Take a look at the photo in the poll below, or the photo above. What do you think about the lights on those RVs? Do you like them? Dislike them? Really, really, passionately hate them? Or, is that what your RV looks like?
In an article from earlier this year, Tony Barthel looks at these bright outdoor RV LED lights and answers the question, “Are they affecting your sleep?” Read that article here—it’s fascinating.
Anyway, tell us what you think about these lights if you were in a campsite right next to them. If you really disliked them or they really bothered you, would you threaten to move or contact the campground management?
After you vote, please leave a comment and explain your answer. Tell us about a situation you may have experienced with neighbors with bright RV lights. Did they leave them on all night? Is it you? Do you have bright lights you leave on at night? You can admit it, it’s okay…
I’d rather put up with a “lit-up” RV than one with an incessantly barking dog.
The dog is barking at the light. Turn it off.
Nice, but no. The incessantly dog is barking because the owner’s just don’t care.
Very true but I am always explaining to my children that one wrong does not justify another.
Inconsiderate is inconsiderate.
We get it already. NO barking dogs for Grumpy Vet! 😉😁
In all the parks I’ve been in I have only once experienced an “incessantly” barking dog. I’ve certainly heard dogs bark, but only once, when a dufus left his two dogs in an unairconditioned popup camper on a hot day did I hear a dog barking and never quit. The campground had summoned the county sheriff’s office by noon and they stayed until around 8pm when he finally showed up.
Was surprised he wasn’t kicked out or even arrested, but he stayed and we never heard the dogs again.
Roger that! NO BARKING DOGS! BTW, that is the #1 complaint in the State Campground we camp hosted this past summer. Seems that is the biggest complaint throughout the State system (not lights) according to our Regional Manager. Agree with Joe, “inconsiderate is inconsiderate” Happy for you Mikal! well over 80% of the campgrounds we have been over the past 4 years has had a barking dog. Maybe I am just “over-sensitively attuned”?
I am attuned to light, and in fact my morning alarm is a light coming on in a walk-in closet. If it is bright enough to shine in and disturb my sleep, it’s too bright. I know you feel you have the “right” to camp how you want. And if you don’t mind me practicing my trombone by the light of your RV, we’ll get along fine.
Sleep mask to the rescue.
Lights, dogs, loud music/TV – I don’t want any of it. Selfish people stay away!
Depends on the campground. The closer they are the more it would bother me. But there are other annoyances out there so we must learn to accept what we can’t correct and politely point out what can be corrected.
Lit up during the evening, okay. But at 2:00 AM, nah, the raccoons don’t need the light to raid your site.
If dim enough no problem. No bright flashing strobing chasing lights please.
We’ve been in campgrounds where star gazing is popular and there are usually a couple of campers with light shows. That behavior shouldn’t be allowed. And regardless of what campground, turn the lights off when you go to bed.
Why do you get to change your vote after you see how others have voted?
It depends on the intensity and direction of the lighting, the frequency of occurrence – – and how long I expect the offender to be in the park.
I am quite tolerant of early night lights. There are a number of folks with night blindness and have trouble finding their way back to their RV. But the lights shouldn’t run all night. Oops happens. And why bother with short stays? Risk the peace when they are leaving after 1-2 nights?
I have shades, curtains and or blinds. If I’m inside, there could be a lighthouse outside and I wouldn’t care.
If you only care about the inside of your trailer why not just stay home? I camp for the location and outdoors.
If I’m at a casino or truck stop I don’t care, but if I’m at a dark-sky state park and you have pink rope lights blazing under and on your RV then yeah it’s a problem.
About camper lights, that is exactly why we stay in state or provincial parks! Step light on – maybe!
I’ve seen this done more often in State and National parks than commercial campgrounds. This is really true on BLM land, Quartzsite for an example.
The ones lit up like a circus bother me. There is no reason to flood the area with lights, most of the time these people are not even outside and are on all night. It’s just a way to show off their rig. No one cares!
Our awning light can be dimmed to a level that only lights the area directly below it. But it is only on while we are outside. We also have a motion sensing light at the steps. Comes on when you approach and turns off after 30 seconds.
The worst lights are the super bright nose lights. The occupants don’t see these lights, but everyone else does.
You mean the ones that look like airport runway lights… I keep waiting on a 747 to land…
It’s rude!
If you are afraid of the dark, why not stay in a nice, safe motel? I very rarely stay at a commercial campground, and am amazed at all the lights. It makes me feel like I’m visiting Clark Griswold at Christmas… Was that Cousin Eddie I just saw???
I’m ok with the lights as long as they are not blinding or “in your face”. Under-lighting, softly done, is OK. Rope lighting is getting out of control just a bit as it is not limited to emitting light under the RV. Other forms of lighting such as palm trees, large animals, LED streaming from every corner of the RV can be annoying. It is their site to do with what they want but it’s not my style. Soft, non-obtrusive lighting, done respectfully is OK with me.
People have lost ,or never had,consideration for others along with lack of morals and ethics. And to think they walk among us.
No votes yet to “ I’m the one with the lights”? Maybe there aren’t so many well lit RVs out there.
Or a lot of people in denial because I see one or two in every campground.
If the light is bright enough to enter the windows of another RV it is too bright for all night.
It looks like a strip club or a strip mall, or a strip club in a strip mall, none of which i’d like to camp at.
Why many campgrounds now have rules stating “NO outside lighting” from a certain time to a certain time, usually midnight to 6 AM. This usually doesn’t apply if you turn on a porch/patio light to put their dog out, provided you don’t leave it on. If you’re that afraid of the dark, stay somewhere with lots of lights.
You don’t put your dog out. You take them out and you should take a flashlight with you. Still no need to light up the universe.
I have use a tie out but go out with them. I also have CCT with infrared cameras and can activate motion detection lights on the sides and back of my RV. I can and will light up the place if my cameras see someone where they don’t belong.
A lit up camper a few sites away, especially lit with blue lights, draws the bugs away and the critters that feed on them.
However, if at a Dark Skies Campground, those lights should be reported.
I think it looks stupid – and who’s it for? Once the people go inside, they don’t see it, so why not turn it off? It’s certainly not for the rest of us!
Posted: It would bother me a lot.
Reason: When we have parked next to similar campers, the inside of our RV is lit up. Makes it much harder to fall asleep.
I’m not a fan of RVs lit up like Christmas trees. Recently spent four nights next to a guy that left his hood up every night with balled up flashing white Xmas lights dusk to dawn…rodent control, I presume, but I didn’t have any either with no lights on! 🙂 Maybe his lights were so powerful they cleared the campground of rodent intruders! 🤣🤣🤣
But that said, when we go to bed we close the shades and don’t see out, so I don’t really care. Doesn’t affect us any.
I have a sleep mask and a Fantastic Fan for white noise so I’m covered!
The lights that bother me the most are the LED strips on the fronts of fifth wheels and trailers. I’ve seen many people that turn them on upon arrival and leave them on the entire duration of their stay, day and night. It horrible when you’re sitting on your patio enjoying the night and have to stare at those lights across from you. What are they even for? Are they loading lights, or “look at me” lights?
Yep, look at me lights. I say to them, yes, we are looking at you, because you’re an idiot.
Have been for the last few nights. That’s why I have window shades.
It would bother me a lot. Once at Furnace Creek Campground in Death Valley (a Gold Tier Dark Sky Park) on a moonless night the guy across from us had 3 flood lights mounted on the side of his trailer shining across the entire campground. I was trying to take some astrophotography shots and asked very nicely if he could turn them off for an hour or so. He told me no, that he needed them on when he took the dog out. I asked him why he couldn’t just flip them on when he was going out and he got very mad at me and called me names and slammed the door. He left his lights on all night. But apparently, I was the jerk 🙂
Those kind of people are just A-holes.They only care about themselves. But Karma will get him. He’s the guy you’ll see down the road with 2 blow outs and the side of his rig all tore up.
Too hard to turn off when he’s inside, or is this “Look at me! Look at me!” compensation for other inadequacies?
“It’s my space”?! As long as you keep the light in your space, great.
If your lights shine on your neighbors site they are too bright to leave on all night…..
🙂
I would just have a nice conversation – most will turn them off as we tend towards state parks & usually that is simply an oversite. We have motion detector solar lights that shine towards our camper in case of unwelcome visitors & will happily lend them out if necessary
When our shades are pulled down, no light gets in, so it’s of no concern to us.
Thank you, RV Travel! 🙂 I don’t care. We do as Karen Bates and close our shades at night, especially if our site and their site are close to one another. Thanks again, have a great weekend, safe travels, and safe stays! 🙂
Lights don’t bother us. Smokey campfires, loud music, outside TV’s, and noisy drunks do.
When we are in certain Arizona campgrounds, I do put out white string lights underneath the RV to keep pack rats away. Not sure that they work, but 3/4 of the rigs use them. I simply use the black out shades on the RV and there is ZERO issue.
More annoying for us, are the off-door, motion activated scare lights. Folks don’t seem to realise these lights come on every time their neighbor opens a door or moves around their useable area.
Evening lighting is OK as long as it isn’t stadium lighting. Lower or shut them off at midnight. If it bugs me, I will nicely say something but if you’re an @$$hole about it, I’ll reciprocate (a smoky fire, playing polka music (which I love), or some other annoying act. So far I’ve only had to do that once and that was to a newbie with an attitude.
They look harsh, glaring, gaudy, tasteless, and ostentatious. The owners who leave them on all night are rude, thoughtless, and inconsiderate. If I wanted to see a carnival all lit up, I’d camp in Vegas! I value darkness; it’s one of the reasons I go camping. This is just another flashy, cheap trick manufacturers are using to lure in buyers–when instead they should be focusing on quality control measures and using better materials! It’s maddening when some parks have a ten-year rule, but then they let this rudeness happen.
What about campgrounds with an overhead light at every other site? I’ve been to ones with that which is why I have cushions in the vents, black shades over the skylights and blinds. I keep a small lamp on in the bathroom and the stove light on…I like to burrow down in the covers.
We are currently camping at a COE in Iowa, which used to be my favorite site. They’ve put not one but two street lights near our site, one up by the road and one next to the small parking lot behind our site. That light shines right in our bedroom window. I understand the reason but it’s still disappointing.
If the lights aren’t too bright, it wouldn’t bother me. I wear a sleep mask at night and have black-out window shades. Loud music bothers me though.
We go camping to escape the urbanized landscape. Heck, these things are more lit up than the houses in my neighborhood are. Unless you are actively doing something that requires all that light, please turn it off. The 5th wheels with the front caps lit up like Vegas and serve no practical purpose are the worst!
I can’t stand all the lights, especially as they leave them on after going inside for the night.
What makes it worse are the builders installing all these stupid lights on the new rigs.
Aaarrrggg!
When we are traveling we are very considerate of others in RV spots. But at home in the country our backyard looks like a runway. I hope we don’t have an airplane land on the property. I have LED rope lights on about 800 feet of fencing to light our backyard up at night. We don’t have neighbors. It’s our way of being able to use our property at night for relaxing and not trip,over a raccoon.
Those lights are ugly, unnecessary, and block the capability of my seeing the stars at night, which is a main enjoyment of RV-ing. Very rude and inconsiderate of those who think they have to have lights on to keep “critters” away. We’ve been camping and RV-ing for close to 50 years and never had any problems with critters.
Decorating around your RV is a creative expression of personality. I enjoy seeing the various ways people “hang out their personal sign.” It can be a pleasant conversation starter, too.
When people shut them off when they’re in for the night, their thoughtfulness is obvious as well.
Let the Scrooge crowd sneer, but for many of us a lighted flamingo or palm tree lights our spirits, too.
That’s fine until a reasonable hour. Then it becomes annoying and selfish
keeps the mice and rodents snakes and bugs out of your camper they don’t like lights that’s the reason why some people use them and I respect that I had 24 mice in my camper one year I camp for 6 months at a time when I put the lights under the camper and around it zero mice and zero problem there’s other reasons why people use lights