Only after some time of using RV, people start to pay attention to lights. Quite often, they have covers, which it is not that easy to remove. When you want to improve illumination in the room or to clean the light’s area, you have to remove light covers. Here you will find all the information you need on removing RV light covers and selecting the most suitable light bulbs.
Table of Contents
Why It Is Important To Know How To Remove RV Light Covers?
RV can be only camping vehicles for long trips. They are homes where it is important to feel comfortable. Inside lights are one of the most important parts of comfort. In the kitchen area, they allow you to prepare wonderful dishes without enough sunlight, while in living rooms you have to be able to read books. If the brightness is not enough your eyes will get tired much faster.
When you need to do some manipulations with lights, you need to know how to remove covers without damaging or breaking them. While buying an RV, light covers may not be that clean. As a result, you receive dim light. You can replace covers with more transparent or even a specific color to change the atmosphere.
Another reason is to replace light bulbs. There are different types of them. If you want to know the differences between bulbs for RV, you should keep reading this article. Here you will find everything you need to know about the lights of the RV.
It is necessary to mention cleaning. To deal with the area around the light, it is simpler to remove inside covers to clean properly. All of that is much easier to do than you think.
Guide on How to Remove Inside Light covers
After finding out about the reasons and issues that you might have to deal with in RV, you will learn how to remove inside light covers. This task does not require a lot of time if you have everything that is needed and you know what to do.
Preparation
Most inside lights have fastening mechanisms. To deal with screws and clippings you should have some screwdrivers and a pair of pillars. Additionally, it is recommended to wear protective gloves when you deal with tough screws, as you may harm your hands. Moreover, it will protect you from leaking current. Sometimes, you can unscrew with a knife or something sharp. However, it is not very safe.
Finding Openings
After having all the necessary instruments you can begin removing the covering. At first, you should find screw outlets of the cover. In most cases, they are around the light. Those covers that have brackets require pliers. By pulling them out, you can remove the cover.
Types of Light Cover Fasteners
You can encounter several cover fasteners of lights in the RV. Each of them might have a different mechanism but in general, they work the same.
- Groves. This type keeps the light cover together with the base. You need to put some pressure on the center of it to remove the cover.
- Latches. With this type, you do not need additional instruments, unless it is difficult without some lever or letches that are stuck. You just slightly squeeze them and pull back the cover.
- Pry mechanism. Here you will need to use something with a sharp and flat end like screwdrivers. With a little force, you pull the cover out.
- It is necessary to mention that you should check the manual before dealing with light covers. It may contain all the instructions about how to deal with light covers.
How to Change a Light Bulb?
Your van or motorhome is equipped with numerous bulbs distributed throughout the vehicle (kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and exterior). These bulbs, even though they are LED bulbs, have a limited lifespan. During your road trips or motorhome vacations, you may need to change an LED bulb or a G4 bulb. So how do you change a motorhome bulb? Regardless of the model of your motorhome (Fiat Ducato, Rapido, Challenger, Pilote…), the procedure will be almost identical and not very complicated. You can easily do this yourself without calling a professional.
Different Types of Light Bulbs
When changing a motorhome bulb, you must choose the type of bulb to install. There are 3 types of bulbs:
- Incandescent bulbs
- Light bulbs
- Halogen bulbs
- LED bulbs
LED bulbs are the latest generation bulbs that consume up to 5 times less than their counterparts do. Motorhome LED bulbs also have a much longer lifespan than other bulbs. These bulbs are very resistant to cold and can be used indoors or outdoors.
The vans and motorhomes built after 2006 are in principle all equipped with LED bulbs. If your vehicle is equipped with halogen or incandescent bulbs, it is better to switch to LED bulbs. Motorhome neon lights, often installed in the kitchen or bathroom, can easily be replaced with LED neon lights or LED neon strips or ribbons, very easy to install.
Comparison of Bulb Types
| Specs of bulbs | Light | Halogen | Fluorescent | LED |
| Energy efficiency (lumens/watt) | 10–20 | 20–45 | 60–110 | medium-high |
| Price | low | low-medium | medium-high | medium |
| Harmful ingredients | none | low | medium-high | approx. 25,000–50,000 |
| Lifespan (hours) | approx. 1000 | approx. 2000 | approx. 18,000 | very flexible |
| Possible uses | flexible | moderately flexible | moderately flexible | low – medium |
| Heat development | strong | strong | medium | 2800-5000 |
| Light color (degrees Kelvin) | 2700 | 3200 | 2000-10,000 | 70-90 |
| Color rendering index (Ra) | 90-100 | 90 | 60-90 | 20–100 |
How to Dismantle a Ceiling Bulb in RV?
In-ceiling van spotlights can be difficult to open to change the bulb. Disassembling a motorhome ceiling light is not always easy for everyone. Remember to turn off the electricity before you start. To dismantle a motorhome LED spotlight, no need to remove the entire block. The metal halo located around the glass that protects the bulb must be removed:
- If the spot is on the structure you can try to rotate the part which should come off. If it does not come off you unclip it using a thin blade of a knife or box cutter.
- If the spot is raised, the circular seal will have to be removed by hand or with pliers. The base can be fixed with screws, in this case, use a suitable screwdriver.
- If your motorhome model is recent, all you have to do is turn the metal bezel and unscrew it.
- Change the bulb and proceed in the same way for fitting the bulb.
How to Remove the Exterior Lighting of an RV?
To change the exterior bulb of a motorhome, you must proceed with caution. Once you have cut the electricity, you will have to remove the cover to access the bulb. The protective cover must be unscrewed and removed. Remove the defective bulb and put in the new LED bulb. Put the cover back in place and screw it back on. You can optionally make a gasket around the cover to make sure your LED bulb stays dry.
Strong Sides of LED Lighting in RV
More and more RVs have LED bulbs inside due to various positive factors. They can deliver enough spotlight for cooking vegetables, reading, enjoying romantic evenings with a glass of wine, etc. When you spend a lot of time in an RV, lights are very helpful to deal with various functions and tasks. Meanwhile, LED bulbs make the good old filament shine again. They are energy efficient, which is when the motorhome has a certain capacity of energy. You can greatly improve budgeting with LED lighting.
LED brings advanced technology to common RV owners. It makes traveling comfortable and pleasing. Quite often you can encounter the term “quantum leap”. It is about the effective way to convert electricity into light with enough luxes. LED uses the so-called photoelectric effect in a light-emitting diode.
Is Economic Light Also A Good Light?
Everything can be measured and the same goes for the illuminance. It uses lux to determine the amount of light. You can find it on various lights and lamp bulb products. Not every person knows about the amount of light they need while living in an RV. Eyes are quite adaptable. They can grasp images in various lighting situations. Nevertheless, to be comfortable with the lighting it does not have to be very little or too much. When you are in a dark room without any lights, eye iris opens. It is the ciliary muscle that gets to be tensed to open it. However, it is very tiring to do that all the time.
Speaking about illumination, contrasts and sharpness also matter. The lighting always has to be adjusted according to the purpose. There are various regulations, which are common in commercial and private home sectors. Moreover, interior designers use them as guidelines.
In the areas where you spend most of the time reading books and relaxing it should be around 50–300 lux. In other rooms and places where you need to see everything precisely, it can be even over the 300 lux.
Brightness Distribution and Light Character
While taking into consideration the visual impression, a light character can play a big deal. While looking in the mirror, you need to have proper illumination to see it clear. In case light bulbs are located above you, areas under your eyes will have shadows, which makes it not the right reflect of you. Alternatively, whether diffuse light from the side illuminates all areas of the face evenly.
Kitchen Area
Kitchen is a very important place in an RV. In case you are a person who loves cooking, you need to have proper lights. Otherwise, you have more chances to hurt yourself while handling the knife. One of the ways to measure the illumination is via the color rendering index, which has Ra index. It has a 100 scale, which helps to define how the original colors are perceived near a specific lamp. Each lamp or light bulb delivers a specific color spectrum. That is why common incandescent lamps are so much simpler to use. Meanwhile, fluorescent lamps have quite a rugged color spectrum and it has to be managed properly.
Living Area
For living spaces, you should consider having lamps or bulbs with a warm white color. People often get used to deal with various contrasts and compensate for lightning issues. However, if it is not that comfortable it can worsen your overall mood. Bluish light and bulbs may also be not that comfortable and look cold. Reddish light is a better option as it can deliver warmth and coziness. If you take a look at the technical side of light and colors, they depend on the temperatures. It is often mentioned in Kelvins in specifications of light bulbs. Thus, it varies like:
- warm white means is below 3300K;
- neutral white is around 3300-5300K;
- daylight white is above 5300K.
In case you want to take good photos inside of an RV, lights should not be aggressive that disrupt images. It is better to have more white colors than warm yellow.Thus, a lot of customers prefer to use LEDs as they often have cool white light, which sometimes can be a bit greenish, which is not a problem.
LED bulbs are often a preferred option for illumination. Even when they produce a lot of light, they do that evenly. The shades are not sharp and rather smooth. Moreover, they do not require a lot of power. It makes them an even better option for RV, as you always have a limited amount of power output. The installation is very simple, and does not require specialists.
While getting an RV you can always change lights to the one you like. It greatly depends on your personal tastes and eye perception. Areas where you spend most of your time or with friends may need a background lighting. It allows the possibility to enjoy TV, without lights being too bright for movies, tv shows, etc.