Hi Everyone,
I am brand new to the forum. I am certain this topic has been covered, but would like to know.,,, I am looking at purchasing a 1999 U270. Not crazy about the front look. Is one able to change out the lower headlight fiberglass with the newer style with the round lights?
I am really handy but could it be a "bolt in mod". Is there a kit available?
This will be my first Foretravel. Coming from an M380 Blue Bird.
Thank you in advance for your ideas :)
Some pictures of options are here: Xtreme Paint & Graphics Home (http://www.xtremegraphics.net/ourwork/headlightconversions/) Cost is $3500. Foretravel of Texas also does headlight upgrades. Costs will be similar.
I'm not aware of any "kits." We are scheduled to have the work done on our coach in March/April. Our current plan is to use 7" LED panel mount headlamps rather than the 90 mm recessed lamps that are very popular now.
If you search this forum, you will find a lot of information about headlights. Same is true for almost anything you want to know about a Foretravel coach.
Thanks,
The more I read about FT, the more excited I get about owning one!
Great forum also !!!
I believe FOT sells a kit, although you'll need a good fiberglass shop to implement it.
Headlight conversion kit (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=18324.0)
So does xtreme. Paul Haid had his coach painted in Indiana but not without a few problems.
Take it from one who's done it, 3500.00 is a steal of a deal for this work. Lots of fiberglass and open mold gelcoat work is involved in addition to the kit.
I am fairly handy, and I think after the second or third headlight conversion with guidance from somebody like Rance at Xtreme, I believe I could do an acceptable job. I watched the process closely, and all in all, the money I paid for Rance and David (his helper) to accomplish the final result was money well spent. There are a lot of pictures of our conversion in this thread: An Xtreme Christmas, and a shiny New Year (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=20051.msg144411#msg144411)
Here is one picture of our coach as it sits now...
Don
Don's comment, "he is fairly handy", is an understatement of facts and his abilities, IMHO.
Take a look at Don's link, and go to post #60, to see his before and after photos.
My coach upgrade was already done when I bought it, and have now driven at night, great lighting.
I, too, am fairly handy and like to do fiberglass work. So, for my 1996 FT, I order the kit from FT.
After getting all the parts and studying them and figuring all the stuff I had to do I gave it up. Had FT install the kit. Was very pleased with the results.
On my 2003, I had Xtreme do the headlight mods. Also very pleased with the results.
J D, what are the LED panel mount lights you are referring too? I guess I'm not familiar.
I had Rance do mine too.
LED headlights: Headlights - Products - J.W. Speaker Corporation (http://www.jwspeaker.com/products/headlights/#product=500249)
Headlight mounts: Mercedes G500 LED Headlight Bucket (http://www.headlightrevolution.com/Porsche_Bucket_p/477-941-050a.htm)
I may know if it was a good choice a year from now.
I have the lights and a couple of mounting Porsche/Mercedes mounting buckets. I contacted Jennifer and Rance at Xtreme to verify that Rance could mount the lights. He looked at the specifications and is interested to see how the finished product compares to the headlights they use most of the time. We may need to do a headlight comparison after hours when the installation is complete. I expect the big, round headlights to look "old" compared to the popular 90 mm installation. However, they appeared to best meet comply with my preferences for performance (according the charts, specifications, and reports).
I was interested in trying LED lamps for consistent color and intensity without having to make wiring changes. A couple of experts recommended the Speaker lamps. They are made in USA. I studied several illumination patterns and watched some videos showing some headlight tests. We are scheduled to get the headlights installed in early April.
Thanks for the info. I'm really curious to see how they turn out. I have had a few thoughts about different options for changing my head and tail lights. Nice to see that I'm not the only one .
Photos of installed J. W. Speaker LED headlights.
They are a great improvement over the previous versions. They appear to run at full brightness without additional wiring. We bought some appropriate jacks and wired into the original headlight wiring. The mounts we used were Hella/Porsche/MB mounts.
The lights are rated to draw 2.5A at 12 VDC. They are specified for operating voltage of 11.4 to 32VDC. More information is at http://www.jwspeaker.com/products/headlights/model-8700-evolution-7-round-par-56-led-headlight (http://www.jwspeaker.com/products/headlights/model-8700-evolution-7-round-par-56-led-headlight).
They look good! How's the view at night?
Good white light. Ditch to ditch coverage and good illumination of the road. The vertical cutoff between the strong illumination and less strong illumination is very sharp. We have the cutoff adjusted to be straight out from the center of the lamp. High beams add a strong light straight ahead with a bit more vertical coverage. They illumination appears to be as good as any DOT compliant set of headlights I have used. I've not done a side by side "shootout" with any other vehicles, nor have I driven very much at night yet. They are WAY better than the very low OEM lights with yellowed lenses.
There are lots of views of the lights here: JW Speaker 7" Round Chrome #8700 LED Headlight (http://www.headlightrevolution.com/JWSPEAKER_8700_Chrome_p/jw-8700c.htm). The 12 minute video shows a lot of detail about the light. It includes some good pictures of the beam patterns for both high and low beam. It also shows a test road with distance markers illuminated by the headlights.
They do look good! I would be curious to see how bright they are compared to the xenon variety. I asked Rance what he thought about the LED headlights and they weren't ready to embrace them yet, but perhaps you have pointed the way... obviously, Rance did his usual excellent fiberglass and engineering work. ^.^d
Don & Tys
Here is a "headlight shootout" for replacement lamps for a Jeep using 7" round headlights. The guy doing the comparison found the Speaker lamps superior to all the other street legal systems he tested. Note that the charts in the presentation are not "illumination patterns." Look carefully at the description of the content of the chart.
JKOwners.com - The community for Jeep JK Owners (http://www.jkowners.com/tech/lights/)
"The light from the J.W. Speaker just left it (Truck-lite) and everything else in in the dust. Look at the chart, the even transition from side to side and the output at 500'. You see down the bottom where the 500 foot readings are? Yes, other lights may have put out more light up close (100' or less) but that is where they stopped performing. The J.W. 8700 Evolutions put out more light at distance and much, much more evenly."
Wow David those look great! Thanks for posting.
see ya
ken
Hi JD,
What a great look! Now I know who to blame for needing this improvement.
Raymond
So far, I'm pleased with our headlight conversion. I am pleased with the appearance of the lights and turn signals.
We drove about three hours in the dark last night. The Speaker headlights are GOOD! They light the road ditch-to-ditch. The have a sharp vertical cutoff. They appear to illuminate up to the base of the windows on most cars ahead of us. They have a pattern that shines a bit higher on the right side to illuminate road signs. The high beams add a powerful light that illuminates the area straight ahead of the coach. I am conservative in the use of high beams any time. I never had "flashing complaints" of the lights from our vehicle.
The lights have a very distinct pattern. They throw out a lot of light without blinding other drivers. The color is very white, and doesn't tend toward the blue tint that some folk prefer. The lights don't illuminate "around the corner" on a right angle turn real well. They served us very well on a dark night with moderate traffic.
We were driving on the Kansas Turnpike.
I have the JW Speaker headlights on our TOAD Jeep and like them very much...Coach next
I concur on the JW Speaker lights. I have them on my wrangler, best mod I made! Not cheap at $700 for the pair but worth every penny when driving at night.
Full blown gel/glass work is out for the vast majority of folks but what about a bolt in panel and cutting some holes...?
I have been staring at my faded F150 lights for a while now and can't help but think a panel could be made that bolted into that location. It could be fairly clean looking following the body lines. It would be some work to get the plug and mold made but after that the inserts would be fairly cheap. Add flush mount lights of your choice, a bit of electrical and your there for 1/3rd of the cost to get it done smooth.
Try these folks.
Coach Transit Components - CTC Inc, coach parts, bus parts, fiberglass... (http://www.coachtransitcomponents.com/)
UPDATE re: J.W.Speaker headlights:
Be aware that at least some of their items (headlamps, buckets) are not manufactured till they are ordered, so expect at least 3 weeks lead time for your project. I just delayed mine by - you guessed it - 3 weeks!
Here are some sources for those items. They are not available directly from J.W.Speaker. I found the best prices at these 2 suppliers (one is for headlights, one for buckets, as the headlight source does not offer the buckets. - when I couldn't find them online I called them and they confirmed.)
Headlights:
http://www.4wd.com/eSearch.aspx?Ntk=primary&Ntt=j.w.speaker NOTE: The discounted price shows only in the shopping cart - they cost about 20% less than the price shown on page.
Buckets:
J.W. Speaker® 3156561 - Panel Mount Bucket Assembly (http://www.carid.com/jw-speaker/8700-panel-mount-bucket-assembly-mpn-3156561.html)
Anyone contemplating a diy on headlight conversion, here's a bit of advice as E. Fudd would put it. "Be vewerrrry careful to check behind both panels when laying out your headlights. There's Lots of hoses, wire looms etc behind the fiberglass.
If you email these guys they will send you a code for about $500 for a pair.
J.W. Speaker 8700 Evolution J Series LED Headlights 07-16 Jeep Wrangler JK (http://www.elevatedoffroad.com/J-W-Speaker-8700-Evolution-J-p/0551131.htm)
Make sure you get the set with the internal anti-flicker harness.
The only downside I can see is if you end up driving in the snow, these don't generate enough het to melt snow.