Walmart / Generator???

ScottG wrote:
When I "plan" a trip, I reserve places to stop along the way.
And using a contractor gen around others is a lousy thing to do IMHO.

X2 ^^ using a contractor style generator anywhere other than on a construction site is rude and annoying to everyone no matter if it is in a parking lot or a campground !

Sam Walton never intended that the Walmart Parking lot become an overnight stay for the general public. The story that I heard from a senior Walmart manager was that Walton extended the courtesy to truck drivers of certain truck lines. Some drivers would pull into town and have to wait until morning to make a delivery. How RV owners got the sense of entitlement no one seems to know. I think it is a low rent thing to single out Walmart as the Go-To place for overnight parking. Emergencies do happen and sometimes a road weary driver is a danger to himself and others; I can see that. I say, plan ahead and make a proper stopover where RVs are welcome. Better than half of the Walmart stores across the US are posting restrictions. I know of some that have excluded trucks now as well. Good going; the abuse has now made it a little tougher on the professional driver.

So, let's say you find yourself in a Walmart or other parking lot that permits you to stay. The best etiquette is to follow 'Quiet Hours' as you would in an RV park or campground using the generator as necessary. If you have a buffer between your RV and others in the lot and any residential areas, go for it. Once we were stranded in a snowstorm in Pennsylvania. We made our way to a shopping center parking lot that had no homes nearby. Had to move twice to allow snow removal equipment to operate. I doubt that anyone could hear our diesel generator with all the snow around. Anyway, stuff happens and you have to go with the flow. If I know that I will need to have the AC going to get through the night, I would plan ahead and book a place with hookups. That being said, if Walmart is part of the plan, make doubly sure that it is okay and you don't get run off at 2AM by the local constable. All the Walmart stores around here are posted as tow-a-way zones. There were trucks and occasional overnight RVs. No complaints. It was the homeless in their broken down rigs that did it. Then there was a related homocide at the Walmart that is walking distance from my home. Got some shopping to do? Walmart is likely to have just what you need. Come sundown, you would be better off parking somewhere else.

RVtravel.com editor Chuck Woodbury explains the “unofficial rules”

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Click the video on the above site.

As always it is a good courtesy to ask the store manager if you can park and what is allowed.

sure go ahead and do it. we can always remember you as one of the guys who ruined the chances for the rest of us who stay over nite at wal marts. it always the few who ruin it for the others . it's like setting up you BBQ or putting your chairs out. all this has been the gentleman's way of just giving the appearance of just staying over night not camping at walmart. I've watched a lot of video's on You tube and I am sure they all say not to make a scene and just get in and get out.

A lot depends on the generator I will list 3 types

"Contractor" Open frame 3600 RPM are LOUD!!! Earplugs should come with them,

How loud they will be in a Wal*Mart lot I do not know but I'd not want to park near you for the night (Been there done that)

My Onan 5500 Emarld Gold.. IN the average Wal Mart lot you will not even hear it (I do use a Gen-Turi which changes the nature of the sound a bit) but it's hard to hear.

Honda Eu200I or yahama EF 2400i. THese are INVERTER type generators you may need two of 'em in parallel to run the A/C

Some years ago a friend and I were talking to a Yahama salesman at a rally We had 3 generators in front of us 1200, 2400 and 3600i models.

THe 1200. I could not hear over crowd noise at no load.. I could feel the exhaust against my ankles but not hear it.

The 2400 I could hear but my friend could not.. (I am used to hearing sounds under noise so was able to "pick it out")

the 3600 I could hear but no need to raise our voice.

At half load, no significant change

At full load the 2400 "Spoke up" and coudl be heard clearly.

wa8yxm wrote:
A lot depends on the generator I will list 3 types

"Contractor" Open frame 3600 RPM are LOUD!!! Earplugs should come with them,

How loud they will be in a Wal*Mart lot I do not know but I'd not want to park near you for the night (Been there done that)

My Onan 5500 Emarld Gold.. IN the average Wal Mart lot you will not even hear it (I do use a Gen-Turi which changes the nature of the sound a bit) but it's hard to hear.

Honda Eu200I or yahama EF 2400i. THese are INVERTER type generators you may need two of 'em in parallel to run the A/C

Some years ago a friend and I were talking to a Yahama salesman at a rally We had 3 generators in front of us 1200, 2400 and 3600i models.

THe 1200. I could not hear over crowd noise at no load.. I could feel the exhaust against my ankles but not hear it.

The 2400 I could hear but my friend could not.. (I am used to hearing sounds under noise so was able to "pick it out")

the 3600 I could hear but no need to raise our voice.

At half load, no significant change

At full load the 2400 "Spoke up" and coudl be heard clearly.

Not "all" "contractor" gens are LOUD.

Your thinking of the good old "Briggs and Stratton" type gens that are loud or 6Kw-10Kw open frame contractor gens..

Smaller open frame 4Kw gens with the Chinese Honda clone engines ARE much quieter than the briggs engines and that is a fact.

Honestly, my $200 4Kw Chinese built portable gen IS far quieter than ANY $2,000-$4,000 built in motor home gen and that IS a fact.

I HAVE endured listening to those crappy motorhome gens and that is inside my RV and they are 50 yrds away from me..

And as far as using a gen in a Walmart parking lot goes, yeah, crappy motor home gens ARE used there, so why not. If a motorhome is doing that then pretty much anything should be acceptable.

My cheap Chinese built gen is much quieter than a reefer truck, it is much quieter than the 3 AM parking lot sweepers that operate for two hrs and no worse than any built in motorhome gen..

I have used mine on occasion in a Walmart parking lot but only just long enough to drop the temps in the RV from say 90F to 80F then open a few windows for some air flow.. Never overnight (like the motorhome folks).

The OPs concern should not be about being able to run a gen, but how to SECURE the gen..

Chances are a gen sitting out running WILL attract attention from the WRONG CROWD.. Resulting in the gen magically vanishing if left unattended even for a minute.

Mine sits in the back of my pickup, under a fiberglass cover.. I just lift the cover slightly to run it and when done close the cover and lock it.. Out of sight, out of mind.

A generator in a Walmart parking lot is likely to "grow legs and walk away" unless it is well secure. Same with bicycles or scooters or anything of much value that you leave unsecured outside.

nagel wrote:
We are planning a 2 week road trip this summer and will be stopping in some Walmarts for a quick overnight stay. Being summer our concern is heat and would love to bring our generator to power the AC in our Travel Trailer. Our concern is the noise from the generator...is this good etiquette?

We have a larger generator we use for emergency home service that is probably a little louder than the smaller portable units that may or may not power our AC.

Thoughts?

"Probably a little louder"? Firing up a contractor generator is not going to make you any friends, and it might get you bounced from the parking lot by management.

Fair enough, you'all have convinced me to look at another option. Again, thanks for the insight. As far as scheduling and booking something instead of something like a Walmart. This trip is a little different for us. We are driving from Missouri to the Grand Canyon. We are intentionally not wanting to "make a plan" so we have to be somewhere at a certain time. Our only commitment is we have reservations on a certain date near the Grand Canyon...that's it. Part of our journey is just jumping in the truck and drive and where it takes us it takes us. Maybe instead of a Walmart Parking lot we find a nice park to pull in. If that happens great, but we want to think about our options and backup plans and that could be a Walmart Parking Lot. If so, I wanted to understand the issue with the genie.

Your input and direction has been very beneficial and I thank you....keep it coming.

“or feel it would be too much of a disturbance“

Next to me it’s “too much of a disturbance.” My feelings, not your feelings.