Generator noise under bed

[janegowest]

Those of you who own gas powered Class A motorhomes....how do you deal with the noise of the generator under your bed at night?

[robertbenita]

A reason to use generator through the night... Lake Havasu area in the heat of summer, desert camping in summer (call me a glutton for punishment), recharging the batteries in the middle of nowhere... etc. Rules for campgrounds considered, but when you are out in the middle of nowhere, I don't see any problem at all running it when you want as long as you want... One time camping near Ozuna, Texas it was over 100 degrees after 10PM and momma needs to be cooler than that! Happy wife = happy life!

As for use of "genturi" my RV's and camper for that matter have long been out of warranty by the time I get them! And if you install it according to directions, I believe your chances of trouble are minimal, but this is just my opinion...

[Joatha]

My 1990 Winnebago was horrible. The genny was right under the bed and was pretty loud and I couldn't even come close to getting a decent night's rest with it on.

So, my solution was to get rid of the Winnebago and buy a 2001 Wanderlodge with the generator up front.

Problem solved!

[darsben]

Mine is under bed area does not bother us. BUT I shut it off after 9 PM so as not to disturb others.
I then run on batteries all night.

[doxiemom11]

We have never run our generator when sleeping but ours isn't that noisy and is on the opposite side of the motorhome.

[tropical36]

janegowest wrote:
Those of you who own gas powered Class A motorhomes....how do you deal with the noise of the generator under your bed at night?

We have never run our genset while sleeping. Is there a reason why you have the need for doing so and realize that this isn't answering your question?

[afrescopXx]

We have a rear master bath so the generator is under the shower. My wife is a light sleeper but the few nights we have slept using the genny has not been an issue. Apparently there is sufficient insulation to minimize the noise.

BTW: If you read the Cummins/Onan warranty you will find out that the use of a third party exhaust system voids the generator's factory warranty.

[robertbenita]

I recall noticing the noise before turning on the a/c, but once the a/c was on, it wasn't the loudest thing I could hear in the RV. I believe we got used to the noise and vibration and were so grateful to have a generator and a/c, it just became a non-issue. We have slept with it running as well or for naps in daytime, but we also have the "genturi" thing that funnels the fumes up and away from RV. I guess something to think about when you purchase your next RV, but unless it is a deal breaker for you, I bet you get used to it. Ours is now up in the front of the RV. Hope you get used to it too:)

[turbojimmy]

Dutch_12078 wrote:

BobR wrote:
If I need 120V electric at night, I will find a campground. I do not feel comfortable running a gas generator while I sleep due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

We've run our generator 24/7 during power outages, and the display on the bedroom CO detector has never moved off zero. We do use a Gen-turi though, to route the exhaust above the coach roof.

I worried about that, too. My generator is midship under a couch, but I've run it for several hours with the windows closed and without the Genturi to see if the carbon monoxide detector reacts. I have one with a PPM readout - it never moves off of 0. And I have an exhaust leak at the manifold.

I'm more worried about the furnaces than the genny as far as CO is concerned.

[Grandpere]

we have a residential fridge so our generator runs all the time except for when we are on shore power. It has never bothered me while sleeping, that being said, but we park in truck stops a lot so the noise is no worse than some of the semis. It also helps to be half deaf LOL.

[Effy]

Would never run my gen overnight. I would never subject the risk to my family. It pretty much says that in the manual. Especially if it's under the bed.

[Dutch_12078]

BobR wrote:
If I need 120V electric at night, I will find a campground. I do not feel comfortable running a gas generator while I sleep due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

We've run our generator 24/7 during power outages, and the display on the bedroom CO detector has never moved off zero. We do use a Gen-turi though, to route the exhaust above the coach roof.

[BobR]

If I need 120V electric at night, I will find a campground. I do not feel comfortable running a gas generator while I sleep due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

[Gjac]

Mine is under the bed. I was worried about this when I first bought the MH. I have only run it once in 10 years while sleeping for AC. The AC noise is greater than the generator noise so you can't hear the generator. So to me it proved to be a non issue.

[Peddler95]

Our generator, air conditioner/heat pumps, and furnace are under the bedroom. Will never have another with the AC/HP under there. The furnace is not real bad and, as we only stay in campgrounds, can't run the generator during sleeping time anyway.
That being said, to your original question, the best way to deal with the noise is with an acoustic barrier, not an absorber. Acoustic barriers are based on mass weight, in the past being lead sheet, now usually loaded vinyl or silicones. Problem is that to have much effect you will need to add considerable weight.
I'm reasonably sure my AC noise is more from vibration of the unit and surrounding panels, and I'm trying to find things underneath that my add to the problem, you may want to investigate things like worn mounts, loose covers, etc. to see if that helps.

[Raymon]

tatest wrote:
I would not buy a motorhome with the generator under the bed, whether I planned on using it while sleeping, or not. That is simply bad design, and would be a dealbreaker for me.

At some companies, the marketing teams who design these things seem not to have an understanding of how they are used. They ship them off to dealers, buyers look, say "I can't buy it because of that" and it takes two to three years to find a buyer that doesn't figure out the design defect. Model meanwhile gets discontinued because dealers won't buy it. Natural selection inthe RV world.

Your first sentence kind of insults the OP for purchasing his current MH doesn't it? You offered no information regarding his question because you do not own a MH with the OP's layout. Kinda wasted reply don't you think?