light fixtures.... 12 and 120v why?

[JeLo]

good afternoon,

me again with another question, I'm just curious to know why some light fixtures are 12v and others are 120v? I always assumed that every lights in the RV were 12v so we bought all new 12v light fixtures and today while installing them I realized that the wall mounted light fixture above the sofa is 120v but the one above the table, 2 ft away, is 12v.

thanks!

JL

[NH_Bulldog]

Our interior lights are all 12v LED. I don’t recall ever having 120v lights in a camper. That being said, anything is possible!

[LHaven]

Same here. What's the 110v fixture look like? I'm assuming it's something fancy, unlike the 12V near it.

[chuckster57]

Since your trailer is 2012 according to your signature, there were RVs made back then with a 120VAC light above the dinette table. Years before that there was an LP light ( think Coleman lamp) mounted on the wall above the dinette.

[bobbecky]

Ours is the same way, 120v above the dining table and 12v above the sofa. Even the wall sconce between the sofa and table is 120v.

[wiredgeorge]

We have two wall sconces that are 120V and two of those dome lights over kitchen table and sofa area that are 12V. The 12V have bulbs that look like 1156 taillight bulbs but the little ears are at the same height. I can't recall what their bulb number is but I found some somewhere and bought a couple extra.

[jasin1]

I’m thinking they used to do it like that for redundancy…in case you had a converter failure you would still have some lighting in the rv when connected to shore power

[NH_Bulldog]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

We have two wall sconces that are 120V and two of those dome lights over kitchen table and sofa area that are 12V. The 12V have bulbs that look like 1156 taillight bulbs but the little ears are at the same height. I can't recall what their bulb number is but I found some somewhere and bought a couple extra.

1156 bulbs have two filaments and 1157 bulbs have one, otherwise they are the same size but the nubs are different

[JRTJH]

Jasin1 is probably "right on the money" with his redundancy thoughts...

I remember our 1972 Jayco having three light sources. There were 12 volt (battery lights). 120 volt (shore power lights) and two propane lights, one over the dinette and one in the bathroom....

I asked the factory rep about that. His response was, we designed our trailers to offer complete versatility for our owners. They can enjoy their trailer with lighting, no matter where they are or under what circumstances they might encounter.....

I didn't put much faith in his response until I used the trailer in Colorado for elk hunting north of Steamboat Springs... It sure was nice to have that propane light in the bathroom on those cold mornings and even nicer that it was there on those frigid winter evenings when there was no battery left and no shore power for 50 miles in any direction.....

[wiredgeorge]

If I had to guess why both power sources, I would say Keystone buy went down to Fred's Surplus and Bargain Barn and they had a stack of each type. Cheap is my guess.

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

If I had to guess why both power sources, I would say Keystone buy went down to Fred's Surplus and Bargain Barn and they had a stack of each type. Cheap is my guess.

I think 10-15 years ago RV manufacturers were still thinking about doodads that would benefit a guy out "camping", not glamping like we do now. Like John mentioned I think that redundancy, little answers to those "what if" moments that used to happen when out camping (again not glamping). I think back then they viewed those as selling points just like the buyers. Nowadays technology has changed so much along with people's habits those things wouldn't make monetary sense...so we get what we got.

[JeLo]

thanks everybody, redundancy makes sense.

[firestation12]

Originally Posted by NH_Bulldog

1156 bulbs have two filaments and 1157 bulbs have one, otherwise they are the same size but the nubs are different

Other way around….1156 bulb is a single element and the 1157 bulb is a dual element.

[dutchmensport]

Originally Posted by firestation12

Other way around….1156 bulb is a single element and the 1157 bulb is a dual element.

Ditto!

[NH_Bulldog]

I switched all mine to LED years ago, shows you the last time I actually had to know which was which.

[rlh1957]

Originally Posted by JeLo

good afternoon,

me again with another question, I'm just curious to know why some light fixtures are 12v and others are 120v? I always assumed that every lights in the RV were 12v so we bought all new 12v light fixtures and today while installing them I realized that the wall mounted light fixture above the sofa is 120v but the one above the table, 2 ft away, is 12v.

thanks!

JL

Usually all interior lights are 12V DC. This is so the off grid campers can operate a fan or light and refrigerator lights off or HW Heater light off.

There may be a few rigs that have a 120 V AC light or socket but not many.

So when disconnected from shore power, from generator or inverter this is the only light not working? Is it connected to an electric reclining sofa?

[Stircrazy]

Originally Posted by JeLo

good afternoon,

me again with another question, I'm just curious to know why some light fixtures are 12v and others are 120v? I always assumed that every lights in the RV were 12v so we bought all new 12v light fixtures and today while installing them I realized that the wall mounted light fixture above the sofa is 120v but the one above the table, 2 ft away, is 12v.

thanks!

JL

I haven't seen that type of setup in a long time. Everything I have owned since 2000 has been 12V lighting and that's it.. older units in the 60's and 70's quite often had this split of lighting and maybe even propane lights because they only had a battery charger at best not a converter. so, it wasn't made to be left plugged in unless you shut off the switch for the charger when the battery was full. even my 1991 camper only had a single stage converter in it, but it all was 12V lighting and nothing else.

I imagin park modles would have a split for efficiency ...