Cold weather, generators, and campgrounds

[cptqueeg]

My wife and I were at Yellowstone the past few days at NPS campground Madison, which is run by Xanterra. It was pretty cold and snowy for several days, not extreme, but a little "rough" for mid-October.

The campground rules are no generators btwn 8pm - 8am. There were many in the campground that ran their generators intermittently all through night. My question is this:

Is this complete disregard for the rules and FELLOW CAMPERS acceptable in light of the conditions?

[cptqueeg]

Grit dog wrote:
And another 4 pages of proof of how fickle some people can be….
Call LEOs at 2:30am because of a generator running? Seriously?
Was it rude? Yes, sounds like it.
Although 15deg with a wind could suck down a camper battery pretty quick if unprepared.
But then we’re not all the “perfectly prepared” campers that the rvnet royalty profess to be.
Would it be more palatable if you knew some of the gennys were running to keep someone’s newborn baby warm while the new parents were trying to experience camping? (This argument is like the wdh argument, can never be too safe, right? Lol)
Or would it be ok if it was a couple old folks who needed to stay warm or their cpap died? (Cpaps ARE figuratively the wdhs of the medical world…hahaha)

Or is it better to sit in anger and just “know” that some delinquent is running their genny just to ruin your night and they’re probably playing xbox at 2 am and that’s what used up their battery?

See, many different scenarios.
All are a rude reason, inherently, to disturb others, so maybe should call the cops!!

Maybe I’m blessed to be a heavy sleeper. Or maybe I just have more/more important things to worry about and occupy my time with. So maybe it’s just me…

All those sad stories stopped to camp for 1 night and were replaced by another group of equally sad stories the next night. People are depending on breaking the campground rules to accommodate their style of travel at the material expense of others.

People seem to find that breaking, bending, or changing the rules to make themselves happy at the expense of others is pretty much the order of the day. This isn't just an rv problem by any means.

[toedtoes]

Skibane wrote:
Why on earth would you leave your water heater on overnight?

Are you prone to sleep-showering?

I already explained why I leave it on.

[RayJayco]

I wonder if some of the people aren't "well seasoned" campers, that may not belong to RV forums that have people to help them, and may be guided by ignorance and lack of preparation... In a hurry to get going on vacation and such... Not thinking of or checking on the forecast...

Perhaps they don't know about battery banks and such...

While I agree that "entitled" people are not good to have around, some people just get caught unprepared...

In my travels to remote and dangerous places, I encountered many good people that just hadn't thought things through thoroughly. Prepare and respect has always been my guide as you never know what can happen... However, everyone doesn't think as I do, which is probably a good thing!

If this happened in January, well, that might be different... Empathy can be a hard word to understand...

I do recall reading somewhere about judging people... especially when all of the facts are unknown..

[Skibane]

Why on earth would you leave your water heater on overnight?

Are you prone to sleep-showering?

[toedtoes]

My hot water tank water doesn't stay hot all night.

If I found myself at a campground that required water pumps, furnaces, and water heaters to be turned off during the night, I would abide by that.

If I'm camping and my neighbor approaches me about my water heater waking them up at night, I would turn it off.

But, outside of that, I prefer to not be in agony because my joint rubbed against a pillow.

[ktmrfs]

toedtoes wrote:

2oldman wrote:

tommyznr wrote:
In my rig the furnace cycling would be much louder than any generator noise sourced from "many" surrounding camp sites with the RV buttoned up to keep out the cold.

Gas water heaters are also very loud, especially at 3am. When they initially fire up it sounds like an explosion. I don't know why people leave them on all the time, or if they even know they're on. They must be deaf.

I leave mine on because when I have to get up and pee at 3 am, washing my hands in cold water is excruciating due to my arthritis. And waiting for a pot of water to heat up at 3 am so I can wash my hands is just not conducive to getting back to sleep quickly.

But I never run a furnace or a generator, I never leave lights on all night, I never have loud music or drunken parties or fights, etc.

we always turn the WH off at night. even by morning the water n the WH is still hot enough that it still to hot to use directly w/o mixing with cold water.

[blt2ski]

I guess it's good some of you don't use you RV as a ski hut as I did.
In official generator off was 9pm, or lights out at area. That was 1am new years eve. Of course folks are partying in parking lot etc too.
Hrs seem good to me. Seems a bit silly or wierd that many RV's did not have enough amp hrs, or dead'ish batteries for this to be going on.
A possiblity not mentioned, some might only have electric heat. I find this hard to believe.

My 02 on this.
Marty

[toedtoes]

Chum lee wrote:

tommyznr wrote:
My cartoon bubble:

As for the "rules are rules" folks, rules are at the discretion of the enforcing authority to enforce as they see fit.

I couldn't agree more.

Chum lee

IMO, if the rules are there, you should follow them. But I also believe in doing right because it's right and not because I'll get in trouble otherwise.

[toedtoes]

2oldman wrote:

toedtoes wrote:
I leave mine on because ....

Even on hookups I'm surprised to hear those heaters. I guess some RVs are gas only.

Mine is. It's a 1975 motorhome. The water heater was replaced years and years ago, but is still old enough to be gas only and no electronic ignition.

My trailer water heater (original to 1998) is the same.

Maybe because I live in a house with a gas wall heater, I really don't find the gas items as loud or as annoying as generators. The whoosh and hiss doesn't bother me like the putt-putt-putt of a gas motor.

[Chum_lee]

tommyznr wrote:
My cartoon bubble:

As for the "rules are rules" folks, rules are at the discretion of the enforcing authority to enforce as they see fit.

I couldn't agree more.

Chum lee

[2oldman]

toedtoes wrote:
I leave mine on because ....

Even on hookups I'm surprised to hear those heaters. I guess some RVs are gas only.

[MT_BOB]

2oldman wrote:

tommyznr wrote:
In my rig the furnace cycling would be much louder than any generator noise sourced from "many" surrounding camp sites with the RV buttoned up to keep out the cold.

Gas water heaters are also very loud, especially at 3am. When they initially fire up it sounds like an explosion. I don't know why people leave them on all the time, or if they even know they're on. They must be deaf.

Yep, on all. Me, living in the mountains, and not used to much noise, insulated and sealed up old camper,so it is much warmer, AND put in a thermostat that I set to come on at 45, turn off at 65. Just last week, camping on the prairie,30 at night,sometimes wind, furnace would come on 1 time, 2 times when there was 30-60 mph winds.

[toedtoes]

2oldman wrote:

tommyznr wrote:
In my rig the furnace cycling would be much louder than any generator noise sourced from "many" surrounding camp sites with the RV buttoned up to keep out the cold.

Gas water heaters are also very loud, especially at 3am. When they initially fire up it sounds like an explosion. I don't know why people leave them on all the time, or if they even know they're on. They must be deaf.

I leave mine on because when I have to get up and pee at 3 am, washing my hands in cold water is excruciating due to my arthritis. And waiting for a pot of water to heat up at 3 am so I can wash my hands is just not conducive to getting back to sleep quickly.

But I never run a furnace or a generator, I never leave lights on all night, I never have loud music or drunken parties or fights, etc.

[Lwiddis]

What “help” does someone need to follow the “no generators after 9 pm” rule?

[2oldman]

tommyznr wrote:
In my rig the furnace cycling would be much louder than any generator noise sourced from "many" surrounding camp sites with the RV buttoned up to keep out the cold.

Gas water heaters are also very loud, especially at 3am. When they initially fire up it sounds like an explosion. I don't know why people leave them on all the time, or if they even know they're on. They must be deaf.