Camp lighting? 12v or mains via inverter?

[pugslyyy]

Any reason not to use a 12V work light like this?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008XZAQDU/

My friend stuck one on the back of his pop-up truck camper and it makes for a great camp light.

I use 4 of those on the inside of my 'garage' - they work great. The only potential issue is that the metal mounting bracket is extremely flimsy. Since mine is inside most of the time not a big deal, but YMMV. The light itself is great.

 

[OldGreen]

I use one of the amazon/chinese LED light bars as a camp light. 6 LEDs and 18W works great. In fact, it is almost too bright.

 

[Chili]

We hung these on our awning as accent lighting but they put out enough light that we never used our actual lantern. I will probably buy one more set for the other side, and that should be all I need. Battery life was great too.

http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-20000...47&sr=8-3&keywords=Coleman+lantern+led+lights

We do like to keep it on the darker side though, and use headlamps for task lighting.

 

[MANUCHAO]

i run these off of my tail gate

these are waterproof

 

[4x4junkie]

I took LED MR16 lamps and attached them straight to spring clamps using brackets made out of sheetmetal, and then ran a wire with cig-lighter plug wire straight into the lamp itself (deleting the pins and soldering straight to the LED driver PCB inside the lamp... I s'pose one could also just solder the wire to the pins too, or use an actual fixture for it as was mentioned in an earlier post).

They can be clamped onto anything convenient, be it part of the vehicle (rack, mirror, open door/hatch etc.), the frame under a folding canopy, or to the top of the 18' (3-section) pole I often bring along to light up a wider area.

The pictured lamps I got from a local surplus house, however I also used a couple of these Philips lamps and they too have been mostly trouble free for a couple years now, save for a radio-interference issue with the Philips lamps I had to take steps to eliminate (how these things are FCC part-15-compliant is beyond me). They have a pleasantly-warm light color (3000°K), though ones with the more LED-typical cold bluish color are available too, if that's what you really want (I cannot stand them myself).

Another option on the accent-lighting side might be 12-volt LED strip lights. I just ordered a 5-meter strip of "5630 warm-white" (300 LEDs waterproof w/adhesive backing) but haven't received it yet. They look like they put out a good bit of light given what I saw in the display case at a local store. If I can remember, I'll update here when I get them.

 

[mcskibadee1]

Man, I was thinking of doing that same thing with these but put a magnet on the back. I kind of like your idea more, well done!

 

[uscg2008]

This is my set up 12v lights and switches from blitzpro

 

[toyotech]

I would stick with 12v lights.
Even if you use an inverter for your lights that draw next to nothing. The inverter just being on is drawing juice doesn't it?


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[lugueto]

I have three sources for camp lighting:

1) The cruiser's lights. I have two Rigid dually diffused lights I use as backup lights, these can illuminate a camp very well, they have an awesome flood pattern and are damn bright. The downside is they aren't always positioned for the task. I have seriously considered adding lights or light strips on the sides of the roof rack (especially under the awning) for dedicated camp lights, but I have never come down to it because of battery consumption and having to be constantly having to monitor this.

2) Inverters: I have two inverters, both small (<500W) that power assorted chargers and a wiring loom with 5 bulb sockets in them. I always bring a range of bulbs with the loom to fine tune the lighting I need.

3) Generator: I have a small, ultra reliable, extremely quiet Honda 350W generator that pack very well in the vehicle, weighs something like 15 pounds and can power the same load as the inverters without drawing juice from the batteries. Better yet, it charges batteries if these were accidentally discharged.

The generator has been my most used solution, one of the main drawbacks is the noise created by the generator, but since it is surprisingly quiet and we only turn it on at night when cooking and turn it off immediately after, it's not really that noticeable. Off course I have to bring fuel and 2 stroke oil for it, but since I already carry fuel for the truck and it uses so little that it's not something that would bother anyone.

I am currently considering a solar charging system for the cruiser, if I can manage this then I will probably stop using the generator...