Lights on?

[brirene]

A serious question, with no judgements, to people who leave their porch or other outside lights on all night while camping: why do you? This past weekend, and many other times I've noticed folks who do this. Is it safety? Keep critters away? Just forget? Something else?

[ReVoker]

I have rope lights on my awning and leave them on all night. I've done this for 20 years and have never had anyone tell me they were bothering them. I leave them on because I may have to take my two dogs out before it is light outside and it is a convenience for me not to have to bother with hitting the correct switch for the porch light.

[rwjejits]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
I hate porch lights.........not inventive enough, dull, boring

ME..I take an automotive flasher, stick it in trailer umbilical cord and let them trailer running lights dance

My Hero!

[colliehauler]

Old-Biscuit wrote:
I hate porch lights.........not inventive enough, dull, boring

ME..I take an automotive flasher, stick it in trailer umbilical cord and let them trailer running lights dance

I have a old strobe light from the sixties I could give you.:C

[Old-Biscuit]

I hate porch lights.........not inventive enough, dull, boring

ME..I take an automotive flasher, stick it in trailer umbilical cord and let them trailer running lights dance

[BulldawgFan]

I leave my porch light on. Unapologetically. For a numberof reasons, none of which I feel I need to justify. Its an amber low wattage bulb. And sometimes, just because....I don't turn it off until 10 AM.

[RoyBell]

If we are up, the lights are on. My PUP had a switch in front of the bunk. Once in a while it would get hit when climbing into bed. I would get in the AM and see them all on knowing I shut them off. The porch light I have been known to forget about though.

[dodge_guy]

jplante4 wrote:
Wow, six pages on whether or not to turn off a light. I thought these types of threads only happened in the winter.

Well, the weather has been kinda cruddy lately!

[wbwood]

mikensallyt wrote:
I was always worried about someone walking thru my campsite at night and getting hurt and suing me after they bump into one of my three sides, which aint fun.

Seriously? Do you think you would get sued for someone walking through your site and hitting your camper? Better light up your toe vehicle too. What about the backside of your camper? You light that up to? Do people sue people for tripping over tents in no RV type parks?

Too many people fricking scared of getting sued and too many people wanting to sue. I was in a wreck where a lady runs a red light and we collide. My car is totaled. I have minor injuries. All I hear from people at work and people on here is about getting a lawyer. Geezus! People get a grip on life.

[jplante4]

Wow, six pages on whether or not to turn off a light. I thought these types of threads only happened in the winter.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Last January, I was walking the dogs back to the 5er after our usual morning jaunt, and thought "what the heck is shining on the trailer??". I'm guessing Ed tried to hit the interior light switch the night before, and got the scare light switch, instead? Since we never had those on our previous Class C - we never thought to use them anyway....

I normally never leave any outdoor lights on - I'm a Dark Sky sort of girl 🙂 And long ago, I learned it was easier to walk and pick up after my dogs, if I was wearing a headlamp; so I have those stashed everywhere.

[mikensallyt]

Ok, I've been corrected and can see everyone's points. Being a newbie to camping in such areas, I do enjoy the benefits of looking into the sky and seeing stars and the relaxing atmosphere. I'm blind as a bat at night 😞
So I'll just carry a small lite to see my way around outside from now on. I was always worried about someone walking thru my campsite at night and getting hurt and suing me after they bump into one of my three sides, which aint fun. Since I enjoy getting up around 2am and going outside to enjoy the serenity, my new small handheld light will work just great, regardless of which wild animal I run into (please no skunks), lol. I always pick up and store all my property at night anyway along with locking my storage. And I quickly learned not to leave any food items including my ripe pineapples out on the picnic tables. Varmits like them a lot even in the day time, lol.

[BulldawgFan]

Pogoil wrote:

BulldawgFan wrote:

Pogoil wrote:
When I was younger my neighbor would leave a 100 watt bulb hanging on the side of his RV. It lit up our whole RV. He left it on for 2 nights as a scare light while they were in the RV.

At dark I put my halogen work light on top of my camper directed his way and in 15 minutes his light went off and never came on for the rest of the 10 days we were there. Problem solved.

Pogoil.

He should have turned his truck your way and fired up his brights. Nothing like a good pi$$%*÷ match.

Trust me he would have never won!

Pull out the phosphorus...hit him with a chemical flash. Got it! Hahaha

[Pogoil]

BulldawgFan wrote:

Pogoil wrote:
When I was younger my neighbor would leave a 100 watt bulb hanging on the side of his RV. It lit up our whole RV. He left it on for 2 nights as a scare light while they were in the RV.

At dark I put my halogen work light on top of my camper directed his way and in 15 minutes his light went off and never came on for the rest of the 10 days we were there. Problem solved.

Pogoil.

He should have turned his truck your way and fired up his brights. Nothing like a good pi$$%*÷ match.

Trust me he would have never won!

[BulldawgFan]

noplace2 wrote:

K3WE wrote:
Why do so few people understand that some campgrounds are out in nature where there's a reasonable expectation to look at the sky on a beautiful starry night without light pollution
and other campgrounds are a social town like festive atmosphere where lots of lights - including decorative lights are the norm?

We've been fulltiming for 14 years. Over those years, we've stayed in just about very kind of venue out there with exception of those that are primarily "kid" oriented. We learned early on to pick those places that suit our needs and sensibilities. As to part one above we have gravitated almost exclusively to that type of place. Quiet, no kids, no "activities", minimal, if any lighting, no generators, no campfires except our noiseless and smokeless propane one and most important, if there are other people around, they are similar in terms of needs and wants and very respectful of others. Just peace and quiet. The ability to go outside, sit in a lawn chair and sigh, AHHHHH! at any time of day or night.

Indeed, we are all different, but we need to understand and respect those differences. If you pull into an entity where the atmosphere is quiet and subdued and you are party people, please move quietly on without attempting to force your brand of "camping" on the others there.

Excellent case in point: We are currently in a very small park amidst the Smokies in NC. For the 1st time in our 14 years of travels, we have taken a site for the summer. We passed through here last fall and fell in love with the place for all of the reasons enumerated above. There are only 20 RV sites, most of them seasonal. The owners try to keep 2 of them open for passers through. Over the Memorial Day w/e a small family of 4 moved into one of those 2 sites. 1st night they decorated as if they were in a place where a couple of hundred string lights, patio lights and scare lights all night were the norm. I don't believe that anyone said anything to them (although if they had been next to me I would have politely asked them to extinguish most of it at quiet time), but for the next 2 nights they were dark and the last night, one of the 2 kids had a telescope out. :B Not sure how they got here in the first place, but glad that they "got" where they were and adapted, instead of attempting to force their mindset on others clearly disinclined.

It hasn't happened for years because we do our homework and are not likely to end up in party central, but if we did, we'd bite the bullet for the night and move on early the next morning.

Leave your lights on all night? When in Rome....

I hope I never mistakenly book in a campground like you describe. Different strokes though...

[BulldawgFan]

Pogoil wrote:
When I was younger my neighbor would leave a 100 watt bulb hanging on the side of his RV. It lit up our whole RV. He left it on for 2 nights as a scare light while they were in the RV.

At dark I put my halogen work light on top of my camper directed his way and in 15 minutes his light went off and never came on for the rest of the 10 days we were there. Problem solved.

Pogoil.

He should have turned his truck your way and fired up his brights. Nothing like a good pi$$%*÷ match.