Marker lights

[warsbc43]

So as we have been camping this year, I see alot of different things out there. One of them that catches my eye is the marker/parking lights on when you are parked at a camp site. Some say its good some say its bad. What are your thoughts on it? Also, any ideas on how to do it if I wanted to?? Thanks!!

[TWP723]

I think it's a waste, to be honest. There's no reason for it. I've seen it too. Matter of fact, our last trip, there were campers next to us that kept them on all night. Didn't really throw off that much light, but it took away from the ambience of the fire. Not a real big deal, but still...what's the purpose?

[bansai]

Originally Posted by warsbc43

So as we have been camping this year, I see alot of different things out there. One of them that catches my eye is the marker/parking lights on when you are parked at a camp site. Some say its good some say its bad. What are your thoughts on it? Also, any ideas on how to do it if I wanted to?? Thanks!!

Are you talking about the accent lighting that some people have, and turn on when parked at night? The ones I saw were blue... so it really caught your eye when just looking around. It also made me wonder why the people owning those campers want to stick out like a sore thumb in an otherwise serene environment. It's the 'look how cool I am!' concept.

I saw a bunch of that at Pueblo State park last weekend. I find it a little annoying myself. I felt like I was parked next to a bunch of UFO's and it did detract a bit from experiencing nature.. every time you scan the horizon your eye catches it.

If people want to 'bling' out their camper with annoying lighting, more power to em... it won't be on mine.

ETA- the only purpose I think it would have is to make it easier to locate your own camper, in a large camp ground, at night - if you like to take evening walks like some of us do.

[mike837go]

Very easy to do! Short the top 2 pins of the 7-pin connector with a fuse and you're all set. Carry an old style 2-pin flasher in your emergency kit if you have to abandon the trailer on the road.


Good? My opinion is "probably not'. You are using up the life of the filaments inside the bulbs unnecessarily (though LED's make that point moot). You are also tying the battery to a load. That messes with the charging process. Not enough to really damage things, but unplanned by the engineers who designed the converter anyway.


Personally, since we boondock, it is a complete waste of the electricity in the battery that is needed for too many other critical things.


If somebody wants to light up their RV this way, I won't go out of my way to tell them no. But you won't catch me doing it except in an emergency.

[Jagiven]

It depends on the situation in my opinion. I rarely see them on in a SP. Often I see a few in private CGs. For a Halloween camp out we do (Tricker Treating in the SP) and everyone decorates there sites too, I usually have the marker lights flashing, during this time frame.

I have used the Flashing ability while stopped along side the freeway, to make myself much more noticeable while changing a tire. It is impressive, how many more people move over, when the top marker lights are flashing.

[Marcm157]

If you want to make your markers stay on just use a 10 amp fuse between the top 2 pins of your trailer connector. The ones on either side of the "Key"