no luck with trailer lights

You could replace them with non LED lights and save alot of money. Just unplug them when launching the boat and make sure they have drained before plugging them back in.

I just bought cheap "submersible" lights from pep boys for $20. They aren't sealed at all but the bottom is mostly open to allow for draining. You said your lights popped from the cold water so these probably won't work for you. I don't have to trailor the boat very far so the lights don't really heat up. You should really get sealed LED's because they don't get hot and won't pop when they hit the water.

I considered using LED's until I talked with my lighting friends and they persuaded me not to use them. LED's are hotter than regular bulbs, when one goes out they all go out, you have to replace the whole light instead of the bulb and not every places sells LED's so it's hard to find a replacement on the road quickly. Get a good set of conventional bulb style trailer lights over the LED's because you can always go to any gas station, grocery store or auto parts store and get new bulbs which you cann't with LED's. Just unplug the harness first and give them a chance to cool down before you dunk them into the water.

KPNautique wrote: They are not as hot and last many times longer than conventional bulbs.

If you are comparing a single LED to a bulb yes, but it takes multiple LED's to make the same candle power of a single bulb and when you look at the complete package or total LED's used to the one bulb they are much hotter than a single bulb or in other words the LED lamp will be twice as hot as a Bulbed lamp.

So how is that website going to help you out when the LED burns out and you have to replace the whole light when you have to travel that night to get home and there isn't a store around to get a new lamp to replace the LED lamp that just burned out and you have 1000 miles to travel? Guess you do it without trailer lights and cross your fingers that you don't get a ticket.

Facts:
Quality LED's are solid state and typically last 100000 hours and are unaffected by physical shock, thermal shock, electrical cycling, etc.

LED's for a given amount of light produce less heat than any other available lighting technology. Including t12 florescent bulbs utilizing remote solid state ballasts which are light years cooler than filiment bulbs...

I have been stuck before in the middle of the night at a boat ramp with two broken conventional bulbs and let me tell ya in Kingston, ON Canada after 11 not even the Walmarts are open and the mounties are not big fans of yanks who are driving unlit trailers sleeping in the truck at the ramp was not a good time.

Before LED's since I usually have about six trailers at least one bulb was out all the time and no matter how careful I was about plugging unplugging sealing etc I was replacing at least one set of housings a season from cracks corrosion etc.

The rest is my opinion

After that I went LED on one trailer and won't ever go back.. I have bought them all around.

That was five seasons ago, they don't fail, not in the life span a trailer light is used. particularily not in the life span most of my trailer lights are used (12 miles a season). I no longer give lights a second thought, they just work and they are fast and bright which helps significantly when backing up at night.

It was worth it to me to spend less time working on the trailers and more time working on the boats...

     Joe is 100% correct. They dont run as hot, thus drawing less current and eliminating the "electric heater" effect. Thats how you can get more light for much less power.
     As far as failure, and all going out, isnt a issue as they are not all wired in series. The good ones use blocks of LEDS in series with a resistor to allow 12v operation. These are then connected in parallel where if one does fail, you loose just a segment of the light, which isnt a big deal until replacement.
    One less step for me to remember unplugging/plugging in lights.
     The one disadvantage of LED lights is in the north country...They dont melt off ice or snow like conventional bulbs. A real controversey here in D.O.T. lighting requirements. Boat trailers are not a issue unless you have a ICE NAUTIQUE!!!

                                 Jeff....