Headlights

[Kevin D Pem]

First an observation!

I have some really nice LED lights in my rig. Much brighter than what I've found in modern RVs. What I have found is when I need my room illuminated so I can find that widget, I have to resort to the old incandescent lamps that the factory installed in 1983.

Evidently the spectrum of light emitted from LEDs won't play well with many human eyes. Look directly at them and they will blind you like a strobe, but they just don't eliminate all that well!

So do we need to go backwards with headlights to get a better night time driving experience? My headlights light up everything, but HID will do that kind of thing.

Having recently driven incandescent equipped car and LED equipped car I found the experience most telling. From the front of the two, I would much prefer facing the incandescent equipped vehicle. What was most shocking was I could see the road better with the incandescent headlights.

The HID equipped vehicle out preforms the other two, however the number of oncoming drivers that flashed me thinking I was to inconsiderate to dim my lights to oncoming traffic was a match with LED and HID equipped vehicles.

I personally think they should double the power of LED headlights in motorhomes!!! Not really!

 

[BGMAC]

First an observation!

I have some really nice LED lights in my rig. Much brighter than what I've found in modern RVs. What I have found is when I need my room illuminated so I can find that widget, I have to resort to the old incandescent lamps that the factory installed in 1983.

Evidently the spectrum of light emitted from LEDs won't play well with many human eyes. Look directly at them and they will blind you like a strobe, but they just don't eliminate all that well!

So do we need to go backwards with headlights to get a better night time driving experience? My headlights light up everything, but HID will do that kind of thing.

Having recently driven incandescent equipped car and LED equipped car I found the experience most telling. From the front of the two, I would much prefer facing the incandescent equipped vehicle. What was most shocking was I could see the road better with the incandescent headlights.

The HID equipped vehicle out preforms the other two, however the number of oncoming drivers that flashed me thinking I was to inconsiderate to dim my lights to oncoming traffic was a match with LED and HID equipped vehicles.

I personally think they should double the power of LED headlights in motorhomes!!! Not really!

I have found not all LED lights are the same. The higher number Lumens the brighter the light.
That is not all to consider. The pattern and reflective components also play a part. One more thing that plays apart of all this…. Old age. . As you get older a thin film “Cataracts” forms over your eyes causing lights to seem a little dimmer and on coming lights to glare. Most never get it bad enough to know they have or need surgery.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

I agree that not all LEDs are created equal. This isn’t just true in headlights but also bulbs for use in stores, homes and RVs have quite a few different characteristics. It isn’t just lumens or temp, but there seem to be distinct ways they can control flicker or lack of control.
Having LED headlamp assemblies in both the daily driver and in the coach, I like them much better than the halogen or xenon headlights we have had in prior vehicles.
IMO, LEDs are most focused and effective when designed as part of an entire headlight assembly. Putting a LED into a headlight made for incandescent won’t necessarily work correctly. Sometimes they can, but sometimes they will be a bit off, resulting in the light being reflected in a pattern not originally intended.
Waiting for US regulations to change to allow for better headlights, where we will be able to see further without blinding oncoming traffic.

 

[Joe Hogan]

Kevin brought up an interesting point. HID lights have been around a long time and are reasonable in cost, they are efficient and reasonably priced. Might be a good option for Newmar as they use old OEM light assemblies.

Or at least make them an option.

According to comments from my contacts at the Newmar Factory, they have been surprised at the orders of Li Ion battery option this year. It is spendy but very popular.