Interior and Exterior High-Efficiency LED Lights for 2004 Keystone Cougar 5th Wheel

Question:

I have a 2004 keystone cougar 5th wheel Looking to change the tail lights to leds are these much brighter than just adding led bulbs to my original tail lights and also in daytime so directional would be brighter also Thank You.

asked by: Scott D

Helpful Expert Reply:

LED lights will be much brighter than the standard incandescent bulbs in your Keystone Cougar 5th wheel. You can replace the complete incandescent light fixtures if you want to but you also can just replace the old bubs with LED equivalents, as you noted. We have these LED equivalents for most of the popular bulb types in RVs. All appear on the linked page. Click on your regular bulb number to see the LED replacements for it.

A complete LED tail light like # 328-003-81LBM1 that you referenced has 22 diodes that all face in the same direction. In comparison, an LED element like # P231157R360 has 29 diodes but they are arranged in 360-degrees. In this comparison the complete light unit will probably offer a bit more effective output to the rear. Exactly how much brighter one will be over the other depends on the two specific lights.

You may care to start by replacing just a few bulbs with LED equivalents to see if they are satisfactorily bright. Tail lights would be a good test, easy to do and not too costly, and let you decide if it is worth the effort of complete fixture replacement versus bulb replacement. If it were me I'd go this route first.

One thing to keep in mind is that you want to select an LED of the same color as the lens it will shine through. Lenses are literally filters; they block most of the light that is NOT the color of the lens. So to test replacements in red taillights use a red LED like # P231157R360 which replaces an 1157 bulb. For amber lens lights use an amber LED like # P231157A360, which also replaces an 1157.

You may also have interior lights in the Cougar that can be replaced with LED elements. We do have "warm white" LEDs like # DI74ZR which fits in place of 906/921 bulbs and "soft white" LED # DI23VR that replaces an 1141 bulb.

Since LEDs use only about 1/10th of the power needed by incandescent lights your on-board batteries can last a lot longer so you can power your TV for longer periods when you do not have shore power or generator power. LEDs also produce much less waste heat, which can be a huge benefit for keeping the trailer comfortable during summer nights.

I also linked all complete LED fixtures in the event you prefer this option.