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Hi

I have a 4 year old Fleetwood 5m caravan. The factory fir lighting etc. seem designed around mains hookups. I enjoy CL camping - but running things off the battery is fraught. I am looking for a good source of guidance on what to fit - particularly for lighting. There was an awful John Wickersham article in the latest CClub mag..said nothing useful. Seem to be no data sheets. Anyone got any experience... not that sort!!!

I am particularly interested in how the old fluorescent lights compare with the sexy halogen lights - but don't want to get the ammeter out. Also there is a new generation of cold cathode lights [ for computers] that seem to generate yonks of light for no current and a fiver a pair. LED lights are efficient - but seem overpriced as yet. How do all these compare light output per watt consumed?

Is there an expert out there???

dont know about the cathodes, but the halogen are ok, but can be thirsty for the old 12V, and also give a narrow beam if using the spots, yes LEDs are good for power consumption, but as you say, expensive, and also you never get a pure white light, they have a blue tinge to them,

i have 2 flourecents, and a couple of halogen spots (10W) and seem to do ok, did a dry run the weekend using only the 12V lights and got 4 days and still going (not continuous)

most of the newer vans i have been looking at seem to have flourecent roof lights, with halogens for reading lights

in my old van, I replaced all the 10w tungsten lights with 5w halogen, which were about the same brightness (that is why car headlamps have been halogen for years now - more light/less current) and that helped.

New van has these halogen lights as standard.

A good solar panel on the roof should ensure that you are not without power.  Mine (two) were supplied and fitted by :

http://www.leisurepower.co.uk/index.html

who will swop them for you when you change your van, thus preserving the initial (high) investment.

Hope this helps

Michael

My van came with the little halogen lights - but I am not convinced that filament lights are ever going to produce the same efficiency as gas discharge / fluorescent lighting.

I have converted to LED torches as the batteries seem to go on ages longer than the old halogen bulbs. As do fluorescent battery lights.

I have a rechargable 2ft fluorescent light that I use a lot - useful round the house too - but that has about a 3 hr life so not a long term caravan solution.See http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/endecaSearch/partDetail.jsp?SKU=4228625&N=0 

Lighting technology seems to be moving on really fast - but keeping up to date with it is a challenge - hence the questions!