Cheap and easy interior lighting

[KJ1H]

It's not high tech or sustainable, but as a first step toward lighting up my living space, I found a way to instantly light up my no-build build until I get some kind of house electrical system installed.



I picked up a 4-pack LED lights for $10 at Ocean State Job Lot (a New England outlet store chain). These are made to resemble house wall switches, but are self-contained with LEDs and 3 AAA batteries inside. Flick the switch and boom, you have light. They stick on with magnets (good for bare cargo van walls), included velcro strips, or you can hang them from a hook, nail, or screw. I used the latter option and hung them up all over the back of the van. With all four on there's a ton of light back there. If I want to read before bed I can shut off all but the one right over the bed, then reach up and shut it off when I'm done.

Please don't mind the state of the rest of the van. I haven't actually started my build yet, and am just mocking up how I want to set things up and where.    I just wanted to share this cheap option for temporary lighting, or permanent if you don't want a house electrical system and are okay with changing batteries.

 

[nature lover]

Great minds think alike. I got mine at Harbor Freight and want to get a solar charger for AAA and AA that I can lay on the dash. A have several things that run on AAA or AA; digital recorder, digital picture frame, am fm radio, flash lights of all types (wall mount, hand held, emergency flashers) and one of my cheaper cameras.

 

[trailer-t]

I have a couple of those mounted in my cargo trailer for emergencies. Good product imo.
I have seen them at Walmart and Harbor Freight. I also have a couple of the LED lanterns
that use three D batteries that I like as well.

 

[highdesertranger]

no need to apologize for your van I think it looks great. highdesertranger

 

[KJ1H]

Thanks! I do need to build a better bed, if nothing else. I don't want to sleep on that. 

 

[tx2sturgis]

You can also get those exact same lights with a rotary dimmer which makes them much more usable for camper interiors.

 

[trailer-t]

I have a couple of these that I also like -- but they are powered by a usb adapter. Pretty bright. Use about 5 watts each for $10:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QX096L0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[MotorVation]

I have two different Luci lights. The Original and a Core The original can only be charged by the sun and the other by the sun or USB. The Core, I wrap a bandana around which helps to filter some of the obnoxious white light, and the Original I pretty much just use when I need a really bright light. Either one of them is bright enough to do an emergency wrenching job in a fix without having to plug them into a power source. That said, the bright white led lighting bothers me as much or more than florescent lighting.

I also have three clip on led lights that have the option of a yellow beam which is a lot easier on my eyes. They have rechargeable lithium batteries that plug in via USB to micro USB. They're my favorite to sit around with at night. In fact, I leave one plugged in all night as a night light. One of them has two separate "heads" but just the one battery. 
On Amazon, they're called book lights but they are pretty bright if I put them on high. 

I don't have any added house wiring. It's all hooked up to my house batteries through a Bestek power adapter that has three ciggy plug ports and four USB ports. I have another one I'm going to wire in shortly. I also charge my laptop with it via a 12 volt laptop adapter. Nothing fancy but it got me on the road. My fridge has a pretty big draw so I did wire that directly to the batteries. It's a bit of a pain in the butt to plug and unplug stuff to charge it but it works for me..

 

[VanFan]

Good idea.  Those lights are handy, as others have said.  We have two:  one switch style; one with the dimmer.  If there's no moon and we leave the van at night, slapping one on the fender (low, so it doesn't blind anyone) helps us find it or lights up tripping hazards.

Our main "house light" is an LED strip.  We used mirror holders in some of the wood trim screw holes to attach it.  A dimmer has been wired in and is very nice to have.  (It can be hard to find one that works well with LED's without flickering, BTW.)  The 12 volt plug usually goes in our old-style jump pack, which is more than adequate.

A push-on LED light is mounted on the center support inside the back doors to light up our kitchen stuff.  I keep a D cell operated camping lantern at bed level.  It dims to a nice glow for final lights out time.  My clamp on book light is handy in a wall pocket above the bed.  A headlamp is in the side door pocket.  A serious trouble light is in the front.  Small flashlights are... everywhere.

Recently, we've been seduced by shore power here and there and have started carrying a set of white Christmas lights.  We string these on the van with magnetic hooks.  I used to think that was a terrible thing to do in a campground, but honestly find the glow to be helpful and nice to have these days.

We love our lights, but also not being able to see a hand in front of our faces at night!!

 

[user 423]

Recently, we've been seduced by shore power here and there and have started carrying a set of white Christmas lights.  We string these on the van with magnetic hooks.  I used to think that was a terrible thing to do in a campground, but honestly find the glow to be helpful and nice to have these days.

Probably helps to keep mice away,too. I see quite a few rigs using those.

 

[MotorVation]

First night I boondocked off Tom Wells Rd I picked me up a little furry friend. It hung out for a couple days till it got tired of me screaming every time I heard it move. It left of its own free will and now i[font=Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, sans-serif]t thinks its name is mo%^&^%#$@!r.[/font] I didn't want to use poison so I was going to get some traps. I still have the unopened peanut butter. 

I've been considering leaving a Luci light on blink mode under the hood. I haven't done so because it may or may not bring unwanted human attention

 

[pure_mahem]

I like your idea.

I have a couple other suggestions that would be low budget as well. Depending on Timing!

The Blue Lights you can get for free from Harbor Freight with a coupon with any purchase. They also use AAA batteries. You will need a screw driver to change them. They have magnets on the back and a coat hanger type hook that swings out and swivels so you can hang them. They have a large Led on the side and a dimmer one you can use as a flashlight. Pretty nice considering the price. I keep several with my tool box just because they are so handy for working on the car.

Another low budget light are the solar lights from lawn and garden at Walmart. A certain time of year you can get them really cheap. Years ago for camping I bought a mess of them when they were on clearance for a dollar a piece. Could still be an option if you dont want to use them inside and just want to light up around your camp. Only down side of these is I found they use a weird battery so when they finally die. It's easier to just buy another light. I moved away from them after that but perhaps they have switched to a AAA or AA now. I now I did pass them in the Lawn and Garden this year and they had clearanced them again in the Walmarts in my area. Seems to be a yearly mark down they just do. These were the ones in the display they sold individually. Those lights held up reasonably well.

I bought my mother a set in a box this past year to light up her driveway there were 6 in the box. Those were junk. several of them broke when they were installed.

 

[MrNoodly]

<a href="https://imgbb.com/"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/GWBKgNk/cluster.jpg" alt="cluster" border="0" /></a>

When I started out seven years ago I used a bunch of AA-powered, magnetic, touch lights I got at Walmart. I could move them around to different places, turn on as many as necessary. But I had to keep recharging the batteries, so I eventually permanently mounted some lights that are wired to the house battery.

 

[KJ1H]

That is my eventual plan as well. But for getting started, all of these options are cheap, quick, and easy. Keep the good ideas coming!

 

[nature lover]

I had a GMC Safari and now a Dodge full size but I don't think I'll ever wire and plumb a vehicle as much as some people do. everything I have in my vehicle can be transferred to another vehicle in an hour or two. I never could afford new vehicles so I expect to replace it and just transfer the interior build to another vehicle so these cheep small lights are a part of "system" I hope to add solar and a compressor fridge soon but it will be a portable solar generator with a suitcase panel. I never lived fancy and if I had the money to live fancy I think I would find something better to do with it.