One of the most essential items you will need when you go camping is LIGHT! If you have ever camped before, once the sun goes down… it’s much needed, lol.
In this post, we will show you how to make our favorite light that we take whenever we have power of course…the 5 gallon bucket light for camping.
It’s so easy to make!
The reason we love this light so much is that it’s easy to use, you can use it for storage (until you use it at the site), and it’s cheap. We love cheap!
We forgot our bucket light a few trips ago and we had to rely on the propane light alone. While it’s a great light, we had a slight issue…it caught on fire and melted the knob, so you can imagine what that did to our trip. (not much lol, we always have a spare)
*We will explain how to make both the Wired and Wireless versions in this post, you can make one or both.
What You Will Need:
You can get the supplies at any hardware store or (maybe) Walmart, if they have the white food grade bucket. We usually get ours from Lowes. You can also make a corded version or a wireless version. We love the corded version (that we use when we have an electric site) because the led bulb gives off much better light.
Wireless Bucket Light
If you don’t have much experience with electrical, we recommend you make this version. It doesn’t require any drilling or wiring and it’s very very simple.
First, Get your bucket and lid. Be sure there are batteries in your light. Open up your bucket and attach the wireless LED light with your double-sided tape to the lid. Close the lid and turn it on. That’s it!
Wired Bucket Light
When we made our light, we took the light fixture and a sharpie, then marked where the holes would be drilled to mount the fixture to the lid. Then we predrilled using a bit. The size bit you use will depend on the size of the bolts you are using. Next, we wired the light fixture to the male extension cord.
Then you have to attach the fixture to the lid, and you are done! We love our 5-gallon bucket light for camping and we know you will love yours too!
If you are new to tent camping, be sure to check out our post, giving you all the details right here!
If you prefer a Popup Camper, you can see our beginner’s guide to popup camping and then grab our Campfire Chili Recipe to take on your first trip!