Our Tiny Trailer

Our RV journey has been a long one.  My parents had a lot of different styles of camper over the years.  I knew a pop up was too much work (set up and take down), so we wet our feet with a used hard trailer with pop out beds. It was roomy, but didn't stay warm or cool well and wasn't sound insulated.

Antiqua

We searched for the right camper to meet our needs and listed the Antiqua for sale. Our criteria for the second camper was no canvas, 3 beds, and light enough to be towed by a V8 Toyota 4Runner.  We chose the V-Cross Vibe.

Vibe (with the Hensley Hitch)

Our first ride home was probably an omen - we immediately had sway issues and returned to the dealership to have them adjust the sway bar.  Later we upgraded to a Hensley hitch which is an amazing contraption that completely resolved our sway issues.  Once we'd used the camper a bit, we found that we disliked that we couldn't load the refrigerator with the slide out in, it was dark inside, and took too long in set up and take down.  We realized that what took the longest was setting up and cleaning out the septic, which we didn't really need anyway.  We mostly used the bathhouses because trying to bathe 4 people in one tiny camper isn't very efficient anyway. In the end, the biggest issue was that it was a little heavy for our Toyota 4Runner which meant it was more costly and difficult to tow long distances especially on steep mountain grades. We went back to tent camping and decided to sell or trade it in.

Big Agnes + Target Tent in WV

Though difficult in many ways, tent camping was good for us. It helped us realize what our trailer wants really were: hard walls for sound and temperature insulation, heating and air conditioning for all weather camping, comfortable beds that could stay set up, and a bright, happy interior.

After months of researching tiny trailers, we found the perfect trailer: the Great West Vans/Sterling RV Sidekick (formerly known as Trillium). We had considered similar models like the Scamp but the Sidekick quality/fit/finish was much more appealing.  We almost bought the 1300 but thankfully went with the 1500 with a 54" wide bed/table instead of a 47" wide bed/table. 

Sidekick 1500

We've been so happy with this little guy.  No more waiting in line to clean septic lines in the camper.  We bought a glorified bucket for those urgent night runs, but usually we just go in the woods.  We were able to pick out our flooring, faucet, and fabric which REALLY made the interior feel homey to us. The salesman's mother even made blackout curtains to match the upholstery fabric!

Sidekick Table / Bed

The table becomes the bed, but we leave the bed assembled and eat at the picnic table at the campsite.  It's nice to have  a table inside if it rains or the temps are very high or low, but most of the time we just eat on the master bed if it's too cold outside.

Sidekick Kitchen & Bunks

The bunk folds down to make a couch, but we those beds in place also.

We've had a few minor complaints but overall we still love this trailer!

Boondocking Tiny Trailer Style

We started visiting Obed years ago.  We stayed in a hotel a few times and then camped at 3 different RV parks.  I hated having to drive 30 minutes from the RV park to the crag.  We've always wanted to try Del & Marte's at Obed and now that we had our tiny camper we finally we did it.  Our little guy suffers from many allergies so we usually bathe him after crag days so that he can sleep clean.  We wondered if we could make it three days with no showers but it was cool enough that he could wear pants and stay relatively clean. The rest of us somehow managed to get through the trip without stinking to high heaven.  We enjoyed the awning one more morning when it sprinkled.  

I was so excited by the freedom of boondocking (ok, technically it was dry camping since it is a campground, but boondocking is such a fun word!)  The only thing I missed that RV campgrounds offer are picnic tables.  Otherwise, it was going beautifully until the second night.  Unbeknownst to us, the battery had gotten so low that our propane detector started going off intermittently all night long.  We had considered climbing that morning but we were too tired and cranky.

Once home I immediately started researching ways to deal with power consumption while boondocking.  I found out that our camper did not have the ideal type of battery (deep cycle).  We also need to make sure we have enough blankets or sleeping bags to leave the furnace off. We could also significantly reduce our power consumption by eliminating all of our incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs.  Even better, we can use them when we need them without feeling guilty or fearful about it. 

There are more benefits to using LEDs besides the very low power consumption - longer lifespan, less heat creation, and they contain no mercury.

Bulb Type
I took pictures of each bulb type to aid in my search.  My tiny trailer uses 921 in the lights over the beds and 1141 over the sink.

Typical Incandescent 921 bulb specifications:
17.9W / 1.4A / 2800-3000 K / 105 Lumens

Typical Incandescent 1141 bulb specifications:
18.4W /1.44A / 2800-3000 K / 104 Lumens

Wattage
Wattage is how much power the bulb consumes.  A 3W LED bulb will give you roughly the same Lumens as a 15W incandescent bulb (1:5). A panel that focuses all of the light would be more like 1:6 or 1:7. 

Brightness (Lumens)
LED bulb brightness is calculated rather than measured.  However, the calculated lumens and visible light are not the same.  Bulbs with all LEDs face in one direction will provide more brightness than multi-directional (but won't look as much like an incandescent.)

Color

The three common ranges of color temperature for light bulbs are Soft (or Warm) White, Bright (or Cool White), and Daylight.

A color temperature of 2700–3600 K is generally recommended for most indoor general and task lighting applications.  Incandescent lights are typically about 2700 Kelvin.  The yellower color is achieved in most LEDs by applying phosphor to blue LEDs.

I plan to purchase soft white because I want bulbs that look as similar to incandescent as possible.

Lamp configurations (Overhead or Multi-directional)
During my search, I found flat plate and multi-directional configurations.  I decided to use multi-directional as they produce light more like an incandescent lightbulb.

Dimmer 
Many bulbs are not compatible with dimmers.  This is not a concern for our trailer though.

Quality Considerations
1. Voltage Regulation
In some campers, the voltage supplied to the lights varies depending on whether or not the camper is "charging" or not.  LEDs are very sensitive to voltage changes so many have built in voltage regulators.  This will be evidenced in the stated voltage tolerances.  Some users installed voltage regulators to their light circuits, particularly to those bulbs that cannot handle a wide range of voltages.

LEDs also dim over time. The regulator is supposed to compensate for this.

2. Heat dissipation
Heat dissipated by heat sink at base of bulb so installing it in an enclosed housing will slowly kill the bulb and they will get dimmer over time.

3. Polarity Protection
Some LED bulbs have circuitry that prevents damage if the bulb is accidentally installed in reverse.

Brands / Items
Starlights Inc. has a phone number but no one answered or called back for tech support. Starlights website says their products cost more because they are higher quality.  I appreciated that they included the following information on their website.

• Components on the circuit board is often assembled by hand because its still too complicated for factory machines.
• The actual LED wafer can cost as much as $8 a unit.
• The brightest LEDs generate blue light. So in order to get the more natural white glow, manufacturers typically coat the bulb with yellow phosphor, an expensive rare earth metal compound imported from China.
• LEDs additionally require the use of drivers to convert energy into electrical current. This component alone can cost up to $4.
• Although LEDs burn cooler than Edison bulbs, they still need a conducting material to dissipate the heat. The aluminum used to accomplish this can cost as much as $3.

Starlights 921-160 NL and 921-250 NL 

      

Starlights 1141-280 and 1141-250

SuperBright LEDs have a big online store with the Live Chat feature. They provide detailed specifications for their LEDs on their website.

SuperBright LEDs WLED-WWHP9-DAC and WLED-WWHP12-DAC

The M4 website is not as easy to navigate. They do have a wealth of helpful information that indicates their product is well made.  The prices also seemed very good.  They have an elite series which seem to provide more brightness than the standard.

 M4 921-17-5630 and 921-24-5050

GRV does not have a website to speak of and the quality is questionable. They are conveniently sold on Amazon however, and the reviews are overall pretty good.  For the price and the amount of these bulbs I need, the risk was worth the cost. I was able to get 2 day free shipping on these with prime - just in time for our trip to Alabama!  The color range is listed as 3000-3500 Kelvin so there may be more variability with these products. Since I bought a package of 10 they should all be manufactured in the same lot.  I did have to flip them to make some of them work.  The color was a tiny bit bluer than the Brightech 1141's I put over the stove, but the difference was negligible to me.

GRV TL-1350

Brightech has a good website and very good warranty - 10 years on all their LEDs.  Their prices are very reasonable, and they are also conveniently sold on Amazon.  I was able to get 2 day free shipping on these also!  They were bright and the color was excellent.  

Brightech LEDBA15sWW

So far, I am extremely happy with my LED purchase!