cargo / closet light ...Warning

[wintertree]

Greetings....Got a break in the weather today (above freezing)....so I proceeded to work on one of the outstanding projects still left to do on our RW before we go full time (cross your fingers....6 weeks away)....I installed a gun (rifle) cabinet in the nose ...walk in closet in our 2015 38RL....No issues....its a narrow metal cab....holds 4 rifles....got some proper backing on the road side wall and got it secure...
Lighting in the closet is in the form of the typical over head ...2 bulb ceiling light....sometimes called a cargo light....throws considerable light.....got the install done and noticed one of the lenses on the fixture is slightly distorted....further investigation shows discolouration on the bulb sockets from heat....I could feel the heat these bulbs put out....NOT GOOD !....So I checked the ones in the basement (3 fixtures there)....laundry area....and another storage area.....all the fixtures show heat stress on the bulb socket.....My unit being a 2015 has LED lighting everywhere except these cheap lights....plus their locations could easily fall prey to being left on...probably the case with the last owners....
My lights all have the 921 base 20 watt bulbs (incandescent).....They get very hot...hot enough they could cause a problem.....I placed an order to get enough of the LED replacements for these fixtures.....I hope the newer RW's don't have this issue....Check things out....

Wes

2015 38 RL / 2016 F-450

[mjdcwo]

I changed all of our bulbs over to LED's. Much cooler and less current draw.

[wintertree]

Yes big difference in both cases.....The LED's I installed are 6 watt each (super bright high power chips) compared to the 16 - 18 watt incandescent bulbs.....plus the LED's are only warm to touch ....I installed the led on one side of a two bulb cargo light to compare brightness....these 6 watt units seem to be slightly brighter.....but beware there are many LED's on the market....that use less than 6 watts....at the expense of a dull / dim light output....not great for an old guy looking around a cargo area....

Wes

2015 38RL 2016 F-450