Owning a pop-up camper is a terrific way to see the world, enjoy the great outdoors and be close with nature in ways that other people always say they want to be but never are.
Yes, having a pop-up camper is a wonderful way to add joy, leisure, and pleasure to your life. But it can come with a lot of challenges.
Firstly, it isn’t always easy to find the right pop-up camper for you. There are plenty of them on the market but which one is really comfortable for you, your friends, your family, and anyone else who will be traveling with you?
Additionally, they aren’t cheap. You will have to save up a good amount of cash to buy your pop-up camper. Over the years, campers have become very popular and therefore they cost so much more than they once did.
You Bought Your Camper – Now What?
But let’s say you have worked through all of that and bought the pop-up camper of your dreams. Now you get to go out and enjoy the world and see all that it has to offer. But at the same time, you might face even more problems now that you’re on the road.
The exterior lights of your pop-up camper are very important. Obviously, they permit you to see outside and keep you safe.
Without lights outside your camper, you can’t see where you are going, what’s in front of you, and where you are. This can lead to you falling down, hurting yourself, dropping things, or losing items.
A lack of outdoor lights can also allow animals and other predators to come to your camper and cause serious trouble.
Good outdoor lighting with your pop-up camper will keep bears, wolves, and other animals far away from you. But it will also keep people who wish to do you harm far away too.
Plus, lights on the outside of your camper will provide a nice atmosphere for you and anyone who is with you on your trip. It allows you to sit outside, start a campfire, enjoy some food and drinks and feel laid back and relaxed in the beauty of nature.
Without outdoor lights on your camper, you will literally be in the dark and your entire camping trip will be downright dangerous and a real drag.
That is why it’s such a pain when your lights suddenly go out. What causes this? What are you supposed to do when it does occur?
Even if you’re not an engineering genius and have never owned a camper before, solving your burned out lights isn’t that difficult. But, first things first, you need to figure out why your lights are out before you can determine what to do to solve it.
What Causes Broken Exterior Lights
The sad truth is that there are multiple things that could be causing your exterior pop-up camper lights to burn out. That’s the biggest pain in this situation. Because there are many possible culprits behind a burned out exterior light, you have to do some work to figure out what’s causing it.
Corrosion
Corrosion is something that affects many RVs and campers and cars and homes too. Corrosion erodes the electrical contacts on all running lights, which will lead to a malfunction.
How does corrosion begin inside your camper’s lights? Well, it has to do with the traveling that you’re doing. The vibrations on the road will loosen the connections in your lights which will then disrupt the flow of the current inside it.
This will take some time but eventually the corrosion will take hold and, before you know it, your light will weaken and eventually burnt out completely.
But it might not take as much time as you’d think. And it might not happen gradually either. Sometimes corrosion seems to strike without warning and it seemingly happens out of the blue.
The problem with corrosion inside your camper’s lights is that it’s nearly impossible to avoid. You can’t stop driving and you cannot avoid the bumps in the road and the vibration of driving.
This means that, at some point, your camper and its lights will likely be impacted by corrosion. But that’s okay, you can always keep some spare lights with you on your trip and that means that when corrosion strikes, you’ll be able to fix it easily.
Blown Fuses
Blown fuses are one of the biggest causes of busted lights in any car, RV, or camper. But thankfully, since it’s such a common problem, the solution to it is common too.
A blown fuse occurs when the circuit that runs the light is overpowered and cannot function. This will happen suddenly and for seemingly no reason.
Your lights will be working one moment and then before you know it, they will turn off. Or perhaps you will flip the switch for your lights one night and they won’t fire up.
Sometimes, you will turn on your lights and they will light up briefly and then turn off, almost as if the light inside is blowing up and bursting. This is a telltale sign of a blown fuse.
How can you find out for sure? You just need to find the fuse block that contains the circuits for your outdoor lights. Once you have done that, take the fuse out, inspect it and see if it looks broken inside.
If so, then you have found your busted fuse and can simply replace it with another that works.
Keep in mind that sometimes the fuse doesn’t look broken. It looks just fine, in fact. If it looks totally sound and healthy, it might be. A good way to figure out if it’s busted is to replace it and see if the lights work again.
If they do, that means that the old fuse has blown even if it looks completely sound and strong and stable. Don’t let a fuse trick you into thinking it’s not the problem!
How To Fix Pop-Up Camper Exterior Lights Not Working?
1. Check Those Bulbs
Because all of the other lights are working properly, if any of the lights were to abruptly go out, this indicates that there was a problem with the connections or the lightbulb itself.
Hence, remove that specific bulb from the outlet and check it for any obvious damage. Additionally, check the socket to ensure that it is functioning properly and is linked to the wiring at the back. That will enable you to identify the issue more clearly and find a solution.
While planning such travels, it is a good idea to have a few spare bulbs with you. This will enable you to keep going without being inconvenienced if a bulb fails while you are traveling.
2. And Don’t Forget Fuses
Although fuses may not seem important, they are crucial to the circuits but if one of them has failed, you will experience these issues. Therefore, anytime you travel, always have some fuses on hand too.
This is just a smart travel move that will make your life so much easier in the long run. Staying prepared is always a smart idea, from bulbs to circuits to first aid kids, spare tires, and beyond.
If there are any issues with them, those extra fuses will be useful. So, if you locate any bad fuses, ensure that you examine all the fuses for lighting and attempt to replace them with fresh circuitry.
You will be able to permanently solve the issue and never have to cope with the light problems once more. This will be really helpful if you don’t want to ruin your trip by spending a gloomy night in the forest or at the camp site you want to visit.
3. Wiring Works
If everything else has failed you, you can inspect the wiring as a last resort. Make that the wiring is in good condition, free of short circuits, and not posing any issues for you.
To guarantee that you won’t run into this kind of problem when traveling, you’ll need to double-check all of the interconnections and make absolutely sure that the cables are correctly linked to all of the valves, batteries, and bulbs.
That will enable you to permanently solve the issue.
Conclusion
No one wants to enjoy their camper in the dark. In fact, it is nearly impossible to really have a good time camping or playing in nature if the camper you’re sleeping in is pitch black at night.
Outdoor lighting is very important for any outdoor camper. It will keep you safe, it will keep you comfortable, and it will provide you and your family and friends with hours of entertainment, good times, and memories that will last a lifetime.
Just like any sort of light, the outdoor lights of your camper might not always work. There will come a time when they refuse to light up and you might be sure why. But don’t panic! You will be able to work through this.
All you need to do is figure out why your camper lights aren’t working and then come to the right solution to get everything in working order again. Then it’s back to the fun times in nature!
