Went camping recently, had shore A/C power at the campground, and ran a string of white Christmas lights outside the vanagon laid on the ground....just for the fun of it.... but provides just the right amount of light for illuminating the area.� Girlfriend likes it, too; now, she wants them all the time, even when out in the middle of nowhere.� 

I have an aux battery per the GoWesty kit.� So one option is to run the Christmas lights off a 120 VAC inverter.....easy smeasy I guess to do that.� The other option is to "rewire" the string of lights so as to directly operate off 12 VDC; my string has 50 bulbs so normally 120V divided by 50 is 2.4 volts per lightbulb....thus need to "group" about 6 or 7 bulbs in series across the 12 volts of the auxillary battery.� Yes, much more hassle than simply using the inverter, but probably more electrically efficient, and I could "derate" the bulbs by putting them in groups of 8 or 9 thus with slightly dimmer light.

Anyway, I suppose a third option is to buy 12VDC Christmas lights from someplace....they must be available.� But that takes all the challenge out of it!

Just wondering if the List has any clever ideas on this; basically it provides low-cost, pleasant, lighting around the campsite in the immediate vicinity of the slider door area.� So would candles and a kerosene lantern I guess.....but candles blow out, and don't want to carry 2 or 3 kerosene lanterns, too bulky.

Rich
85 Vanagon
San Diego