[howson]

This is a snoozer of an upgrade, but I learned something today worthy of posting. See pictures below for more! ( Note I haven't done the upper red marker lights on the rear of the trailer--yet--got too hot!) If there's anything significant to report I'll update this thread.







A couple of additional notes...
1) No need to seal the marker lights along the skirt of the camper. (If water "penetrates" it's just going to run down the inside of the skirting and then on to the ground.)
2) Super easy swap. I had to crawl under the camper twice. Once to cut a strain relief zip tie so I could access wiring (which I later re-zip tied) and once near the tank drain handles as the trailer wires weren't long enough (but were accessible from underneath--very easy to work on).
3) The front, street side yellow marker had three wires on the trailer side. I had to use a larger butt splice, so on the light side I stripped an extra length of bare wire and then folded it back onto itself so I could get a good crimp.

[howson]

Got the upper rear marker lights replaced this evening. The picture below shows the difference between the LEDs and the OEM incandescents. I'm sure you can tell just the two at the far left are LEDs. (I know it doesn't look like it, but the other three ARE on! I actually crawled up and checked due to the dramatic difference.)



A couple of interest items:
--There's a channel that runs horizontally across the top of the rear for the marker light wires. The marker closest to the street side (driver's side) has wires that go into the wall behind the channel and out of sight.





-- The marker closest to the curb side (behind the ladder) had two very small wires (22ga?) that join the "normal" wires used everywhere else. I have no idea where they go or what they do.

Any questions, fire away.

-Howard

[Boomer58]

Nice job Howard. I replaced my tail lights and all of my marker lights last year with LED's. You will be much happier and safer with the LED lights. My biggest fear is being rear ended by someone texting or whatever. Becoming full timers it would really make things difficult. When I did my tail lights, I added some pig tails that come out the bottom of the trailer. I would like to add a third brake light to the bottom of the bike rack that would plug in with a 2 prong plug. I have wondered why the RV industry has not switched over to LED lights for their trailers. How much more would it add to the overall cost. See you on the road somewhere, Boomer.

[Cate&Rob]

I replaced my marker lights with a set from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Very similar to the ones that Howard used. Mine came with white bases (that I painted black) and have a few more LEDs (although I don't think they are any brighter). The LEDs are the same colour as the lenses (red for red and amber for amber) rather than white LEDs . . . which might be why more LEDs are required for the same light output. I suppose . . . if I lose a lens, the marker light won't change colour. The outside shape of the lights are a little different than the OE, but the screw holes are the same spacing. All considered . . . I think I would have gone with the ones that Howard used . . . if, I had found those first.

Rob

[Yoda]

Howard I would guess those 22 gauge wires run to the camera mount. Do they run inside the channel you found? Also the wires that run inside on the drivers side - do they come out the bottom?. One last question - did you seal the bases around the screw holes so no water can get to the screws?

Great write up. Your now with Rob - more work for me and more $$$$.

[howson]

Howard I would guess those 22 gauge wires run to the camera mount. Do they run inside the channel you found?

Yes, but I couldn't figure out where they went. It could be the camera mount, but wouldn't it have made more sense to tap off the middle marker light instead of one all the way on the end?

Also the wires that run inside on the drivers side - do they come out the bottom?

I don't know if there is one long wire coming up from the bottom for the marker lights or if there is a splice somewhere. My guess is the upper marker lights are wired in parallel to the others attached to the skirting. So that means a wire from the rear, street-side marker light up to the first one on the upper rear, street-side. But that is pure speculation on my part.

One last question - did you seal the bases around the screw holes so no water can get to the screws?

Yes, the upper markers are sealed with RV Flex sealant. I found putting a thin layer on the trailer was the best way to do it and then wipe off any excess. I also dipped the screws in sealant (and shot some in the holes in the camper). Messy work...hard to keep it from getting everywhere.

With regards to Rob (and Jim, and many others...)--they are my "RV Heros" for sure. I've learned an incredible amount from them. (But yes, it can get expensive hanging out on these forums!)

[Guest]

Howard,

Your marker lights look great. Do all the marker LEDs emit white or the color of the lenses?

I'm looking into some plug in options but will not be spending too much time and money on this. Being able to fit under the lenses will be a factor as well as being able to emit as well as an incandescent bulb. The plug in market is fraught with garbage as well as some interesting high quality options.

I installed Morimoto (very high quality) LED fogs on my vehicle ( I know we are not discussing trucks--great) and they are amazing. Also moving to their LED headlights. So LED lighting can have huge advantages over incandescent bubs. For your LED tail lights, the reduced delay time by 200ms is a huge advantage when braking at highway speeds.

Also an observation camera on the back of the rig ( I see you have one) and trying to drive defensively while leaving useable space when stopping has huge advantages. Watching approaching traffic to give them space if needed as they are approaching your stopped rig. Unfortunately, there is only so much you can do to prevent a distracted driver from an issue. Active collision avoidance on all motor vehicles would be helpful.

[howson]

Your marker lights look great. Do the all the marker LEDs emit white or the color of the lenses?

All of the marker lights output white light from the LEDs. Color seen is dependent on the lens color.

I agree completely with your commentary on LEDs. I've replaced every light on my '06 Honda Goldwing with LEDs from SoCalMoto and the difference is simply amazing. SoCalMoto's LED motorcycle kits are not cheap--but worth every penny IMO.

A bit OT, but the rear observation camera (in conjunction with the NAVIKS system I've reviewed elsewhere) gives me situational awareness of what drivers are doing behind me where normally I'd have no clue.

Finally, again we're in complete agreement that no matter what one does to their vehicle if the other driver is looking down at their phone there is a high likelihood of a crash. Endless examples I could cite, but there's no point.

[Guest]

I received four Philips T-10 LED replacement bulbs for the OEM 194 Incandescent bulbs in the factory marker lights. The difference was also a significant improvement (see pics). I did notice there is verbiage on the box that these lights are for off road only where I believe this is due to them being a much higher color temperature since they are 6000K. These are not a super high end CREE LED so I will test them while keeping my factory bulbs in the truck. For those that may want a quick and dirty solution to brighter lighting, this may be an option. After receiving a tip from a friend who replaced his lights, he mentioned all his lights could have been sealed better to the rig. Upon close inspection he was correct where all my lights will need to be pulled and resealed. This removes some advantage in replacing only the bulbs.

https://www.xenondepot.com/SearchRes...rch_submit.y=0

[howson]

The difference was also a significant improvement... After receiving a tip from a friend who replaced his lights, he mentioned all his lights could have been sealed better to the rig. Upon close inspection he was correct where all my lights will need to be pulled and resealed.

Definitely an improvement and much easier to accomplish than a complete replacement. Especially the red markers along the top (rear) of my camper. I'd definitely just swap the bulb if I had it to do again.

I'm surprised you have to reseal the lights on your Imagine. Except for the previously mentioned lights on the rear, on my 315RLTS the marker lights are attached to the bottom skirting. There's no reason to seal them. Or am I misunderstanding?

[Cate&Rob]

I'm surprised you have to reseal the lights on your Imagine. Except for the previously mentioned lights on the rear, on my 315RLTS the marker lights are attached to the bottom skirting. There's no reason to seal them. Or am I misunderstanding?

On my (5 year old) Reflection, the 5 marker lights across the top rear, the two forward marker lights and the brake lights attach to luan ply walls. All of these showed some signs of water penetration through the screw holes or wire openings. The 4 marker lights in the skirting were "sealed" from the backside with spray foam. Agreed that the lights in the skirting do not need to be sealed.

The lights are originally installed dry with no gasket and then a smear of silicone is wiped around the outside perimeter of the base as the water seal. In my opinion, it is much better (and neater) to fill the wire exit hole with silicone and after this cures, install the light with screws generously dipped in silicone before installing. This is a "marine" process that I have used for years on boats, but works well on RVs too.

On one of my original tail lights, the silicone across the bottom of the light was intact, but the silicone across the top was not. This created a situation where a pool of water was held inside the light until it seeped into the wall through the lower screw hole. See picture of original right rear tail light lower mounting screw.

Rob

[Guest]

I just found my right rear lower marker light full of water.