Why Motion-Activated Lights May be a Dim Idea
Our Scamp travel trailer arrived from the factory with a handful of LED lights (7 x 12 volt LED lights per our custom order), which more than adequately light up the interior of the trailer. There is a light above the stove, one facing the dinette/bed, one in the bathroom/shower, and two bright reading spot lights over each side of the dinette/bed (there are also two bright outdoor lights – one outside the entry door and one in front of the trailer near the battery). These lights do a great job of lighting up the inside and outside of the trailer at night. However, there are no lights in the closets or cupboards and, when it’s dark, and it’s not practical to turn on the interior lights because someone is still sleeping, having good light inside the closets is very beneficial.
We use the front lower closet for storing clothing on the hanger and for our toolbox and other essential camping supplies, like cables and wood blocks (which sit on the floor). The front upper closet contains our double sleeping bag, pillows, paper products (TP & Paper Towels), and indoor floor mats. I discovered on our first Scamp trip that these cabinets are very dark inside because they are big and deep. Without adequate light, it’s often difficult to find items inside these cabinets. Because we didn’t want to wire new 12 volt lights into the Scamp, we purchased a rechargeable battery powered motion-activated LED light made by Sylvania to try in the lower closet. Although this light provided plenty of brightness and was nice in that it instantly turned on just by opening the closet door, we found it was quickly running out of power. We noticed it was frequently turning on by itself inside the closet and we figured this was maybe a defective light. We replaced the light with a circular battery powered motion-activated light. This one, powered by AAA batteries, also turned on by itself in the closet (and by the end of just one trip, the AAAs were depleted). We finally figured out that the slight motion of walking around in the Scamp was activating the motion sensors!
We tested the theory that the motion sensors are too sensitive for use inside our small travel trailer (which tends to slightly move when walking inside) by trying the original Sylvania light again. But, this time, we used the ON/OFF switch setting and avoided the motion activated feature. That did the trick! The light was only on when turned on and the charge held for a very long time! After learning this lesson, we now use a simple switch-on LED light in the closets. The VIBELITE is inexpensive (we purchased in a pack of 4), bright, and comes with various mounting methods. It’s powered by 3 x AAA batteries. We mounted the lights by using the supplied Velcro adhesive strips on the back of the lights. Although we have to physically switch the VIBELITE on, we are now assured we will have reliable bright lighting in the Scamp closets on each trip. Phew!
Disclaimer: You will get the same great Amazon price by clicking on the links here compared to buying directly on Amazon, but by buying here you will also be supporting the continuation of this website as we get a small commission from each sale. These are products and procedures we use for our own Scamp that we selected and developed from our own research and experiences. However, we do not endorse any specific product and cannot guarantee that the products we use are exemplary and the procedures we use are complete, accurate, detail the correct recommended procedures, or apply to your model small travel trailer. It’s always best to double check with your manufacturer or operation manuals to ensure you are doing everything correctly.
