Generator etiquette

All it takes is one contractor style generator to be really loud and obnoxious. I would never camp anywhere with generators running all night. Try to be considerate of your neighbors. That usually means no gens from 2200 to about 0700.

Then there was the camper next to me this past weekend, who obediently turned off his generator at 10pm. The stated quiet hours were 8pm. I am not sure if he knew it or not.

Big_steve wrote:
If you're in a camp area without electric, but still there are others around, how late is it okay to run your generator into the evening? And are generators in MHs more quiet that setting one up outside a TT?

Depends.

The two CG's in Grand Teton NP, and Yellowstone NP allow generators from 8AM to 8PM. No exceptions.

I don't have any experience camping on BLM land, but there, if no others are around, run them 24/7 if you like.

I do all my college's home football games. I, along with nearly everyone else, will run our generators 24/7. But they are the Honda/Yamaha/Champion inverter type, not the open frame construction type.

During early September games, when it hot and humid, I will run both Hondas 24/7. Later in the year, I only need to run one Honda on Eco mode.

Terryallan wrote:

Cocky_Camper wrote:
We are in the south... if it is hot and humid, it is running all night.

You need to go to a private park with hookups, if you can't live with out electricity.
Plenty around

We camp at football games and NASCAR races and don't have hook-ups a lot of times. It seems to be pretty common that people with generators at these events run them 24/7 too. We aren't the only ones. We will turn it off during the day while we are out and about, but it typically runs other than that if we don't have hookups. When it is still in the 80's and humid, trust me, you want the A/C. Of course, this is probably depending on where you are located.

From what I have read, the "hot" factor is dependent upon region. Some regions are more generous regarding nighttime generator use than others.

In the end, you follow the stated rules. If there aren't any, then follow the majority of campers - if all but 3 are using generators at night then you should be OK; if only 3 are using them at night, then you are likely to have issues.

Cocky_Camper wrote:
We are in the south... if it is hot and humid, it is running all night.

IB853347201 wrote:

Generally quiet time is 11-7, so one should try to avoid running a generator past 11. Sometimes it is too hot to avoid.
Yes, generally MH built in gennys are substantially quieter than portables. Especially those large Champion inexpensive potable ones. Those will keep the whole park up at night. Saw one guy place folding tables around, up against his to create a sound barrier, made a huge difference.

Perhaps I am misreading but it seems some think because its hot, that generator operating times and quiet times do not apply? I've yet to stay at a campground that did not have specific rules/times regarding genny use or quiet times. Most if not all usually have a catch all where you can not disturb others.

I have also not ever seen nor heard an onboard generator in a MH that was substantially quieter than one of the better inverter portable ones. From what I have seen an onboard is substantially louder. Once we were sandwiched between two new class A's and did not know if we were at a campground or on the approach to JFK.

Over the last 5-10 years we have noticed a substantial decline in general "campground etiquette" for whatever reason.

I have a cheap, loud generator. Even after the hurricane when we were without power for 6 days, I only ran it a couple of hours before work in the AM, and after work. I shut down at 10 at night, to give the neighbors a break. That was plenty to keep the freezer and fridge cold, run a small microwave and some fans and a light or two. Don't have an RV yet. So just trying to sort things out. Guess if I'm going to be using a generator a lot, I should look into something quieter.

mgirardo wrote:

Big_steve wrote:
If you're in a camp area without electric, but still there are others around, how late is it okay to run your generator into the evening? And are generators in MHs more quiet that setting one up outside a TT?

Except for stopping for some rest at a Walmart parking lot, we always camp in campgrounds with at least water and electric, so don't run the generator with one exception - if the power at the campground is out. We lost power for 5 days one time, but only ran the generator to charge the battery usually for a few hours mid-morning.

Our Class C motorhome had a 4000 Watt on-board Onan generator that I thought was loud. Then after Hurricane Matthew blew through, we lost power. Our neighbor a few houses away was running his open frame generator to power his TT. Standing at the front door of our house with our MH in the driveway 10 feet away, I could hear the open frame generator about 100 feet away over our Motorhome's generator. That thing was crazy loud. I don't know how they stayed in the TT all day.

The on-board generators are somewhere in the middle between an inverter generator and an open frame generator. As far as I am concerned, all generators are loud. Some are just louder than others.

-Michael

Big_steve wrote:
If you're in a camp area without electric, but still there are others around, how late is it okay to run your generator into the evening? And are generators in MHs more quiet that setting one up outside a TT?

Except for stopping for some rest at a Walmart parking lot, we always camp in campgrounds with at least water and electric, so don't run the generator with one exception - if the power at the campground is out. We lost power for 5 days one time, but only ran the generator to charge the battery usually for a few hours mid-morning.

Our Class C motorhome had a 4000 Watt on-board Onan generator that I thought was loud. Then after Hurricane Matthew blew through, we lost power. Our neighbor a few houses away was running his open frame generator to power his TT. Standing at the front door of our house with our MH in the driveway 10 feet away, I could hear the open frame generator about 100 feet away over our Motorhome's generator. That thing was crazy loud. I don't know how they stayed in the TT all day.

The on-board generators are somewhere in the middle between an inverter generator and an open frame generator. As far as I am concerned, all generators are loud. Some are just louder than others.

-Michael

Big_steve wrote:
If you're in a camp area without electric, but still there are others around, how late is it okay to run your generator into the evening? And are generators in MHs more quiet that setting one up outside a TT?

My first question what kind of generator? Inverter generators and much quieter than open frame of the same size. Many prefer Honda (expensive) and many like the Champion.

philh wrote:

Tvov wrote:
I think the key is I shut the "ECO Mode" off, so the generator was running at higher revs when I turned on the A/C.

My 2500 automatically comes off of eco mode when AC turns on.

Also installed the soft start unit on the AC... it really works@

The 2500 has enough power that you don't have to worry about it.

The issue with the 2000 is that the short time between turning on the A/C and the generator revving up (basically eco mode automatically shutting off) is long enough to trip the breaker in the camper or on the gen.

A lot of people don't even know what "eco" mode is, or that it can be shut off.

This is the experience I've had with a Honda eu2000 and my camper. We had a nice, cool weekend during a hot and humid heat wave.