Generator etiquette

If your neighbors are running their genny they can't hear yours. Ideally running time should be be kept to a minimum needed & everyone run more or less together. Don't be running a genny for small loads. That is what inverters are for. Run when more than just battery charging is needed. Mealtimes are good.

We were across a field from a large class A that decided to turn on his very noisy on-board diesel generator at 6;00am. I had to drive 5 miles to get the ranger to get him to shut that darned thing off. He would not come to the door so that I didn't have to get the ranger. He was really pizzed off that I snitched him out-his words. Quiet times were 8pm until 8 am.
I guess his coffee and microwave breakfast were more important than everyone else's sleep and quiet time.

If I need the generator to charge the batteries I try to use it in the afternoon rather than morning or night. If I need it for the AC I shut it off around dinnertime, 6pm or so. Let everyone have a quiet evening.

Most parks I've been in require them to be shut off around 8-9pm. I have been in campgrounds that only allowed generators between 1 and 4 pm.

And my experience is that a honda/yamaha etc. is much quieter than any onboard generator I've been around. wouldn't expect that, but that's my take.

Hi GordonThree,

Grand Rapids has an average monthly Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) of 3.79 kilowatt hours per square meter per day (kWh/m2/day), which is approximately 4% greater than the average monthly Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) of 3.65 kWh/m2/day.

This is better than Minot ND which is about 200 miles south of where I live. I do believe in solar!


https://www.solarenergylocal.com/states/michigan/grand-rapids/

GordonThree wrote:
I don't believe in solar. The insolation is very low in my area and the weather not very cooperative. Gasoline works day or night, rain or shine.

Many state and national park campgrounds have limited generator hours.
8pm is pretty much the latest.
I've never seen any public campgrounds allow generator usage past 9pm.

Read the campground rules.
Usually it is 11:00 PM, but if it was me I would be more considerate and not run it after 9:30 or 10:00

Guy

As mentioned. It depends on where you are. A NP campground states you can't run them during quiet hours. No matter how hot it is, or how quiet you think your generator is.
I do know that in the NP CGs on the Blue Ridge Park way. There is no such thing as a "quiet" generator. In the stillness that is the BRP, you can hear a lantern burning a football field away. So your internal combustion engine is quite the noise maker.

IMOP. IF you just got to have electricity, and you are not out somewhere all alone. You need to stay in a Cg that has hookups.

Lots of little kids are in bed at 8 pm. Other than for AC, solar is the etiquette standard.

I have found that onboard generators are louder than a portable honda generator. With the honda (or other quiet inverter generators), you can angle it away from your neighbors. Onboard generators point where they point.

I have seen no difference between onboard generators in trailers vs. motorhomes. They are the same generators with the same default "point where they point".

If the campground does not have stated generator hours, then to my mind one should be reasonable in its use:

If the weather requires AC overnight, then it would be acceptable to do so. If the RV is simply a bit "stuffy", then open windows and use a fan - not the AC. Don't run it so you can watch midnight movies, etc. Only use it for necessities (medical needs, etc.).

Don't start the generator after 10 pm or before 8 am. If it's already started and kept running, that will be less impactful on your neighbors than if you start it up after they are sleeping.

If your neighbors are in tents, then be more conservative with nightime use (unless they are using their own generators during the night).

If in doubt, ask your neighbors if it is bothering them.

If I'm camping in a dispersed area ie not campground, I'll run the generator as needed night or day. That doesn't mean I run it all the time, I don't like the sound either.

If it's very hot, that probably means overnight so I can run the air conditioning. If it's very cold, that probably means overnight so I can run supplemental heat.

The thing about noise in my opinion is it's relative ... A generator running next to a busy road or turbulent river or lake is going to sound very quiet. A generator running in the middle of the woods or desert on a calm day is going to sound crazy loud.

I don't believe in solar. The insolation is very low in my area and the weather not very cooperative. Gasoline works day or night, rain or shine.