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Questions on Headlight and Tail Light Conversion


  Hello All,
    We are contemplating having the headlight/tail light conversion done to our coach.
    Still trying to decide if we want the head light horizontal, vertical or diagonal. 
    We will replace the fog/auxiliary lamps and have installed the front side mounted LED turn signals.
    Going with the round tail lights and back up lights with a high mounted brake light like below.

    For those that have done the conversions anything you may have done differently?
    Any and all suggestions welcome--as I only have one shot at this.
        Thanks--Jim

Jim & Doreen
2003 U320

 "Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen"
― Louis L'Amour

Re: Questions on Headlight and Tail Light Conversion

Reply #1 –
Jim,
I have the Phenix front and the rear is the round LED 3 each side plus the center stop lite was changed internal LED, also added small LED red on side at rear, lost the side view when lost the Ford  van lights as they did shoe to the side, the new LED being recssed do not. Also added additional marker/turn above the rear wheel.

Re: Questions on Headlight and Tail Light Conversion

Reply #2 –
 Thank you Dave--seems like you covered all the bases.
  Are you happy with the light output from the headlights?
Jim & Doreen
2003 U320

 "Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen"
― Louis L'Amour

Re: Questions on Headlight and Tail Light Conversion

Reply #3 –
Oh yes, the high beams are wonderful bright, also the small lower fog lites are actually usable unlike the Helo? Original

Re: Questions on Headlight and Tail Light Conversion

Reply #4 –
Quote from: Dave M –
the center stop lite was changed internal LED

Dave,

Do you know what they used for your  new center stop light?

Thanks,

Trent
Trent and Jean Eyler
2000  U295  4003  WTFE  ISC  350
Build#5603 MC#17385

Re: Questions on Headlight and Tail Light Conversion

Reply #5 –
No idea, Rance gutted the original bulb & stalled a LED assembly, looks good to me

Re: Questions on Headlight and Tail Light Conversion

Reply #6 –
I had the whole front end make over.  Headlights, horizontal, driving lights, license plate recess.
Rear end tail/brake, backup (linked to rear docking lights) and turn lights plus high up tail/turn/brake lights.  And a new step.  I also replaced the incandescent bulbs in the center brake light with LED bulbs.  I like Dave's rear over the wheel turn indicators.  I'll have to add those.  Anything to let the folks nearby know what I want to do.

We very much like the results.  Especially the high rear lights.  Very visable over our towed Jeep.  I can see people behind react quickly now where before it took more time for them to see what we were going to do.  All of the LED rear lights help.  The high rear light on ambulances and firetrucks are rectangular, bigger and brighter but too big to fit well but give you an idea of the impact of the high lights.

Roger

Roger
Roger Engdahl and Susan Green
2001 U320 3610 #5879 (Home2) - 2014 Jeep Cherokee or 2018 F150
Hastings, MN

Re: Questions on Headlight and Tail Light Conversion

Reply #7 –

  Looks great Roger..
  I certainly like the license plate recess--will have to add that to the list.
  Thanks for the pictures and ideas.
                  Jim
Jim & Doreen
2003 U320

 "Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen"
― Louis L'Amour

Re: Questions on Headlight and Tail Light Conversion

Reply #8 –
Jim, we completed our horizontal light kit conversion at Xtreme on Friday. They have 300 installs to date, I'm told the majority of their  headlight conversions are horizontal. They are the best. I cannot say enough good stuff about the team at Xtreme.

I have no night miles yet, so I cannot speak to the difference. I wish that we had started sooner with the project. I'm headed Back-to-Nac Tuesday for some Fuel Line TLC. I wish you to have as good an experience as we enjoyed the last five days at their shop.
Paul & Kathleen
1995 U320c SE 40'
Build 4681 --Cummins M11 /17511
"That Irish Girl"
Red MINI " 40"

Re: Questions on Headlight and Tail Light Conversion

Reply #9 –
Quote from: Roger and Susan (aka Home2) –
I had the whole front end make over.  Headlights, horizontal, driving lights, license plate recess.
Rear end tail/brake, backup (linked to rear docking lights) and turn lights plus high up tail/turn/brake lights.
...snip...
We very much like the results.  Especially the high rear lights.  Very visable over our towed Jeep.  I can see people behind react quickly now where before it took more time for them to see what we were going to do.  All of the LED rear lights help.  The high rear light on ambulances and firetrucks are rectangular, bigger and brighter but too big to fit well but give you an idea of the impact of the high lights.
Roger

Roger,
What kind of space is/was behind the new read upper lights? How much depth?
Is the space accessible without removing the paneling from he inside?
(The actual unasked question(s)  have to do with cutting the holes)
Quote
  The high rear light on ambulances and firetrucks are rectangular, bigger and brighter but too big to fit well but give you an idea of the impact of the high lights.
Do you mean "require too much depth?" , didn't look right?, ? ? ?
TIA
elliott
Elliott & Mary Bray
ex. 1996 36' U295 - Build 4879
ex. 2018 Coachmen Leprechaun 319MB
 

Re: Questions on Headlight and Tail Light Conversion

Reply #10 –

Hi Elliot,

The high red lights can be mounted three ways. One is by drilling the correct sized hole and gluing the light fixture in place as Rance does with the backup lights.  Hard to do up there and not easy to service.  The second way is to drill the correct sized hole (about 4") with a hole saw) and put in a rubber grommet sort of thing that fits over the edge of the hole and has flanges inside and out.  The light fixture fits into the grommet and snaps into place behind a ridge in the grommet.  This is what I ws going to do, very common way of doing it.  The third way was what Rnce suggested.  The hole gets drilled and a stainless streel hemishpherical shaped cup with a flange gets mounted in the hole and the light fixture snps into that.  Rance liked these because they seal up easier and were esier to service.

But... Located in the rear vertical corner in the drivers side (on my coach, yours may be different) is the plastic snorkel that gets air from the air intake louvers on either side of the rear camera to the air filter.  At the height Rance cut the holes there was just enough depth.  Lower would have had more room but they would have been lower.  The passengers side is open with no obstructions.

They were Grote lights.  Rance sent me to a truck parts place on the south end of town.  They had everything. This one at Amazon is a tail/turn/stop with the mounting grommet and witpring connection.  Looks like what I was going to use.  Check out a truck parts store.

Amazon.com: Grote G4012 Hi-Count 4" Red LED Lamp: Automotive

You don't need to take anything apart on the inside, all of the wiring can be done from the outside and down through the inside corners.  The coach has a separate turn light and the high light is tail/turn/brake.  So he connected those lights into my tow light harness which is set up for the Jeep with a single tail/turn/brake light.

The ambulance/firetruck lights are quite expensive.  When you step on the brake they flash several time very fast and then stay on.  Very eye catching.  And the turn signal on the one I looked is like Mustangs.  One arrow, two arrows, three arrows. They are also about 6"x9" and deeper and had an electronics box.  I just didn't think they would look right with all of the other lights being 4" round.

The round LED lamps were less than $20 each with a wiring connector.  Grommets were not much.  You can get chrome trim rings to cover the rubber.  The stainless mounts weren't much either.

Did I get it all?  Hope so.  Roger

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Roger Engdahl and Susan Green
2001 U320 3610 #5879 (Home2) - 2014 Jeep Cherokee or 2018 F150
Hastings, MN

Re: Questions on Headlight and Tail Light Conversion

Reply #11 –

  Dave--happy to hear the head lights and fog lights work better than the originals.

  Roger--did you have to supply all the lights or just the two rear high mounted ones?

  Old Knucklehead--glad to hear all went well at Xtreme--we have a Nov  appt with them.

                              Thanks for all the idea and suggestions--Jim
Jim & Doreen
2003 U320

 "Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen"
― Louis L'Amour

Re: Questions on Headlight and Tail Light Conversion

Reply #12 –
Rance has the clear (frosted) lensed lights with red, white or amber LEDs on hand.  I bought the red lensed with white LEDs and the wiring connectors at the truck place in NAC.  Rance had the stainless housings left over from another project.  Connecting the backup lights to the two rear docking lights was a great addition.  Rance uses a lot of big diodes.

Roger
Roger Engdahl and Susan Green
2001 U320 3610 #5879 (Home2) - 2014 Jeep Cherokee or 2018 F150
Hastings, MN

Re: Questions on Headlight and Tail Light Conversion

Reply #13 –

  Perfect  Thanks again Roger
Jim & Doreen
2003 U320

 "Too often I would hear men boast of the miles covered that day, rarely of what they had seen"
― Louis L'Amour