Well it was some time back (’06) that I did a tech tip on RV Today with Stew and Tracy about solar campsite lights. I thought I’d bring it up again. It was so well received I added it to my RV Tech Tip book. At the time I had Direcway Satellite tripod set up and it sat away from my RV a bit and wanted the thing visible for safety and other reasons. I was at Home depot one day as saw these outdoor 3 tier solar lights for $29.95 a pair. I bought a pair and used one under my tripod and put the other by my door steps. They worked so well I went back and got another pair and placed them strategically around my campsite. I had a ton of people asking me about them and where I got them. The nice thing was being a host on the beach they were made of aluminum. They came with little hard plastic stakes you drove in the ground, but being mobile and maybe wanting to move them around I came up with a better idea.
I went to Ace hardware and bought 3 short pieces of threaded galvanized pipe and a round wall mounts for each one. I simply screwed the short piece of pipe into the round wall plate and boom, had a stand! The solar light stems slid right down inside the pipes nicely. I them painted the galvanized “stands” white with Rustoleum spray paint. The round galvanized wall plates have screw holes in them, so you can anchor them down to something if you wish.
The lights actually put out quite a bit of light and ad very nice accent to a campsite. Some may be wondering if I ever had any “walk off”? Not a one in 3 years and always was complimented on them. When I finally got my Trailair air ride pin box I put one on top of the level pin box and it shined and reflected off my front cap of my 5’er and really looked nice at night.
I’ve even had several who had gotten my RV Tech Tip book stop and see me thanking me for the tip. Wouldn’t know it as I did my nightly rounds after dark there they were! There are several different models out there and many to choose from. I suggest the aluminum type so corrosion isn’t such a factor. Most all come with rechargeable AA batteries that are recharged by the sun through the small solar panel built into the tops. The replacement batteries aren’t very expensive either. My first set seem to last me about nearly a year being used every night. Here’s a link on line to a place that has just about everything. I found some new 3 tier lights they have I’m going to get. It’s all in your own taste and imagination what you get. It’s up to you. Prices range widely as well depending on what you want, but you can find a nice set of lights that are inexpensive at with Lowe’s or Home Depot.
Dress up your campsite a bit and ad a little accent!
Firedude
http://www.thefiredude.com
