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jday1952's avatar
jday1952
Explorer
Jul 06, 2017

Campground Generator Use During Power Outages

We do all our camping in full service campgrounds. For obvious reasons, they normally don't allow generator use. My question is will they normally allow temporary generator use if there is a power outage? We are looking at upgrading to a new motorhome and one of the features I've seen is an auto-start function on the generator. This will automatically start the generator in the event of a power failure (and certain set conditions met). This would be great for those days we are away from our motorhome and our cats are inside it and the outside temperature is extremely high.
  • Had an outage during hot weather a few weeks ago all day. I ran the HE!! out of our gen, not a peep from anyone. If they said anything they would have gotten the stink eye.
  • Like the others said - run it. If they have issues they'll let you know.

    Secondly, your auto start must be enabled to function, so it won't auto start unless it's set for "quiet hours" or "any time".

    Happy trails with the new MH :)
  • Did it once in a state park that had a transformer blow. They had much larger things to worry about than some campers operating generators.
  • The only person that can answer that would be the campground owner and it may vary from campground to campground. Like others I can't imagine it being a issue.
  • I can't imagine any park having a problem. However, an issue could arise should your system not turn off the generator and switch back to shore power when the power is restored. That would eventually become a problem should you be gone all day and the power only out for 5 minutes.
  • There has been a few times that I (and my neighbors) have run the generator during power outages.
  • I've never had campground management complain when I ran my onboard generator during a significant power outage. During hurricane Sandy, we even supplied power to two of our neighbors in TT's when the power was out for 2 days.

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