HI POWER brake/tail lamp bulbs for your PU

[copcarguy]

Hey all!
 
I have thought the brake/tail lamps on my PU are just not bright enough...  I have been thinking of replacing the bulbs with led's but I haven't found a design that will work correctly with the Bargman light housings on my Coleman Carmel.  The socket is 90 degrees from where the light needs to shine and the led's just didn't cut it...  After searching for a while, I found halogen 1157 bulbs that worked great!  The brake light is 30 watts and the tail lights are 8 watts.  I bought them from JC Whitney.  Here's the link:
 
http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=324&catalogId=10101&langId=-1&storeId=10101
 
I know other PUT'ers have said that they don't think their lights are bright enough and this may be what they're looking for.

[birol]

Oh man 10 bucks !!!! But might be worth it, my PU's lights are worse than a dwindling candle ....

[brainpause]

I may have to check these out. I bought some nice LED 1157's, but they were sort of pitiful, because the LED's faced OUTWARD instead of BACKWARD. So, I am sending them back. This sounds like your setup, ccg.

Birol, before you sink money into the Halogen bulbs, make sure your sockets and wiring are in good shape. I recently filed mine with a rattail file to make them nice and shiny, and to make sure I get a good connection.

Larry

[whitestar505]

copcarguy,

With that much wattage I would be afraid of melting the plastic lens covers on the trailer.

Hey all!
 
 
 
I have thought the brake/tail lamps on my PU are just not bright enough... I have been thinking of replacing the bulbs with led's but I haven't found a design that will work correctly with the Bargman light housings on my Coleman Carmel. The socket is 90 degrees from where the light needs to shine and the led's just didn't cut it... After searching for a while, I found halogen 1157 bulbs that worked great! The brake light is 30 watts and the tail lights are 8 watts. I bought them from JC Whitney. Here's the link:
 
http://www.jcwhitney.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=324&catalogId=10101&langId=-1&storeId=10101
 
I know other PUT'ers have said that they don't think their lights are bright enough and this may be what they're looking for.

[brainpause]

copcarguy,

With that much wattage I would be afraid of melting the plastic lens covers on the trailer.

Doubtful. Your turn signal/brake lights aren't on that long. The tail lights, which you may drive with, are only 8 watts.

Larry

[mike4947]

They do get very hot and I've seen problems using them for tail lights. For turn/brake lights unless you're a foot on the brake pedal rider there shouldn't be a problem using them for that application.

[tlhdoc]

I may have to check these out. I bought some nice LED 1157's, but they were sort of pitiful, because the LED's faced OUTWARD instead of BACKWARD. So, I am sending them back.

Larry they make LED bulbs that have some of the LEDs pointing out around the edges so that the light fills the lens.

http://autolumination.com/1156_1157.htm

The Matrix bulbs at this link are the type I am talking about.

[brainpause]

Larry they make LED bulbs that have some of the LEDs pointing out around the edges so that the light fills the lens.

http://autolumination.com/1156_1157.htm

The Matrix bulbs at this link are the type I am talking about.

The Matrix bulbs are the ones I bought. But the 6 bulbs pointing outward really only allowed one or two to point towards the rear of the vehicle. The large "clump" of 18 bulbs pointed to the left and right of the vehicle, which meant very little pointing rearward toward surrounding vehicles. So, they wouldn't work with my vehicle, and I am sending mine back.

Larry

[tlhdoc]

Try, try, and try again.

Did you see the bulbs with the 90 degree angles?

[brainpause]

Try, try, and try again.

Did you see the bulbs with the 90 degree angles?

I've been dense all week.

No, I didn't see them, but I don't think they would be bright enough to suit me. I had to stand/sit/kneel almost directly in line of where they were pointing to see their brightness.

Larry