How to update lighting in your camper easily
Lights are a huge topic in the RV world. The lights in the Camper are normally ugly. They are ugly, and I mean ugly. Especially if your Camper is a little dated like ours, the lights are not nice to look at.
And most of the light fixtures have yellow light bulbs which makes them look even more dated. But the question is, ‘ How to update the lighting in your camper’ without getting frustrated and knowing what to do.

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The easiest thing to do to update the lighting in your RV
Why do you want to update your RV light fixtures? Because they don’t look very pretty and they use a lot of energy. That was our main concern when we were thinking about replacing them.
But I didn’t want to replace my RV interior lights because I am not an electrician and everything electricity doesn’t make me feel good. This is why I was looking for an easy way to update the light fixtures.
Are you thinking of updating your RV a little bit, but don’t know where to start? Start by painting the walls and you will have a lighter and airy feel instantly. Here is how to do that:

Can I change my Camper lights to LED?
The easiest thing you can do is to take the old light bulbs out and put new 12-volt LED light bulbs in. First of all it will give you instantly white and bright light and second, it is not heating the inside of your camper.
LED lights are also a win because the light won’t add to the heat inside of your camper. And this is a big deal if you are parked in a hot region.
This is how all of our interior lights look in our Travel Trailer. We replaced the RV lightbulbs with LED bulbs. Well, this is much better, but they still don’t look very attractive.

How to get to the light bulb? How to change RV interior light bulbs?
- You can either squeeze the clear plastic a little bit and slide it out or
- check if there are little screws on the side that you have to unscrew to be able to take off the plastic cover and get to the bulb
- or you need to use a tiny screwdriver to slide it in between the gaps to open it up.
- Now check what type of light bulb you need for an easy replacement.
Here is a link to Amazon, if this is what you need. There are many other options available.
For your convenience, I have enclosed some affiliate links. If you want to find out more about affiliate links, please read my disclosure policy.
Here are some really cute light fixtures:
Ceiling Light with switch for RV’s
Now you can stop right here if this is what you want. Add a different light bulb to your light fixture and done. But if this looks bad to you and the light is too bright, why don’t you add some decor?
Want to know more tips and tricks on how to update a dated RV/Travel Trailer on a budget? Subscribe to my Newsletter and get weekly updates.

If you are ready to update your Camper, get my E-Book with all the steps on how to do it:
If you want to make your brown/beige Camper prettier, but don’t know how here are all my resources for you. And trust me, you can definitely do this too. Just follow all of my steps and you are going to love your Camper.

RV lighting can be easily updated
How to update the lighting in your Camper and How to change RV lights:
Remodel old light fixtures
We have a lot of the same lights in our Travel Trailer. One over the bed, over the couch, the kitchen, and at the entrance. They all look the same. A bright light in the kitchen makes sense, but not over the bed. So I saw this funky idea and absolutely love it:

This is cool, don’t you think so? You don’t want to replace your light fixtures because they are still o.k. then just make them pretty. If you have the ability and know-how to crochet, this is a great way to update this kind of light.
If you don’t have the patience or the ability to make a crochet cover, do what I did:
I made something similar for my bedroom light and it fits perfectly to my colorful and funky interior:



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How to cover up an old light fixture
4 easy steps to make a funky cover in 10 minutes:
- go to the birthday section at your Walmart/Target/Dollar Store and look for decoration items with paper strips/tassels.
- use double-sided tape and cover the rim of your light fixture.
- stick the paper strips/tassels onto the tape
- cover it up with a decorative wrap/ribbon and done

I love the looks of the light now, especially at night. It adds a little boho/funk to the camper and softens the light up and makes it so much cozier.

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Do you like to add a pattern to your walls? Add a peel and stick wallpaper to change the look of your RV completely. Actually, you just need to add a couple of panels and make an accent wall – you are going to love it:

RV light fixture replacement made easy
Replacing 12 Volts light fixtures in an RV
Replacing light fixtures is actually no big deal because you can use a 12 Volt light fixture with a regular fixture and use a 12 Volt bulb. This makes the search for a pretty light fixture so much easier.
There are many more pretty light fixtures available, just scroll around on Amazon. But be sure to look for 12 V fixtures if your light fixture in your RV is also 12 Volts.
Do you need a light fixture with an on/off switch?
In case you can’t find a light fixture with an on/off switch, just buy a switch on Amazon and install it yourself.
You need a drill and the necessary screws and cable binders.
How to add an on/off switch to a light fixture
Here is a short video on how to do it. There are more videos on YouTube in case this isn’t clear to you just look around until you find the right one for you:
Summary of how to update the lighting in your Camper
If you want a fast and easy update in your camper, just exchange the light bulbs to 12 volts LED ceiling light bulbs. Saves you money and doesn’t heat up your camper inside.
If you want to change the looks of the camper lights, try the DIY covers. I love the look of the colorful tassels and it is so simple and cheap to do.
Now if you want to exchange the whole light fixture, be sure to get a 12 V fixture if your RV light is 12 V. Make sure before you unscrew the light, that the electricity is turned off. RV ceiling lights can be replaced.
If you are not sure what you are doing, have an electrician replace your RV interior light fixtures for you. Just be safe.
But as I said, updating your RV light is actually a pretty easy and fast project to do.
See you at the blog,
Conny xoxo
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Need all the tips on how to update an older RV? Get the Ebook and have all the necessary information combined:
If you want to make your brown/beige Camper prettier, but don’t know how, here are all my resources for you. And trust me, you can definitely do this too. Just follow all of my steps and you are going to love your Camper.



Thanks so much for sharing! I really like your article because it gave me much useful information about the LED light bulbs.
Thank you Dalton, glad it was helpful.
Hi there, thanks for all the informations. So if i understand well, if my existing ugly light fixtures are 12 V and i want to replace them, i can use any light fixtures i want, even if it is 120V, as long as i put a 12v bulb in the fixture ? And i can also put a 12V LED Bulb ?
Thanks a lot
Hi Alexia,
no, you should use 12 V light fixtures as in the article described.
How did you affix the boho light fixture to the ceiling? I have the exact lights and need creative ideas to “prettify” them! Also I have carpet ceilings. They don’t look bad but wonder how to affix diy fixtures.
Thanks!
Naomi, I made them myself and used double adhesive tape (heavy duty) to tape it around the light fixture. If you don’t use heavy items it works well and sticks to the plastic.
There are step by step to change RV interior light bulbs. Step 1: turn off the light. Step 2: remove the light exterior. Step 3: take out the old light bulb. Step 4: insert the new light bulb. Step 5: test the new light. Hope this is useful for someone.
I really like your article because it gave me much useful information about LED bulb flickers. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi! What about replacing lights that have a built in switch? I can only find one decent light fixture that has the switch on it- do you add wall switches?
Hi Lillie, if you can’t find a light fixture with a switch you like (I have some links in my article), you can actually add a switch yourself. There are great how-to-do videos on youtube, it is pretty easy to do.
Great information! I have also consulted the information here: https://vogeltalksrving.com/how-to-change-rv-interior-light-bulbs/#more-1229 to be able to ensure that I can safely change rv interior light bulb. Thanks
Hi. I am going to replace my light fixtures in my camper and a lot of the lights I am looking at on amazon are 120volt. It this still okay to use? Or do I need to specifically find 12volt light fixtures? Thank you!
Hi Melissa, you can use regular light fixtures but you have to use 12 V bulbs. There are also lots of videos on youtube to see how to install new lights. Also use an electrician to be sure everything is wired right.
Thank for your useful information. But I want to know how to replace RV light bulbs if it’s broken. Thank again!
Hi Natalie, thank you for commenting. I just googled how to take out a broken light bulb and there is an easy to follow youtube video you could watch. It never happened to me before. Maybe you want to watch this to be sure you do it the right way. But whatever you do, shut off the circuit breaker or unplug the lamp. Good luck.
Yeah! Thank you so much. I found information that I need in here: https://www.listatrailer.com/how-to-replace-rv-light-bulbs/
I think someone also need so I share it in here. Ok?