Where is the best place to order update lights

Ok, I have changed all the hardware from brass to nickel and now we need to do the lights. Where is the best place to order 12v lights in Brushed Nickel?

What type of lighting are you looking for? Lowes and Home Depot carry many different 12V Halogen lights. You won't need the 120V power supply, just wire them to your 12VDC source. Boating supply stores such as "West Marine" also carry 12VDC fixtures.

Rich D.

Sailor Sams has a pretty good selection - see http://www.sailorsams.com/lights_incnav.htm

Check out the selection here - Grandview Trailer Sales On-line Store - it's my dealer's store.

I found our replacement kitchen ceiling light on eBay.  There was a decent selection by just typing in "12 volt fixture" or something similar, lots of marine/RV supply places that have eBay stores.

Thanks guys! I have got a few off Ebay. But I can't find some of the under cabinet unit I'm looking for. Thanks for the links I check them out. I'm also looking for a 12v ceiling fan.

I'm willing to bet the ceiling fans found in 5th wheels (and maybe other RV's?) are standard household ones, that operate from 110v off of an inverter, shore power, or generator.  Specific 12v ceiling fans seem like they would be too expensive (because of their rarity) to be commonly manufactured.  If I'm wrong I'm sure someone will correct me!

I found a 36" Ceiling fan on Ebay for $150. As far as I know I have no 120v in the ceiling but I do have 12v from the lights. So this my be my best route to go....

Sounds like it.  I've seen light fixtures alone go for that much, and $150 is not a lot more (and less in many cases) than regular household ceiling fans.

Source for 12v ceiling fans:

http://store.altenergystore.com/Lighting-Fans/Ceiling-Fans-DC/c509/

Thanks for the link, Gary

I've got a couple of fancy dark bronze 12v wall sconces if they would be of use. I took them out of my coach when I added brass reading lights instead. Contact me by email if interested.

Wish I could, but we are going all brushed nickel. I got most of them off Ebay. Still looking for a few under cabinet units.

Hi, I found some 12 volt rope light that incorporated led light bulbs. I would like to use led rope light on my RV because they consume less power. Has anyone used 12 volt rope light that has led light bulbs in them? Incandescent uses 2.88 watts per foot and the LEDs are about a 1/2 watt per foot.

Here is my solution to updating lights and fixtures.

I wired in 110 vac ceiling fixtures in my bunks, and kitchen ceiling, and bathroom.  I then use CFL's (Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs) in the fixtures.  I added a floor lamp in the living area and on the kitchen table a small matching fixture, as well the bedroom I added a table lamp, all using CFL's.

I was a tent camper for years and in the last few years I have been lighting my tent with a 115 amp hour battery and 1000watt xantrex inverter.  On a single charge and one 14 watt (equivalent 60 watt) cfl I get about 36 straight hours out of it.  When used only at night I easily get a weeks time out of the lighting, even adding additional light or charging my laptop, etc...  I took this same concept to the trailer considering the incredible power consumption of the standard 12 volt incandescent lights currently in the trailer.

For the trailer I use a 1750 Wagan inverter mounted close to the batteries (on the tongue).  I ran a 12-2 with ground outdoor extension cord under the trailer tied up nicely and fitted with wire loom to protect it.  The cord runs back to the circuit breaker panel where I use a transfer switch I made, that will automatically turn on my inverter when shore power is unavailable and only powers the ac outlets, new 110 lighting, and microwave.  The transfer switch enables me to not have to worry about turning off circuits that might overload the inverter as well it eliminates the dangers of back-feeding.  Because the transfer switch removes the lighting circuits from the breaker panel, it also means I don't have to worry about the 12 vdc converter being powered by the inverter.

This setup and more powerful inverter enables me to run my coffee maker (keurig... i LOVE this machine!), microwave, and new lighting.  I added an additional 115 amp hour deep cycle battery (costco).  It also offers a more home atmosphere as opposed to the car dome light look set by the manufacturers.  This home atmosphere is welcome even when we are shore powered in addition to the energy savings when battery powered.
There are other pluses to this setup in that, as I am self contained we can still power electronic devices that require 110 vac house current, ie. electronic games, laptops, cell phone chargers, lcd tv, toothbrush charger, and the like.

Because of the auto transfer switch when I am self contained and charging my trailer batteries via the generator during the day, I don't have to worry about keeping the inverter off as it is switched automatically.

some notes:  I had to run a new line to the frig because it was wired into the existing ac outlets that I wanted to use for the cfl's and it would have killed my batteries very quickly, and because it runs from propane I did not have to use it on remote power.
I also had to do some rewire of the circuit breaker panel so that my frig has its own circuit and combined two outlet circuits onto one breaker.



Equipment:

-7 watt cfl (40 equivalent) in 7 fixtures.
-1750 Wagan inverter
-transfer switch (homemade about 120.00 in parts).
-12-2 with ground extension cord.
-wire wrap (loom)
-Home Depot standard 110 vac ceiling light fixtures (15.00 each as I added pull chain switches to each).
-additional 115 amp hour 12vdc battery wired in parallel to existing battery on tongue of trailer.
-Time:  approximately 30 hours maybe a bit more.. often when its a labor of love, the time factor is skewed a bit.

I will be testing the new lights on a single 115 amp hour battery this week and let you know my results.  I will turn on 3 fixtures till the battery dies and can provide the inverter no more.  I am choosing 3 fixtures as I assume I will be a bit conservative when camping self contained.  Upon occasion i will run the keurig coffee maker as I would in the field.

Some more notes:  I found this site for retro'ing existing incandescent rv bulbs to LED light bulbs.  This will conserve substantially more energy on the 12 vdc fixtures and might be a quick alternative to my solution.  The only thing it wont provide is 11o vac power when self contained.  I am going to use these bulbs to update my fixtures and combine this method with my existing method to achieve even greater self contained time.

link:  http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-bin/store/commerce.cgi?product=OTHER

I will update this post with pictures in detail.

Best regards and fun RV'ing,

James...