Cheapest LED lighting solution?

[One Awesome Inch]

I'm finding it a bit difficult to find a good quality, cheap LED dome style light. I've looked on amazon.com but for some reason they wont ship these led dome lights to Canada. On amazon.ca they want upwards of $50 for something that costs $12 on the American website. I looked on ebay and they want $15 for the light and then about $20 for the shipping. Ugh.

I can buy a regular non-led dome light at Canadian Tire for about $13 and then just buy an LED bulb to put in it. Is that the best solution?

Any other ideas how I could get an LED dome light for less than $30 including shipping?

 

[Willy]

That's what I did. Got a whole bunch of cheap LED's from China via Amazon and shipped free (slo-boat). Saved a pile of money too. ..Willy.

 

[jimindenver]

The only time I've have a issue with the slow boat from China is when I ordered during the holidays. Never order on the holidays. lol Otherwise everything has gotten here fairly quickly.

I would buy the normal fixture and get inexpensive LEDs to go in it. In fact I have a box left over and if you PM me your address I'll send you a few if shipping up to there isn't too bad. They are 1210 48 LED panels, a bit on the warm side for color but work fine and are pretty bright too.

 

[SoulRaven]

Just for the sake of, I'm going to mention that I very rarely use any of my built in lights. My portable lights/lanterns get 99% of the use because they are easily moved to where I want them.

 

[jimindenver]

We wouldn't use the incandescent lights in our trailer while boondocking. Until we got the LEDs we use harbor freight puck lights. four spread through a 25 ft trailer and we were not tripping over our three black dogs at night. Now with the LEDs we light it up end to end and why not. They use so little power that we don't even have to think about the battery.

 

[RVTravel]

Check theses out.

https://www.mpowerd.com/

 

[Seeker]

I have been using my portables like Off Grid 24/7 (I have been too lazy to install my fixtures) and they work well.

Check out SternWakes homemade goosenecks.  They would be great for directing light where needed precisely or maybe bouncing light off the ceiling.
A SEEKER

 

[akrvbob]

I have this $9 LED bulb and light fixture from Amazon and it is outstanding. Great light and almost no draw. It's just two wires to a fuse block and you are done.

http://www.amazon.com/Gold-Stars-F3528001-Fixture-Natural/dp/B00CZCY5SE
Bob

 

[One Awesome Inch]

That's the one I want and they wont ship it to Canada. Buggers.

 

[jimindenver]

One thing about the panels I'm sending up is they may be a bit unsightly but they don't require a fixture. A switch would be nice but really all that is needed is to peel the take and stick them under a cabinet.

 

[Almost There]

That's the one I want and they wont ship it to Canada. Buggers.

So ship it to the Kinekpoint at Blaine - it's 5 minutes from the border crossing, pay the $5.00 that they charge.

Voila, you've got what you want.

The only kicker right now is the 30 % currency exchange. I'm holding off on all my US purchases and praying that spring brings better rates.

 

[jimindenver]

That's too funny. The last time I ordered a part from a vender in Canada the credit card company charged me over $20 for the exchange. I almost ordered a charge controller from a vender up there but didn't want to get hit with that charge again.

 

[Almost There]

That's too funny. The last time I ordered a part from a vender in Canada the credit card company charged me over $20 for the exchange. I almost ordered a charge controller from a vender up there but didn't want to get hit with that charge again.

That $20.00 currency exchange must have been a long long time ago.

If you want anything from Canada, now is the time to do it. You'll pay about 72 cents on the dollar.

But, big but, I have to warn you, international shipping rates are outrageous and don't bother with it if they won't ship Canada Post/USPS. The companies like UPS and FedEx insist on running things through a border broker which costs big time.

Personally, I save up my cross border purchases until I have enough to almost max out my 48 hour allowance and then do a major shopping expedition AND get a weekend camping out of it. But then I'm 6 hours from the border so I make sure it's worth my while.

 

[One Awesome Inch]

One thing about the panels I'm sending up is they may be a bit unsightly but they don't require a fixture. A switch would be nice but really all that is needed is to peel the take and stick them under a cabinet.

Thanks so much for helping me out with this Jim!

 

[One Awesome Inch]

So ship it to the Kinekpoint at Blaine - it's 5 minutes from the border crossing, pay the $5.00 that they charge.

Voila, you've got what you want.

The only kicker right now is the 30 % currency exchange. I'm holding off on all my US purchases and praying that spring brings better rates.

Not quite that easy. I live about an hour drive to the border, then border wait, then return trip. All told will take about 3 hours. That said, once I start fulltiming in the summer I'll have alot more time. Maybe I'll invite a friend and make a day of it. I have a whole list of stuff I need to buy off Amazon.... some of which they wont ship up here, some of it they will. Perhaps I'll just get what I can and wait for the summer for the rest.

 

[Almost There]

Not quite that easy. I live about an hour drive to the border, then border wait, then return trip. All told will take about 3 hours. That said, once I start fulltiming in the summer I'll have alot more time. Maybe I'll invite a friend and make a day of it. I have a whole list of stuff I need to buy off Amazon.... some of which they wont ship up here, some of it they will. Perhaps I'll just get what I can and wait for the summer for the rest.

Ahh, we have a difference in what constitutes a reasonable drive ...

3 hours won't even put me 1/2 way to the border let alone a round trip.

It's a 2 hours round trip to the closest 'city shopping' and I do a 4 hour round trip every 2nd week to take care of my mother.

An hour from the border and I'd be in shopping heaven....