Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 12, 2025 ...

I had a little time while visiting my son in South Dakota, and wanted to replace the florescents in the coach. I read many projects posted here and elsewhere before and had a good idea of what needed to be done and what to order. I also decided against soldering all the strips, since there are a lot of connectors out there that work just as well.

Before the project, I took stock of what I was replacing:
10 15W 19" bulbs @ 150W total
10 F13T5 13W bulbs @ 130W total
8 F8T5 8W bulbs @64W total

For the project, I used the following:
Warm White LED's (16' strip) X3  $28.77
Double-ended Strip Connectors (X2)    $16.82
Single-ended Strip Connectors (X2)  $17.40
JVCC Double Sided Tape (3/8 X 50 yds)  $15.50
Wire strippers
Wire cutter
Crimp-on double end connectors (X26) $12.80
Removable battery from my portable drill
Light-up magnifying glass (My eyes aren't too good)
Screwdriver (for removing the 2 fixtures I pulled the ballasts from)
Drill (for the 2 above pop-rivets)

THAT'S IT!

I started by removing the covers (working 1 light at a time kept things clean). Then remove the bulbs. At the center or end of the fixture there are 2 power wires feeding the ballast (blue and white on mine). Close to the ballast, cut the wires and strip the ends. I left all the ballasts and associated wiring in the fixture for all but 2 (wanted to see what it was like with and without, no difference).

Next was cutting the strip into the proper length. There is a cut line every 3 LED's, so sizing was no problem. For the center lights, I cut 24 LED-long strips to replace the F13T5 bulbs, 27 LED long strips for the 19" ones, and 15 LED long strips for the 8" bulbs.

Connections: I connected 2 strips through the double-end connectors (center fixtures), and a single-end connector on one end. Be sure to pay attention to the + and - marks on the connectors and on the ends of the strips. To connect the ends, peel back the tape on the back of the LED strip enough to expose the end, slide the connector under the contacts, and close the end over the strip.

Once the strips were connected, I tested them on my 18V drill battery. You can only put the contacts to the battery one way to work, so remember where the red terminal goes when testing. After testing, I crimped on the connectors to the wires. Once the strip is assembled, I measured the appropriate length of double-sided tape, peeled back all the tape on the LED's (laying LED's down flat), and attached the double sided tape. DON'T peel the blue backing until ready to install! I chose to use the double-sided tape after reading that the glue on the back of the LED's is inferior.

Now you have a strip (or chain of strips) to install. I used the same location the bulbs were previously at in the center of each section. With the ballast cover reinstalled (on the center lights), it works just fine. Connect the strip through the crimp connectors to the blue and white wires (test before crimping!), then pulled the blue backing off the double-sided tape and install.