Generators!! Yes YOU!

I've seen quite a few comments on here and elsewhere from people who claim solar is too expensive and say "I'll just run my generator! - I can buy a lot of fuel and beer for the cost of solar!". Those people have their minds made up and aren't going to be easily swayed to change their travel style or invest in another means of energy.

We were at RMNP and the lady next to us came over upset that we reported them for running their generator all night. Which is funny, because we didn't, but we sure complained amongst ourselves about it. She said her husband had a medical condition. Yeah - sure - that CPAP couldn't be run by any other means? We've been known to hand the odd neighbor an extension cord, on at least a couple occasions if we strike up conversation with them and generators come up.

When I go camping it's with a backpack and bivy or tent. Staying in an RV is not the same as camping for me, and comes with a different set of expectations. For a lot of people, including myself, that includes an expectation that all the systems you've paid for are functional to some degree. A lot of people are full-timing out there and live differently - day to day in an RV - than you do. It's not vacation for them, it's life. I'm not saying that justifies generator use in close quarters, or at all, just that not everyone is considering their stay out there the same as you. Thankfully, those people seem more likely to invest in solar than the occasional weekender.

2oldman wrote:
Boy howdy. Just got back from a trip where a guy ran his all night. That's a first. Then there were a couple jerks at a park near Las Vegas with the contractor specials who ran them nearly all day. You feel more like you're in a construction zone than a campground.

I think part of the problem is not only a lot of new campers, but people who don't understand inverters and solar. I just got off a FB board where a guy said he had no clue what an inverter is.

Good point, my wife said most folks just don’t know about solar/inverters…and that is too bad for all of us.

I'm with you on that one, but it is a free world where people can camp as they please, but . . . that still doesn't excuse being inconsiderate. Even forest service campgrounds have generator hours and yet some hosts don't enforce the rules. I'll never forget boondocking out in a national forest and a group of campers came in close to us. Now mind you, it is a free area, but it would've been nice (as we always do) to be considerate by asking if they minded that they camp close to us. They didn't. Then on top of that, they ran their cheap noisy generator all night. Later we found out in conversation that this group fancied this place "theirs" since they've been coming up there a lot. I said, "oh, we've been here several times but haven't seen you. Must've been different times." We stayed away from them. Oh well, said too much. This is about generators.

Boy howdy. Just got back from a trip where a guy ran his all night. That's a first. Then there were a couple jerks at a park near Las Vegas with the contractor specials who ran them nearly all day. You feel more like you're in a construction zone than a campground.

I think part of the problem is not only a lot of new campers, but people who don't understand inverters and solar. I just got off a FB board where a guy said he had no clue what an inverter is.

We run our quite Honda generator each morning to charge the TT batteries; we usually camp far away from the next person as we are in the "live and let live" camp.