generator just to charge batteries

JiminDenver wrote:
Consider this.

You are sitting under your awning when your neighbor puts his lawn mower on the edge of your site. He then proceeds to start it and run it at full blast. He leaves it there and gets in his trailer all happy because he can't hear it with his AC and TV running. You on the other hand get to listen to it, retreat inside or leave until quiet time.

We use a Champion 3500/4000 while we boondock. Nice dependable machine but boy is it loud. You have to go a long ways to have the noise level drop to the point you can hear the birds and the wind. I have been able to tell a open frame was running from a half mile late at night. The noise just carrys.

For battery charging only I agree that solar may help you. Even something you could put together for maybe $300 could keep your battery charged up. You don't have to mount them, we have our panel portable so the trailer can be in the shade and the panel in the sun. warning, it is addictive. You may have the urge to get more and more solar even after your needs are met. ;)

Good story and similar happened to us. We boondock in October here and it gets cold. Not so cold though that you have to run your generator all night, but not so said the guy who pulled in one evening and parked fairly close to us - he had kids so he ran his loud "yellow" generator, close to our door, all night. Argggghhh. Had it not been for the kids, I would've said something. A Honda? quiet - when cold weather boondocking, we run it in the morning when we are running our heater to warm up.