Solar Motion Lights

[Perry Butler]

We use Baxia Solar Lights to light areas around our camper. These are really bright lights, almost too bright, but for our intended purposes work great.

We have twelve of these lights.

At night when we're outside, but before retiring, we place two solar lights underneath the outside steps to light our way when we get near the entry door. I've seen where some have put Velcro on the camper, to mount them low, to light your step, but not blind you or your neighbors. They stop lighting after about 30 seconds of no motion.

At Chiricahua National Monument we had a long walk from our fire pit to the camper door with large rocks in the way. I strategically placed them along the way to light the walk and avoid any more bruised shins.

We have two adjustable shower curtain rods in our wet bath. One is up high to hold hand, face and bath towels. The other is about 6" above the outside wall ledge of the bath. It keeps our shampoo, rinse, and body wash upright even when traveling down the road. We also place two of these solar lights facing down on the lower curtain rod. When using the bath in the middle of the night you don't have to fumble for the upper light switch, since they see your motion. By facing down they don't blind you either and still give plenty of reflected light. I'll try to get a picture of this system.

We place a low power motion puck light on the kitchen counter top to light up when we get upright at the edge of the bed before descending down the stairs. We no longer have to find light switches in the middle of the night.

The reason we have twelve motion solar lights is for pack rats. We place them around the base of the pickup to come on when a rat is seen. I've actually seen a pack rat scurry away from the light at Organ Pipe National Monument. I also put three in the engine compartment, just in case they make it by the ones on the ground. Beats the hell out of those obnoxious rope lights.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Artlady]

Perry,
What a great idea! We have a new 21, and were just lamenting last week (camping) that we should have ordered more lights around the front and back trailer exteriors. These will not only be functional, but practical when we forget to turn off exterior lights.
I like the idea of the interior lights as well.
Thanks for sharing!

[Vermilye]

A good idea as long as you can switch them off when you no longer need them. I can't tell you how many times I've gone outside my trailer to watch or photograph the stars just to have neighbor's motion sensitive lights going off every time I move (sometimes 20' - 30' away...

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

A good idea as long as you can switch them off when you no longer need them. I can't tell you how many times I've gone outside my trailer to watch or photograph the stars just to have neighbor's motion sensitive lights going off every time I move (sometimes 20' - 30' away...

I would have a nice conversation with the neighbors explaining the situation. We have a seasonal campsite and are the last seasonals, next to five daily rentals. I have no problems talking to them. It's all about your attitude to gain success in this situation. OTOH, I was a K-12 teacher and learned how to talk to irate parents. Compared to those parents, campers are easy to explain situations.

How about the outside lights on all the time vs motion lights. For us, the ratio is probably 1,000 outside lights to one motion light. There are always outliers.

To turn off, you just flip them over, so the sensor faces the ground. Eazy Peazy!

Enjoy,

Perry

[jadams]

Thanks for sharing about these lights. They’ll be useful. Never thought light would be a good way to deter vermin.

On our last trip we had an issue with mice in the TV. Discovered we not only have to store some food in the car in bear and raccoon country, but also have to have the food in containers inside the car. I lost some good chocolate to the mice!

Are pack rats the same as regular rats or are they a different beast?

[Iowa Dave]

Read up on them. They are rodents but act differently than most other rat types. I’ve never experienced damage from them and my “top predator” attitude would probably lead me to underestimate them. Recently two hunters near Kalispell Montana got beat up pretty good when they tangled with a bear with a grizz pedigree. You have to respect the animal world, they are out there 24-7.
Iowa Dave

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by jadams

Thanks for sharing about these lights. They’ll be useful. Never thought light would be a good way to deter vermin.

On our last trip we had an issue with mice in the TV. Discovered we not only have to store some food in the car in bear and raccoon country, but also have to have the food in containers inside the car. I lost some good chocolate to the mice!

Are pack rats the same as regular rats or are they a different beast?

A friend of mine lives in Tucson and had over $1,000 of wiring damage done on his Subaru that sat outside in the back of his house lot. It seems pack rats love to eat wiring in cars. Camp in the south where there are pack rats and you'll see all sorts of lights underneath cars at night.

Enjoy,

Perry

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by jadams

Are pack rats the same as regular rats or are they a different beast?

While they're both rodents and both called "rats", common brown rats and packs rats are only distantly related. A gerbil is much more closely related to a common brown rat than a pack rat is.

[wackyburggeezer]

We just got our 2020 Highlander back from the Toyota dealer. The $1800.00 insurance claim didn't phase the insurance company at all. Packrats stored mesquite seed pods under the hood, chewed insulated wires (and the conductors), and misc. plastic parts in the engine compartment. We're trying a battery powered deterrent device, and are considering other deterrents. These lights might help. Of course, if they do help, there'll be no evidence that they did the trick, but they're less frustrating than "The Packrat Wars".

[cpaharley2008]

What ever happened to flashlights?

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

What ever happened to flashlights?

At some point during the time you are standing guard with the flashlight, you might dose off and the pack rats would attack.

Seriously, pack rats spook me as the damage would occur while we were traveling - Houston doesn't seem to have them.

Here is an article that seems to have good info on them.
MPR - Vehicles

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

Here is an article that seems to have good info on them.
MPR - Vehicles

Great Read!

My Tucson friend told us to forget soap and dryer sheets. His Subaru now sits in his garage that he eliminated the entry points, and his truck is parked outside with all nearby foliage removed. He also got rid of the junk by his back alley and found rat nests in the process.

The Baxia lights are really bright, but aren't on all the time. I will admit at Gilbert Ray the vehicles are so close to the road that if you walked next to our truck the lights would come on, but they're facing the truck not you so not so bright. Many parks are lit up all night from the hood and rope lights.

Thanks,

Perry

[azjack]

Over 25 years in Tucson with 3/4 acre of mostly natural landscaping we discovered the only thing that deterred the little cute burgers was Irish Spring soap and urinal cakes either in pink and maybe white. The way to eliminate them was by using wood snap traps or hauling off 15 tons of pack rat nests and cactus they use for nests. The really good answer is all vehicles with engines inside a closed garage.
AZjack

[jadams]

thanks for the smiles this morning.

“top predator” attitude would probably lead me to underestimate them" ... true!

"What ever happened to flashlights?" ... this thread topic is now really off-topic

"standing guard with the flashlight, you might dose off and the pack rats would attack." ... my fear indeed

Seriously, wow I thought common brown rats could do some vehicle damage, pack rats are at a whole different level. From Wikipedia, "Pack rats are particularly fond of shiny objects". what?!

Motion lights are an amazing idea to deter these beasts.

[Vermilye]

Originally Posted by Perryb67

I would have a nice conversation with the neighbors explaining the situation. We have a seasonal campsite and are the last seasonals, next to five daily rentals. I have no problems talking to them. It's all about your attitude to gain success in this situation. OTOH, I was a K-12 teacher and learned how to talk to irate parents. Compared to those parents, campers are easy to explain situations.

How about the outside lights on all the time vs motion lights. For us, the ratio is probably 1,000 outside lights to one motion light. There are always outliers.

To turn off, you just flip them over, so the sensor faces the ground. Eazy Peazy!

Enjoy,

Perry

It is probably not a good idea to have a conversation with the neighbors at 2:00AM, and often you don't discover the problem until then.

As to Gilbert Ray campground & others with a pack rat problem, I've used motion lights under the truck. I think they work - I haven't had the pack rats move in yet, but do wonder if they can manage to get into the engine without tripping the light. I agree that they are far better than the strings of Christmas lights...

I did notice that about half the hosts at Gilbert Ray swear by the lights & the other half don't believe they have any effect.

[wackyburggeezer]

"Packratunderthehood" disease is not limited to established campgrounds or residences. In the 1990's I had a coil wire bitten into two partial coil wires in the middle of the day. We were parked in southern Canyonlands N.P. and 20+ miles of dirt road from the nearest phone.

.....and while you're dozing, holding the flashlight, all of the 'darkons' will flow out of the batteries.

[oldwave]

Once in a radio shack in a National Park I was dispatched to see why the radio tower wasn’t working. I arrived and opened a fiber optic box to find a mouse chewing on the last terminated fiber. He just looked at me and leisurely walked down the feed cable. The entire radio system was down for an hour while I repaired it. Two falls ago mice are the wire harness in my f150. 2200 minus 500 deductible, however I now have a new harness. Arghhhh

[Perry Butler]

Originally Posted by Vermilye

It is probably not a good idea to have a conversation with the neighbors at 2:00AM, and often you don't discover the problem until then.

As to Gilbert Ray campground & others with a pack rat problem, I've used motion lights under the truck. I think they work - I haven't had the pack rats move in yet, but do wonder if they can manage to get into the engine without tripping the light. I agree that they are far better than the strings of Christmas lights...

I did notice that about half the hosts at Gilbert Ray swear by the lights & the other half don't believe they have any effect.

Don't know if I've ever discovered a problem at 2 am. I'm usually sleeping. The 5.0 has a great bed area and is quite dark. We see the problem when we're star watching. Have yet to see motion lights as a problem either, but the newer LED lights on campers today are a real problem. We avoid electric sites as much as possible. We find those who camp without hookups have much better campground etiquette.

Haven't seen the need to survey campground hosts on why they don't see any reason to have lights. Talking to people who have yet to have a problem doesn't get much results. I merely talked to my Tucson friends, and researched how to minimize pack rats. My father smoked cigarettes all his life and never died of lung cancer.

Perry

[Perry Butler]

We use a shower curtain rod to hold the motion light and our shampoo/rinse/soap.

No fumbling for the light switch, and because the light is directed to the floor, doesn't blind you in the middle of the night.

Enjoy,

Perry

[cpaharley2008]

I simply wired direct a red led light inside the stock light that stays on all the time. At night, you have enough to see without the white blinding light on. I do this in the bath and kitchen o/h lights.