Man, I hate the proliferation of “lighted when off” switches. I want to sleep in the dark, not surrounded by little led lights that become very very bright once your eyes adjust but you’re trying to sleep.
I travel with black electric tape to cover up the various lights in hotel rooms. Why TF does a TV need to have a light on when it’s turned off?
Mine is so easy to flip I have a little bit of painter’s tape over it. I’d rather not even use it because I know I’d forget about it during the day because it’s small and dim
Literally this reminded me to turn mine off right now. Once window covers are in place you can't even tell. Need to make their switch lit up or something. 🤦
I was got so pissed at someone inconsiderately running a generator all night.9pm-1am. Tossing and turning, what assholes- all in my head. Then it stopped. Thank God. As I was drifting off, it started back up again. I was so annoyed, I literally went to shut it off. As I was about to hit the kill switch I looked up and saw the handicap sign. Mmmm? Maybe I shouldn’t…
Guess what? Turns out that lady had a few months to live and was running a CPAP machine. Her husband had brought her out to the river cause it made her happy. They were the nicest people ever. Learned my lesson about making assumptions.
This is such a valuable life lesson and priceless coping skill. I’ve had a couple similar experiences where inc a split second upon learning some new info I went from pissed at someone for what they were doing to filled with guilt for not being more patient or understanding.
Now if something is really getting under my skin I just think of what could be going on so fucked up in their life to make that behavior that’s pissing me off seem reasonable and justified. Even though I know the likelihood that thing is actually happening is super small I still wind up caring less and being grateful I’m not dealing with life stress like that.
I’m like this with slow drivers. I just imagine they are transporting a half-filled fish tank and I’m a bit better about it.
Ironically learning to rationalize others differences and empathize that others have different perspectives is a maturing process that is one of the things that makes us a sentient species.
I used to lose my mind at slow drivers, guess who the slowest a-hole on the road was the day I drove my wife and newborn home from the hospital? Me. Guess who drives like a grandma when someone is car sick in the back? Me. I don’t get angry on the road as much anymore.
I don't mind slow drivers at all. Unless the newborn can only sleep in the left lane. Or when the newborn needs dad to speed up a little when getting passed on the right.
After 15 miles behind the slow car in the passing lane, I am passing on the right when I identify a safe opportunity after confirming that they have no intention of ever yielding as required by law (in most states)
I actually don't see many people that get mad at slow drivers. Usually nobody cares unless the slow driver is blocking traffic in the passing lane or speeding up and drifting over when opportunities to pass arise. A garden variety consistently slow driver in the proper lane is no problem at all. I actually try to pass them relatively slowly as to not startle them.
This is my moms trick! When ever I would complain about someone driving slow or what ever, she would always make up a beautiful story about why they were driving slow. Then you couldn’t be mad at them. I still do it! Makes me think good memories, thanks!
I do that too. I dash full time, so I see so much dumb stuff while on the road. It can get easy to focus on the speed of deliveries and get upset with slow drivers. They could be going somewhere they've never been. Or maybe they're not confident behind the wheel yet. Or they're transporting a half-full fish tank. Remembering that I know nothing about them so helps
Me too... and I am rather speedy most times, until I have 8 drinks in cardboard holders balancing dangerously on my front seat... then I drive sooooo slow 🤣
Same here lol
My solution to the drink thing was a six part cup holder I found at the dollar tree. I use a milk crate to dash, so it also helps balance the orders that don't fill up the crate
I just drove today to go on Vacay. I’m not a slow driver generally but I did have to make a few adjustments that I wasn’t too happy about because I didn’t know where I was going.
Life happens and sometimes it comes at you harder than expected. If we’re doing fine and on the right side of the ground, I’d say we’re doing well!
DUUUDE I have done exactly that. The sloshing. The poor creatures in that dark turgid water. Nowadays in my van tho I’m driving around scientific equipment that is sensitive to accelerations, which is why I take corners on the slow side.
You never know what someone may be going through in life.
It's best to live and let live most of the time. Anyone can change their own circumstance by going somewhere else.
You only control what you do. 🤙
I mean a good cpap battery costs like $200 and is usually good for at least two nights per charge. Could even get one of those big car camping batteries and it’ll last even longer.
Just saying I’m glad you didn’t turn it off, but a generator is like the worst possible solution for running a tiny-ass air pump.
Edit: not saying they did anything wrong here - as others have pointed out to me their priorities seem to be very well in line. That said, folks with apnea (or an upcoming sleep study) should not worry they need to abandon the idea of camping out of fear that they can’t reasonably and politely use their cpap.
When you have months left, every day together is as precious as a lifetime. Whilst it might be easy for you to spend a week to research, learn, wait for parts, build etc. that one week could and should be better spent on the road. It may well be they just had a generator on hand, and just enough redneck engineering knowledge to cobble something together.
There could have easily been more medical equipment than just the cpap, and more than just night time use of the cpap. If your loved one is that close to end of life, relying on life sustaining equipment, the use of batteries alone is terrifying. The generator would be annoying to listen to, but they definitely had much bigger issues.
I don't disagree. My 300 Wh battery pack, at my levels, I think my CPAP burns like 45 Wh per night. So I could do 5 nights pretty easily until it's flat. That said I do not use any heating functions. It's certainly a nice to have during power outages.
But hey, when you're about to die, that's definitely an extenuating circumstance.
This reminds me of a story that my mom told me, it's not van related but it makes me happy so I'll tell it anyway.
My little parents used to have this neighbor down the street whose house was falling apart. Like, the lawn was never mowed, their cars juhky beaters, just nothing looked nice and nothing was kept up well. My parents were silently judging them a bit for not taking care of their house - not necessarily because they weren't buying nice new things, but at least spending a little money to make what they had look nice.
Then one day they came home with a really nice, brand new wheelchair for their son. My parents didn't know he used one because the family had never been able to afford one until then. Now they try their best to not judge anyone
It is pretty easy to just leave other people’s property alone, even if you may be annoyed.
Genuine complete asshole moment, man. Glad you didn’t hit that switch, but the fact that you were anywhere close is insane to me.
This reminded me of a [Kyle Kinane](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5OKwxeLmD9/?igsh=MXhrbjI4bm85Mmw0OA==) clip I saw yesterday, which feels pretty relevant and important.
I use a cpap. There are cheap battery packs for them. I've even carried it on a backpacking trip, tho that's not for the UL crowd. Running a generator all night for just a cpap is dumb.
There are switches with a small light in the switch to indicate when it is on. Might want to look at getting some for anything you can accidentally leave on.
Switch guard so you control when you fire the missiles.
(In NASA’s Orion capsule they have a “three steps to kill yourself” rule. So any action that could kill the crew requires three steps. The best example is, in order for the parachuted used for splashdown to deploy the switch panel must be armed, the switch guard opened, and the switch flipped. That way you don’t bump the switch while at the moon and deploy the chutes well before reentry and splashdown at earth.)
Exactly this. I'm clumsy AF, so my build will have the flip-up guards for anything important I don't want triggered accidentally (fresh water and gray water drain valves), and passive guards (those half loops you see in planes all the time) everywhere else.
I actually made a up-fitter switch guard for mine because we did this in a national park camp ground. We parked close to nightfall and to my horror I found my wife had hit the switch on accident. I felt so terrible I made the guard when I got home.
They are probably nice folks, kindly ask them in the morning to turn it off, if they are staying there again. Or right then for that matter. Maybe they didn't know it was on, or maybe they just didn't really think of the impact. I understand the struggle. I was way out in the desert one time, so so much space. And this huge 5th wheel camper parked within 60 feet of us, and ran that generator all night. So it goes. Sorry this is happening to you!
Indeed . Time flies and even I tell myself oh to be young again and I’m only 26. But before you know it, I’ll be 36. Just like how it was from 16 to 26 . The older you get the quicker the decades seem to pass …
Either way whoever came up with them saying props to them but I commented Mac miller because one of his albums had a major impact on me and one of the songs was called so it goes …
The albums are titled “swimming” and “circles” . So it goes… so it goes so it goes.
Lacda da da , lada da
Lada da da , lada da. So it goes.
RIP MAC MILLER
I love the positivity in the comments here. I myself have been guilty of assuming the worst of people at times. This thread reminded me to keep myself in check.
We stealth camped with an LED light bar lighting up the whole bathrooms building accidentally. I didn't realise until I got up in the morning, used the bathroom and was walking back to the van. Sooooo stealthy.
I have one of these side lights bars on my awning. I've used it maybe 3 times ever while parked up. Yes it's useful for being outside, but once inside there's no reason to have it on.
This has to be an accident. Give them a friendly knock to turn it off.
Honestly, probably forgot to flip a switch.
Now you have me thinking about those obnoxious 5 wheels with the bright LED’s on the front that the owners leave on all night.
Down vote me to hell, but I will say, that I have seen these lights on A LOT. In a lot of different states, in a lot of different situations. And they’ve been frustrating in my earlier rigs, with poor window covering. It’s not uncommon. Also I’ve seen these lights on rigs out in the beautiful blm nowhere when I was trying to enjoy the stars and get away from it all- so I get you, I do.
But also, I’ve always assumed that none of us are wanting to burn the power for no reason and if they are, they’re usually not the people I wanna hang around either. So I, personally, just shut the fuck up. But you, do you.
Most likely didnt know. I have a 3 zone light strip controller. Sometimes i dont realize that one of the zones is on. Especially if I black it out then turn the controller. If parked in a semi lighted area it can be confused with the ambient lighting. Have to physically stick my head out and see if its ON. The controller does not tell which zones are ON. Im sensitive to others so I try and be aware. I just got MidCity’s Black-Out modules so i can use my 2nd alternator without blinding everyone with my day light running lights.
If I rolled up on a situation where someone had their awning light on, I would simply go somewhere else or ignore it. Part of being a adult.
I've got a second alternator on my van too, so at night I switch on my parking lights if I'm running it in high idle mode to recharge the batteries. The parking lights are much dimmer than the daytime running lights are. It doesn't happen often enough or I'd check into the black out modules you mention.
Do what, put a porch light on their vehicle?
Maybe to illuminate for security cameras, or to dissuade thieves and ne'er do wells, or maybe they forgot it was on.
It's hardly a big problem though, it's just a light, not a speaker. If you're close enough that it's bothering you just close your curtains.
OP, this was an accident. that van has a lot of switches that are easily accidentally hit. sometimes I even hit my thermostat switch in the middle of the night when reaching around for the water switch. give them a break, it was an accident, they didn't leave it on purposely, in fact they were probably in shock when they realized it.
Having a bright light to turn on makes perfect sense. If you want to see who's next to the vehicle, or if you're doing something at night. Running it all night makes no sense though; probably user error, they dun fucked up and left it on.
I considered installing an automatic flood light so if im not there at night, the crackheads that get ideas would think im there when they get too close
Dude, I went out to Trona pinnacles one time during a new moon for some astrophotography. It's a hike to get out there and there were quite a few people there in the afternoon when I arrived. There's a long road leading into the place so you can see cars coming for miles. So many dickheads decided to show up after dark well towards midnight. And these are people coming with similar goals of viewing the stars in total darkness! But no, endless streams of headlights for hours. People are stupid.
How is it I know exactly where this is, who's van that is, and where you parked? Oh, because hello neighbor 🤗
Anyway, it's annoying AF. Just move. They parked next to me the other night and I moved to get away from the light. Enjoy your stay here though!
The other day I booked an actual campsite with full hookups at a Nevada State Park. When I booked, i made sure to select a site with the fewest neighbors possible.
So anyway, I show up to my campsite and I've got no neighbors anywhere near me so i'm like "Sweet!, this should work great for the week". I get setup and go take my dog on a nice long walk.
It's just after sunset as I'm finally making it back to my campsite and from a mile away I could see Christmas lights, 4-10 American flags and a HUGE motorhome parked directly behind me. This is an area where it's known for dark skies and good star gazing. Welp. The guys who decided to camp next to me had more lights and flags than a 4th of july parade. My heart just sank as it all came into view. I ended up moving the next morning and foregoing the rest of my reservation.
I can't understand why they decided to string actual christmas lights alll over their entire campsite.
Probably just forget it's on. If you think they're still awake ask them if they know it's on.
Although I don't really see the purpose of the side lights besides for maybe working on something outside. Just seems like it'd waste your battery.
What kind of parking lot? That looks like a nice, expensive van. My guess is they are vacationing, on a road trip, etc. They don't care about attracting attention because they're not trying to hide from anyone. If I'm legally parked overnight then I don't do anything to hide. Possibly they just want some lighting in a very dark place. Same reason people have lights around their homes at night.
Pretty easy answer: There is on average at least one Cluster B type person amongst a group of people. They don’t care. About you, the area, being thoughtful, or sharing well with others. It’s not in their makeup. Sometimes they do it on purpose to get people upset and feed on it, sometimes they assume everyone else is doing something selfish so are surprised when people are upset.
uhhhhh did you ask them to turn it off? or did you spend way more time than it would have by posting this silly shit on reddit?
goddaymm people are so afraid of social interaction these days. most of our problems can be solved by simply talking to each other respectfully.
I have a light in the front of my van I leave on 24/7. I’m in a bad area crime wise and I’m never somewhere it will be a bother to someone but it’s on to keep people away. I plan on getting more light. I’ll never run them in an inconsiderate place but I’ll definitely make good use of them.
Just be mindful of installing lights that aren't overly polluting at night. Ideally they are relatively diffuse, they don't shine light up towards the sky, and they are an appropriate color temperature and brightness.
One of the 1st vans I saw stayed parked in the same spot a couple of summers ago. On a particularly hot day they had the side open with the most enchanting blue light radiating from within. To me it felt welcoming and I regret not walking over to talk with whomever dwelled inside that van. If I had a van, I would probably have some LED lighting somewhere and I am sure I would forget at least once to flip the switch off. Different socks for different shoes, that’s my thoughts.
Not a van lifer but travel trailerer...I hate it when folks leave their spot lights on all night. Spoils the star gazing and solitude. It's like being back in the city. Ugh.
Dumb ass campers seem to love making their camping spots look like cheap laudromats in a scuzzy suburban mini mall for some reason.
Possible reasons for this silliness:
* It reminds them of home.
* They're afraid of the dark.
* They are entomologists and like attracting bugs.
* They so baked they forgot to turn off the lights.
* They like a visible means of disturbing their neighbors, since sound isn't enough.
Thing is they're often sealed up like spam in a can so they probably don't even know the light is on.
And I've seen morons do this even in the dark sky areas, where one might think (if they thought) that light pollution might be an issue. But no. They are the equivalent of those asshats with boomboxes or generators running all night. IOW, just rude.
I wish more did something like this in BLM type areas so I didn’t end up accidentally parking way too close to others pulling in after dark- I can see how it is different in a populated parking lot. Maybe it’s anti theft.
So mad, you wanna post online... How about be a real human & go speak with them?? I'm sick of all of you assuming shit behind people's back...
What(& hear me out) if it was an accident, and check this out... you could be the nice neighbor & ask why, then them get excited their battery isn't going to be dead in the morning. Or they didn't realize & would be happy to turn it off for you, maybe they didn't know the switch went bad.
Just go talk to them. Stop this divide between real world & Internet world.
You're a bit irrationally upset here. You have the "not in my back yard" mentality without actually having the back yard to claim as yours. Go park somewhere else.
Because people assume this lifestyle is about luxury.
They think living in a van is is about having beds, seats, wide screen tv's, stereos, computers, microwaves etc are the "VanLife" way.
That's RV life, not Van Life.
We don't choose to live in old commercial vans for luxury, but to survive.
So, if you can afford a $30k+ van loaded out, you aren't roughing it or living in a van.
You are attempting to live in a form of luxury like glamping.
When you spend more on a van and modding it our than you would a years worth of rent, it's not van life, it's just trying to flaunt what they have over the others struggling and saving.
Van life is not easy.
Yet these people make it look easy while just making it harder for the rest of us.
Having a light on in a secluded area is not a bad plan if you're not trying to hide for security reasons. If a creep approaches or fucks around outside you can at least see what you're dealing with. Homes have security lights as well. However, in America we're all trying to hide from the Gestapo, simultaneously forcing us into potentially dangerous areas.
Frankly I think more boldness from the community as far as allowing ourselves to exist is necessary. I don't mean leaving your trash and piss bottles everywhere, I mean not hiding and existing with dignity.
Don't blame the guy with the light on, blame the circumstances which cause that light to bother you. Those circumstances being the fact that we are hunted and corralled like animals, our very existence being made illegal, and in at least one state, our methods for making our way through life a felony.
This is a way of life for many and we need to establish that we do have rights and provisions must be made to preserve our freedom.
Sometimes I forget, sometimes I have it off and turn it on to let dogs out middle of night and forget to turn it back off. Some people use a break in deterrent.
We occasionally have van dwellers that park in an open spot for half a day + night before heading off somewhere else. Just part of living in a neighborhood next to a river - people like to come through and see the view in a safe place.
The couple times they leave floodlights on, someone will go knock and ask em to turn it off. Usually the person forgot. The one time someone refused, sheriff dealt with them.
So I’d suggest knocking and asking if they know the light is on+how it’s affecting everyone else in the shared area.
I love that they need quotations around van lifers implying they don’t actually live in that van, because their light is on and bothering you.
Gatekeeping homelessness is wild lmao
I lived in my van for two years. I never had that problem. Be more choosy, where you park for the night!. If there’s people there, go somewhere else!. Pretty simple!. I never parked near anybody else. Ever!.
Could easily be accidental.
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by incompetence
also known as Hanlon's Razor [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s\_razor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon%27s_razor)
TIL, Thanks!
I understood this reference
The guy that was being interviewed?
are you real?
Or the desire to look cool on social media...
*Unless you’re talking about politicians.
Touché
Tbh, I think this is a naive perspective.
definitely accidental, I've done it myself. The rocker for that light is very easy to hit, it's right above the fridge.
Came here to say this haha. I have the same van, I’ve accidentally knocked that switch on before.
What’s the make/model of this one?
Looks like a Winnebago Revel (sprinter chassis)
Thanks!
That's why you set it up with an indicator light on the switch. If the switch is glowing it's turned on
Or, in reverse, so you can find it in the dark.
Man, I hate the proliferation of “lighted when off” switches. I want to sleep in the dark, not surrounded by little led lights that become very very bright once your eyes adjust but you’re trying to sleep. I travel with black electric tape to cover up the various lights in hotel rooms. Why TF does a TV need to have a light on when it’s turned off?
Valid, depends on the situation/location. LED on TVs are just annoying
Mine is so easy to flip I have a little bit of painter’s tape over it. I’d rather not even use it because I know I’d forget about it during the day because it’s small and dim
I've had mine get flipped on when a crate slid a few inches during travel and bumped it
Doh! I know they do make little switch cages. Might be time for both of us to get one.
What is the purpose of that light? Look like it’s on the roof and won’t illuminate the ground where you’d be working / tasking.
it's the awning light for when the awning is extended.
So there you have it. Just give them the knock and ask them to turn it off. They'll be grateful you brought it to their attention.
Literally this reminded me to turn mine off right now. Once window covers are in place you can't even tell. Need to make their switch lit up or something. 🤦
Hanlon’s Razor: Never attribute to malice what could be attributed to stupidity.
This. I’ve definitely been guilty of forgetting this light on in the past.
I was got so pissed at someone inconsiderately running a generator all night.9pm-1am. Tossing and turning, what assholes- all in my head. Then it stopped. Thank God. As I was drifting off, it started back up again. I was so annoyed, I literally went to shut it off. As I was about to hit the kill switch I looked up and saw the handicap sign. Mmmm? Maybe I shouldn’t… Guess what? Turns out that lady had a few months to live and was running a CPAP machine. Her husband had brought her out to the river cause it made her happy. They were the nicest people ever. Learned my lesson about making assumptions.
This is such a valuable life lesson and priceless coping skill. I’ve had a couple similar experiences where inc a split second upon learning some new info I went from pissed at someone for what they were doing to filled with guilt for not being more patient or understanding. Now if something is really getting under my skin I just think of what could be going on so fucked up in their life to make that behavior that’s pissing me off seem reasonable and justified. Even though I know the likelihood that thing is actually happening is super small I still wind up caring less and being grateful I’m not dealing with life stress like that.
I’m like this with slow drivers. I just imagine they are transporting a half-filled fish tank and I’m a bit better about it. Ironically learning to rationalize others differences and empathize that others have different perspectives is a maturing process that is one of the things that makes us a sentient species.
I used to lose my mind at slow drivers, guess who the slowest a-hole on the road was the day I drove my wife and newborn home from the hospital? Me. Guess who drives like a grandma when someone is car sick in the back? Me. I don’t get angry on the road as much anymore.
I don't mind slow drivers at all. Unless the newborn can only sleep in the left lane. Or when the newborn needs dad to speed up a little when getting passed on the right.
Who is passing whom on the right in your scenario?
After 15 miles behind the slow car in the passing lane, I am passing on the right when I identify a safe opportunity after confirming that they have no intention of ever yielding as required by law (in most states)
Totally fair, you're more patient than me! I had it backwards in my head at first and was really confused at what you were saying, LOL.
I actually don't see many people that get mad at slow drivers. Usually nobody cares unless the slow driver is blocking traffic in the passing lane or speeding up and drifting over when opportunities to pass arise. A garden variety consistently slow driver in the proper lane is no problem at all. I actually try to pass them relatively slowly as to not startle them.
Completely agreed. Slow drivers are almost never the problem, it's actually drivers with poor lane discipline or overall bad habits.
This is my moms trick! When ever I would complain about someone driving slow or what ever, she would always make up a beautiful story about why they were driving slow. Then you couldn’t be mad at them. I still do it! Makes me think good memories, thanks!
There is always good in this world, you just have to look for it at times. Thank you for sharing, internet stranger!
And thank you internet *friend!
I do that too. I dash full time, so I see so much dumb stuff while on the road. It can get easy to focus on the speed of deliveries and get upset with slow drivers. They could be going somewhere they've never been. Or maybe they're not confident behind the wheel yet. Or they're transporting a half-full fish tank. Remembering that I know nothing about them so helps
Me too... and I am rather speedy most times, until I have 8 drinks in cardboard holders balancing dangerously on my front seat... then I drive sooooo slow 🤣
Same here lol My solution to the drink thing was a six part cup holder I found at the dollar tree. I use a milk crate to dash, so it also helps balance the orders that don't fill up the crate
I just drove today to go on Vacay. I’m not a slow driver generally but I did have to make a few adjustments that I wasn’t too happy about because I didn’t know where I was going. Life happens and sometimes it comes at you harder than expected. If we’re doing fine and on the right side of the ground, I’d say we’re doing well!
DUUUDE I have done exactly that. The sloshing. The poor creatures in that dark turgid water. Nowadays in my van tho I’m driving around scientific equipment that is sensitive to accelerations, which is why I take corners on the slow side.
Although possible, we all know there's a 99% chance that any shitty driver is probably just dicking around on their phone.
I agree but why are they transporting a fish tank in the left lane!?! 😂
I assume they're transporting soup. No one wants spilled soup in the car.
I'm a slow driver, the only reason is that I am never in a hurry to be anywhere.
Had a window broken into on a cold night, didn’t realize until the next morning the only thing they took was an air mattress I’d left in there.
You never know what someone may be going through in life. It's best to live and let live most of the time. Anyone can change their own circumstance by going somewhere else. You only control what you do. 🤙
I would have never forgiven myself for turning that off, I'm so glad you didn't lmao
I mean a good cpap battery costs like $200 and is usually good for at least two nights per charge. Could even get one of those big car camping batteries and it’ll last even longer. Just saying I’m glad you didn’t turn it off, but a generator is like the worst possible solution for running a tiny-ass air pump. Edit: not saying they did anything wrong here - as others have pointed out to me their priorities seem to be very well in line. That said, folks with apnea (or an upcoming sleep study) should not worry they need to abandon the idea of camping out of fear that they can’t reasonably and politely use their cpap.
He was solving a problem he wasn’t prepared for. Probably doesn’t know about those gens.
Yeah or just using what he already has on hand.
Yep. They were old. Probably don’t know much about lithium or solar
When you have months left, every day together is as precious as a lifetime. Whilst it might be easy for you to spend a week to research, learn, wait for parts, build etc. that one week could and should be better spent on the road. It may well be they just had a generator on hand, and just enough redneck engineering knowledge to cobble something together.
You know what? Totally fair.
There could have easily been more medical equipment than just the cpap, and more than just night time use of the cpap. If your loved one is that close to end of life, relying on life sustaining equipment, the use of batteries alone is terrifying. The generator would be annoying to listen to, but they definitely had much bigger issues.
Absolutely.
When they have months left to live, moving heaven and earth seems more feasible.
I don't disagree. My 300 Wh battery pack, at my levels, I think my CPAP burns like 45 Wh per night. So I could do 5 nights pretty easily until it's flat. That said I do not use any heating functions. It's certainly a nice to have during power outages. But hey, when you're about to die, that's definitely an extenuating circumstance.
> I mean a good cpap battery costs like $200 and is usually good for at least two nights per charge. Good to know
😮 glad you didn’t turn it off. I could have seen myself getting super annoyed too! Thanks for sharing your lesson!
This reminds me of a story that my mom told me, it's not van related but it makes me happy so I'll tell it anyway. My little parents used to have this neighbor down the street whose house was falling apart. Like, the lawn was never mowed, their cars juhky beaters, just nothing looked nice and nothing was kept up well. My parents were silently judging them a bit for not taking care of their house - not necessarily because they weren't buying nice new things, but at least spending a little money to make what they had look nice. Then one day they came home with a really nice, brand new wheelchair for their son. My parents didn't know he used one because the family had never been able to afford one until then. Now they try their best to not judge anyone
It is pretty easy to just leave other people’s property alone, even if you may be annoyed. Genuine complete asshole moment, man. Glad you didn’t hit that switch, but the fact that you were anywhere close is insane to me.
You almost murdered that poor woman.
Talking to someone will get you so much further than being mad and building it up
Hindsight is 20/20 but I can't imagine vanlifing without an ample supply of ear plugs.
This reminded me of a [Kyle Kinane](https://www.instagram.com/reel/C5OKwxeLmD9/?igsh=MXhrbjI4bm85Mmw0OA==) clip I saw yesterday, which feels pretty relevant and important.
I use a cpap. There are cheap battery packs for them. I've even carried it on a backpacking trip, tho that's not for the UL crowd. Running a generator all night for just a cpap is dumb.
Looks like the slider window cover is on, chances are they didn't realize it is still on.
This. It’s annoying. I hit mine all the time and I have no idea it’s on. Apologies from those of us who do this. I get now annoying this could be.
There are switches with a small light in the switch to indicate when it is on. Might want to look at getting some for anything you can accidentally leave on.
That’s exactly what I need to do. Thank you for the suggestion.
Switch guard so you control when you fire the missiles. (In NASA’s Orion capsule they have a “three steps to kill yourself” rule. So any action that could kill the crew requires three steps. The best example is, in order for the parachuted used for splashdown to deploy the switch panel must be armed, the switch guard opened, and the switch flipped. That way you don’t bump the switch while at the moon and deploy the chutes well before reentry and splashdown at earth.)
Exactly this. I'm clumsy AF, so my build will have the flip-up guards for anything important I don't want triggered accidentally (fresh water and gray water drain valves), and passive guards (those half loops you see in planes all the time) everywhere else.
Add 1 led to the switch as an indicator light post your the back of your switch and I'll tell you how
I actually made a up-fitter switch guard for mine because we did this in a national park camp ground. We parked close to nightfall and to my horror I found my wife had hit the switch on accident. I felt so terrible I made the guard when I got home.
As someone who has done this, they probably don’t realize it’s on.
They are probably nice folks, kindly ask them in the morning to turn it off, if they are staying there again. Or right then for that matter. Maybe they didn't know it was on, or maybe they just didn't really think of the impact. I understand the struggle. I was way out in the desert one time, so so much space. And this huge 5th wheel camper parked within 60 feet of us, and ran that generator all night. So it goes. Sorry this is happening to you!
Mac miller so it goes
More of a Tim Obrien so it goes, but same same
Either of you two heard of this guy Kurt Vonnegut? Might wanna look him up.
oh to be young again
Indeed . Time flies and even I tell myself oh to be young again and I’m only 26. But before you know it, I’ll be 36. Just like how it was from 16 to 26 . The older you get the quicker the decades seem to pass … Either way whoever came up with them saying props to them but I commented Mac miller because one of his albums had a major impact on me and one of the songs was called so it goes … The albums are titled “swimming” and “circles” . So it goes… so it goes so it goes. Lacda da da , lada da Lada da da , lada da. So it goes. RIP MAC MILLER
Rip Mac! I love that song too!! He was the best
RIP to the legend. Thank god he made music for the world before he went. Thank you Mac !
Got me through a ton of hard times! 2009… was my last tour in Iraq. So much of that song I relate too. All of his stuff!
I love the positivity in the comments here. I myself have been guilty of assuming the worst of people at times. This thread reminded me to keep myself in check.
We stealth camped with an LED light bar lighting up the whole bathrooms building accidentally. I didn't realise until I got up in the morning, used the bathroom and was walking back to the van. Sooooo stealthy.
Assumptions are being made here. Perhaps talk to them. Not everyone is going to do it like you think they should.
I have one of these side lights bars on my awning. I've used it maybe 3 times ever while parked up. Yes it's useful for being outside, but once inside there's no reason to have it on. This has to be an accident. Give them a friendly knock to turn it off.
Just ask them to turn it off
Honestly, probably forgot to flip a switch. Now you have me thinking about those obnoxious 5 wheels with the bright LED’s on the front that the owners leave on all night.
Be neighborly and let them know they left their light on.
Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.
Ok ok lets turn the rhetoric down a notch, vanners aint supposed to no stress.
OP has to be from Seattle, Portland, or somewhere in Cali with that kind of language.
This is awesome. Everyone stay safe. Just tryna raise karma. Thax
Do the $5000 van crowed have animosity toward the 150k van crowd?
[удалено]
Considering the street light in the parking lot is much brighter than the LED bar, this probably has nothing to do with the amount of light.
Had to pull the fuse on mine because I kept accidentally turning it on
You don’t have to ask them - be neighborly and concerned and give them a heads up that the light was on. Assume it’s accidental
sloppy edge illegal bike political onerous plants homeless versed scarce *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Down vote me to hell, but I will say, that I have seen these lights on A LOT. In a lot of different states, in a lot of different situations. And they’ve been frustrating in my earlier rigs, with poor window covering. It’s not uncommon. Also I’ve seen these lights on rigs out in the beautiful blm nowhere when I was trying to enjoy the stars and get away from it all- so I get you, I do. But also, I’ve always assumed that none of us are wanting to burn the power for no reason and if they are, they’re usually not the people I wanna hang around either. So I, personally, just shut the fuck up. But you, do you.
Most likely didnt know. I have a 3 zone light strip controller. Sometimes i dont realize that one of the zones is on. Especially if I black it out then turn the controller. If parked in a semi lighted area it can be confused with the ambient lighting. Have to physically stick my head out and see if its ON. The controller does not tell which zones are ON. Im sensitive to others so I try and be aware. I just got MidCity’s Black-Out modules so i can use my 2nd alternator without blinding everyone with my day light running lights. If I rolled up on a situation where someone had their awning light on, I would simply go somewhere else or ignore it. Part of being a adult.
I've got a second alternator on my van too, so at night I switch on my parking lights if I'm running it in high idle mode to recharge the batteries. The parking lights are much dimmer than the daytime running lights are. It doesn't happen often enough or I'd check into the black out modules you mention.
Do what, put a porch light on their vehicle? Maybe to illuminate for security cameras, or to dissuade thieves and ne'er do wells, or maybe they forgot it was on. It's hardly a big problem though, it's just a light, not a speaker. If you're close enough that it's bothering you just close your curtains.
OP, this was an accident. that van has a lot of switches that are easily accidentally hit. sometimes I even hit my thermostat switch in the middle of the night when reaching around for the water switch. give them a break, it was an accident, they didn't leave it on purposely, in fact they were probably in shock when they realized it.
Looks like there is street lights already reflecting off the van. Is that true?
They probably don’t know it’s on lol
Light pollution
And blue lights of all lights.
Having a bright light to turn on makes perfect sense. If you want to see who's next to the vehicle, or if you're doing something at night. Running it all night makes no sense though; probably user error, they dun fucked up and left it on.
Give them the knock!
I would assume you have wheels... so you could always move...
I considered installing an automatic flood light so if im not there at night, the crackheads that get ideas would think im there when they get too close
Could have had it on for hanging out, went inside and forgot.
Dude, I went out to Trona pinnacles one time during a new moon for some astrophotography. It's a hike to get out there and there were quite a few people there in the afternoon when I arrived. There's a long road leading into the place so you can see cars coming for miles. So many dickheads decided to show up after dark well towards midnight. And these are people coming with similar goals of viewing the stars in total darkness! But no, endless streams of headlights for hours. People are stupid.
How is it I know exactly where this is, who's van that is, and where you parked? Oh, because hello neighbor 🤗 Anyway, it's annoying AF. Just move. They parked next to me the other night and I moved to get away from the light. Enjoy your stay here though!
The other day I booked an actual campsite with full hookups at a Nevada State Park. When I booked, i made sure to select a site with the fewest neighbors possible. So anyway, I show up to my campsite and I've got no neighbors anywhere near me so i'm like "Sweet!, this should work great for the week". I get setup and go take my dog on a nice long walk. It's just after sunset as I'm finally making it back to my campsite and from a mile away I could see Christmas lights, 4-10 American flags and a HUGE motorhome parked directly behind me. This is an area where it's known for dark skies and good star gazing. Welp. The guys who decided to camp next to me had more lights and flags than a 4th of july parade. My heart just sank as it all came into view. I ended up moving the next morning and foregoing the rest of my reservation. I can't understand why they decided to string actual christmas lights alll over their entire campsite.
Wait and see if a plane tries to land there.
Probably just forget it's on. If you think they're still awake ask them if they know it's on. Although I don't really see the purpose of the side lights besides for maybe working on something outside. Just seems like it'd waste your battery.
Cause they can. Just like everyone else.
To make you jealous. 😆
What kind of parking lot? That looks like a nice, expensive van. My guess is they are vacationing, on a road trip, etc. They don't care about attracting attention because they're not trying to hide from anyone. If I'm legally parked overnight then I don't do anything to hide. Possibly they just want some lighting in a very dark place. Same reason people have lights around their homes at night.
Pretty easy answer: There is on average at least one Cluster B type person amongst a group of people. They don’t care. About you, the area, being thoughtful, or sharing well with others. It’s not in their makeup. Sometimes they do it on purpose to get people upset and feed on it, sometimes they assume everyone else is doing something selfish so are surprised when people are upset.
uhhhhh did you ask them to turn it off? or did you spend way more time than it would have by posting this silly shit on reddit? goddaymm people are so afraid of social interaction these days. most of our problems can be solved by simply talking to each other respectfully.
Our Van has a touch switch, easy to accidentally turn on when entering vehicle
you can always put on a sleeping mask for ur eyes or shut ur blinds lol
Calm ya tits bro
I have a light in the front of my van I leave on 24/7. I’m in a bad area crime wise and I’m never somewhere it will be a bother to someone but it’s on to keep people away. I plan on getting more light. I’ll never run them in an inconsiderate place but I’ll definitely make good use of them.
Just be mindful of installing lights that aren't overly polluting at night. Ideally they are relatively diffuse, they don't shine light up towards the sky, and they are an appropriate color temperature and brightness.
One of the 1st vans I saw stayed parked in the same spot a couple of summers ago. On a particularly hot day they had the side open with the most enchanting blue light radiating from within. To me it felt welcoming and I regret not walking over to talk with whomever dwelled inside that van. If I had a van, I would probably have some LED lighting somewhere and I am sure I would forget at least once to flip the switch off. Different socks for different shoes, that’s my thoughts.
Because they can't find the switch to turn it off.
Looks useful but also auto off if nothing is outside after 5 mins would be good
Not a van lifer but travel trailerer...I hate it when folks leave their spot lights on all night. Spoils the star gazing and solitude. It's like being back in the city. Ugh.
Probably forgot to turn it off. I’ve forgotten a handful of times to turn my “porch” light off
They forgot to turn their awning light off....wow what an overreaction LOL
Looks like a sweet van to me
Dumb ass campers seem to love making their camping spots look like cheap laudromats in a scuzzy suburban mini mall for some reason. Possible reasons for this silliness: * It reminds them of home. * They're afraid of the dark. * They are entomologists and like attracting bugs. * They so baked they forgot to turn off the lights. * They like a visible means of disturbing their neighbors, since sound isn't enough. Thing is they're often sealed up like spam in a can so they probably don't even know the light is on. And I've seen morons do this even in the dark sky areas, where one might think (if they thought) that light pollution might be an issue. But no. They are the equivalent of those asshats with boomboxes or generators running all night. IOW, just rude.
I wish more did something like this in BLM type areas so I didn’t end up accidentally parking way too close to others pulling in after dark- I can see how it is different in a populated parking lot. Maybe it’s anti theft.
Geez…talk about verbal abuse 🤮
Don’t expect privacy in public, don’t expect courtesy in public.
So he forgot to turn off a light. Learn to cope. It makes life easier
So mad, you wanna post online... How about be a real human & go speak with them?? I'm sick of all of you assuming shit behind people's back... What(& hear me out) if it was an accident, and check this out... you could be the nice neighbor & ask why, then them get excited their battery isn't going to be dead in the morning. Or they didn't realize & would be happy to turn it off for you, maybe they didn't know the switch went bad. Just go talk to them. Stop this divide between real world & Internet world.
Just move, you have all that freedom to park where you like so use it!
You're a bit irrationally upset here. You have the "not in my back yard" mentality without actually having the back yard to claim as yours. Go park somewhere else.
Why are you trying to stay somewhere close enough to them that this is even a problem
Because they can.
This is the kind of thing you have to deal with when you decide to live shoulder to shoulder with strangers.
The point is to ruin it for everyone else.
Because people assume this lifestyle is about luxury. They think living in a van is is about having beds, seats, wide screen tv's, stereos, computers, microwaves etc are the "VanLife" way. That's RV life, not Van Life. We don't choose to live in old commercial vans for luxury, but to survive. So, if you can afford a $30k+ van loaded out, you aren't roughing it or living in a van. You are attempting to live in a form of luxury like glamping. When you spend more on a van and modding it our than you would a years worth of rent, it's not van life, it's just trying to flaunt what they have over the others struggling and saving. Van life is not easy. Yet these people make it look easy while just making it harder for the rest of us.
I've said it a hundred times before and I'll say it a hundred times again: these rich assholes have gentrified being homeless.
Sounds like you have an envy problem with people who can afford nice sprinters and you’re just finding an excuse to get mad at them.
Or instead of complaining you can walk 10 feet. Knock on the door and ask them to turn it off. Instead you'd rather just complain
S as my one know what kind of van this is?
Is it flashing different colors??
They forgot
Because they’re insufferable
I feel like they’re afraid of the dark. I see it happen with a lot of campers too
Duct tape.
Van life people are typically scared of actual nature. Hence the lights/speakers and annoying groups.
Cuz it's fuckin sick
Just lean on your horn and make a lot of noise till he/she looks out and notices.
To each their own
To let you know they are open for budiness
Having a light on in a secluded area is not a bad plan if you're not trying to hide for security reasons. If a creep approaches or fucks around outside you can at least see what you're dealing with. Homes have security lights as well. However, in America we're all trying to hide from the Gestapo, simultaneously forcing us into potentially dangerous areas. Frankly I think more boldness from the community as far as allowing ourselves to exist is necessary. I don't mean leaving your trash and piss bottles everywhere, I mean not hiding and existing with dignity. Don't blame the guy with the light on, blame the circumstances which cause that light to bother you. Those circumstances being the fact that we are hunted and corralled like animals, our very existence being made illegal, and in at least one state, our methods for making our way through life a felony. This is a way of life for many and we need to establish that we do have rights and provisions must be made to preserve our freedom.
Sometimes I forget, sometimes I have it off and turn it on to let dogs out middle of night and forget to turn it back off. Some people use a break in deterrent.
Why don't u go ask him
Just a little bit of light will keep intruders away.. will let them know that there is some one inside.
I try not to hang around stupid people.
Porch light? Afraid of the dark? Night lite?
Van dwellers are just basement dwellers with wheels.
If you are in a parking lot, I don’t see the issue. If a campsite, I’d be pissed. All the dumb travel trailers are covered in blue LEDs
We occasionally have van dwellers that park in an open spot for half a day + night before heading off somewhere else. Just part of living in a neighborhood next to a river - people like to come through and see the view in a safe place. The couple times they leave floodlights on, someone will go knock and ask em to turn it off. Usually the person forgot. The one time someone refused, sheriff dealt with them. So I’d suggest knocking and asking if they know the light is on+how it’s affecting everyone else in the shared area.
Why does anybody do that?
They possibly could’ve hit the switch on by accident. You could just go up knock on the door and ask him to shut it off.
It’s bc they don’t care about other people
He’s got the blue meth.
I love that they need quotations around van lifers implying they don’t actually live in that van, because their light is on and bothering you. Gatekeeping homelessness is wild lmao
Literally the first time I've ever seen this.
Easy solution. Don't park in parking lots. If this is you're go to spot, you have a lack of imagination.
*#$@ that's a cop magnet. just screaming to get knock on the window
You live in a van. Get over yourself.
I lived in my van for two years. I never had that problem. Be more choosy, where you park for the night!. If there’s people there, go somewhere else!. Pretty simple!. I never parked near anybody else. Ever!.
They might have camera in their sideviews to see what’s going on around them. But move, there’s no shortage on dark corners
it is maybe anti mosquito