Lighting up your campsite at night?:

[ppine]

On winter trips light is a good thing to have. Fortunately there is usually no one else around. I kind of like with some friends and a good fire. Sitting in the dark with my dog is not so great sometimes. The nights can be really long.

Lately I have done some late fall and early spring trips near home with the travel trailer. My latest innovation is to invite people to dinner. I have the fire going and dinner cooking when they get there. Good times. It is a chance to get caught up with good friends and no distractions.

[robo44]

If you camp in dispersed areas the desert where you are the only one around for miles then run your generators and your led lights, more power to you.

I spend most of my time in State Parks and County Parks where you are not the only one camping.

Fairly new phenomenon is the LED Locator Lights or Beacons affixed to the RV flagpole. (and now solar powered where it runs all hours of the night.

There is no need for one of these light sabers beacons that light up a blinking 100' circle & colored strobes in a campground where your site has a number and you know where you are. Especially at 2am when you're in bed..

Please if you have them, use them in the right locations, and turn them off in developed campgrounds or locations where you have a site & neighbors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djKuamuNvI0

[5er_tom]

I have the USA Flag on a pole attached to my ladder. I have a spot light pointed straight up to keep it lit at night. It is a SPOT light, not a FLOOD light, so it does not flood the campground with light.
If someone complains, I’ll gladly turn it off and bring down the flag for the night.

We like it dark in the CG.

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by 5er_tom

I have the USA Flag on a pole attached to my ladder. I have a spot light pointed straight up to keep it lit at night. It is a SPOT light, not a FLOOD light, so it does not flood the campground with light.
If someone complains, I’ll gladly turn it off and bring down the flag for the night.

We like it dark in the CG.

That's different. I too light my colors at night. I get plenty of complements how beautiful it is, never a gripe.


If I ever go out west, I'm gonna get the UV light to look for scorpions, sounds fun. And as far as newer rigs with all the running lights on, I'm thinking they might come wired from factory like that. Ugh, not an improvement.

[NJKris]

Sitting in the dark with my dog is not so great sometimes. The nights can be really long.

Ppine, this made me sad! One of the reasons if my old lady croaks I'm not sure I want to camp anymore. Just thinking of it makes me sad.

[whirledpeaz]

I'll use extra lights while outside at night. Nothing more than other campers are using around me. When I go inside, which is not long after quiet hour starts, ALL lights are turned off.

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by NJKris

Ppine, this made me sad! One of the reasons if my old lady croaks I'm not sure I want to camp anymore. Just thinking of it makes me sad.

My wife passed away almost 5 years ago and my dog just over 3 years ago. Doesn't keep me from camping because just sitting around the house is worse.

There's beauty out there and good memories for me too.

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by 5er_tom

I have the USA Flag on a pole attached to my ladder. I have a spot light pointed straight up to keep it lit at night. It is a SPOT light, not a FLOOD light, so it does not flood the campground with light.
If someone complains, I’ll gladly turn it off and bring down the flag for the night. ...

... We like it dark in the CG.

With no disrespect intended toward the flag or your patriotism, but are these not mutually contradictory statements? Is it required that you fly the flag at night everywhere?

You seem to assume it doesn't bother anyone if they don't complain. I suggest that is not the case. People may either be polite or not want to risk confrontation.

https://www.darksky.org/joining-forc...ght-pollution/

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by NJKris

That's different. I too light my colors at night. I get plenty of complements how beautiful it is, never a gripe. ...

Kris, it's not different. As with my comments to 5er_Tom, people may either be polite or not want to risk confrontation.

If the campground is already blazing, fine, but please don't light a flag at night in an otherwise dark park.

[Qwkynuf]

Originally Posted by NJKris

Ppine, this made me sad! One of the reasons if my old lady croaks I'm not sure I want to camp anymore. Just thinking of it makes me sad.

My wife and I have agreement that I get to die first. We voted on it. Luckily, she wasn't home that day. She filed an appeal with the elections bureau, but I think I will prevail.

(and it's not that I want her to be alone, I just don't think I could live without her.)

[cc102bob]

For many years I strung up a set of white LED Christmas lights under our awning. It gave off just enough light where I could see where to walk. Perfect! My new RV has the light strip under the awning and that's too bright. Someone above mentioned a dimmer switch - I think I'll have to figure out if I can get one of those that will look OK in the switch panel that's in my RV.

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by cc102bob

... Someone above mentioned a dimmer switch - I think I'll have to figure out if I can get one of those that will look OK in the switch panel that's in my RV.

That may have been me. I copied somebody else's idea for interior lights and also applied it to the awning light.

Pictures below are my main switch panel before and after. I just drilled into the face and put the dimmers in series with the existing SPST switches. Note, the dimmers need a ground themselves or they don't work properly with LED lights.

Dimmer (<- link to Amazon. They're not cheap. There are other dimmers and sources, I'm sure.)

w/o dimmers


w/ dimmers

[cc102bob]

Originally Posted by chriscowles

That may have been me. I copied somebody else's idea for interior lights and also applied it to the awning light.

Pictures below are my main switch panel before and after. I just drilled into the face and put the dimmers in series with the existing SPST switches. Note, the dimmers need a ground themselves or they don't work properly with LED lights.

Dimmer (<- link to Amazon. They're not cheap. There are other dimmers and sources, I'm sure.)

w/o dimmers
Attachment 252010

w/ dimmers
Attachment 252011

Excellent! That panel looks exactly like mine. Would you please send yours to me so I can verify that it works in my RV??? I'll only need it for a few years...

I don't mind spending a few $'s on dimmer switches. I'm not sure why the idea didn't occur to me without seeing someone else post that they did such a thing.

[chriscowles]

Originally Posted by cc102bob

… I'm not sure why the idea didn't occur to me without seeing someone else post that they did such a thing.

I can assure you that, other than store-bought shelves that fit a specific space, none of my mods are original ideas.

[14apex]

Originally Posted by Qwkynuf

My wife and I have agreement that I get to die first. We voted on it. Luckily, she wasn't home that day. She filed an appeal with the elections bureau, but I think I will prevail.

(and it's not that I want her to be alone, I just don't think I could live without her.)

A tough subject for many of us, no doubt. After the past year of "helping" my bride of 52+ years through some horribly challenging chemotherapy, I'm more than ever thankful for every day of happily camping together. Can't imagine being without her, but hat off and heart out to those who soldier on! RE lighting, other than the little LEDs on the tongue jack & "porch light", we just rely on the fire in the ring with an occasional use of Maglite.

[Harris85]

We use one strand of warm lights (not LED)hung in the trees to just be able to not run into the boulders so many of our State Parks have. We turn them off when we go in for the night.

[NJKris]

Originally Posted by chriscowles

Kris, it's not different. As with my comments to 5er_Tom, people may either be polite or not want to risk confrontation.

If the campground is already blazing, fine, but please don't light a flag at night in an otherwise dark park.

I can assure you that if I ever come across an RV park that dark, I will not be the guy disturbing the serenity and colors would come down at night. Actually kind of looking forward to that day! Maybe when I finally get to travel out West and can see stars better.

[quicky06]

We leave the purple underbelly and awning lights on that came with the trailer all night to make letting the dogs out and and getting around away from The fire. But they are dimmed down where you get no light pollution in another site.

I do have bucket lights I put on the awning to give me light. But that’s only when I need light. When hunting, hiking, floating, ect all day we will get back after dark. We use the bucket lights to cook and eat and clean up then once a fire is going or we are inside they get turned off.

[coney]

Originally Posted by NJKris

Ok, I think I'm finally happy to live and camp in NJ area. Pack rats, scorpions, poisonous critters, oh my! Keep them where they are. Fire ants too. We have none of that nonsense here. Just suffocating taxes and too much traffic. It's almost a fair trade.

Don't forget the ticks

[NJKris]

We gotta have some kind of pest, right? I'm lucky, not so bad by me most times. Not like Turkey Swamp! I swear it was raining ticks there.