Two of us are planning on becoming grey nomads next year. One of us has sleep apnea and needs to use a machine during the night and hence we require a fair bit of power.
What are the rules and/or the etiquette of using a generator at a free camping site to charge batteries, eg say up to 8 pm?
A Sleep Apnea machine can be run off house battery , Which will give a good night sleep and by not using an Generator will give everybody else a good night sleep. A portable 120 watt solar panel will kept your battery toped up .
The "generator question" usually raises the ire of some members ... be prepared for a lecture on why you should ONLY have solar. Some may even suggest that because you have a "medical condition " that requires using 'power' during the night, you should simply just stay at van parks.
Disregard their advice should it appear and be prepared to be very considerate with the use of the generator in camps.
It is usual to ALWAYS park away from others so that the noise of the genny is minimised to those who may not tolerate it.
ALWAYS tell other campers you are going to use the genny and make every sensible effort to meet their intolerances, if they raise any.
The "accepted" time frame for using the genny is 5pm to 8pm. However, if you only want to charge batteries, and there are few around during the afternoon, you could run it during the arvo.
To use the genny all night for the sleep apnea requirements would require being camped near/with a very tolerant lot of campers.
As the "grey nomad" mob become more 'solar converted', gennies are falling more and more out of favour.
I carry one but have not had the need to use it since having solar installed three years ago. But I have a minimal "power footprint" and I do not need huge battery banks or 1,000s of watts of solar panel to keep me 'self-sufficient'.
The generator will get you through your needs, but you will just need to be considerate and tolerant of the 'tolerances' (or lack thereof) of other campers.
Cheers - and happy camping - John
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We carry a genny for those times when there is not enough sunlight to charge our batteries or we need to run the aircon(very rarely).
If we need to charge batteries and there are others around I will ask if it is ok first.
Generally acceptable times are not before 9 am and not after 9pm but we tend to turn it off before happy hour particularly if others are around.
you could get a sign made up that states "medical equipment in use" or something like that so others can see it. This should have the effect of defusing any agro.
good luck and happy travels
frank
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Avagreatday.
Kathy and Frank currently at Home near Quirindi NSW
I have run my cpap through a small 300/600 watt surge inverter, but next week while away I will be using it off the 12 volt DC now that I have made a lead.
Yep, Solar is the way to go for sure but make sure you have enough Solar and batteries to run your medical machine. Others do it so a few might give more info soon.
I have both, Solar and Generator and I tend to use both. 1. It helps top up the batteries every now and then. 2. It helps keep the generator in top nick.
I keep Gene chained up at all times though, however she is not very happy about it. I also have to keep her out of sight so the twins don't see her.
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Welcome Redboggs5. I don't think I can add anything to the good advice you have already been given,except to say If you do decide to buy a generator to do your home work and buy one of the quieter brands, We rarely run our geny and when we do find its not just others it anoys. Landy
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A generator to power a sleep apnea machine all night is likely to be a costly and inconvenient way to do it, although your post suggests you would use the generator to charge a battery. Carrying fuel, storage, security, and lifting the thing can be issues best avoided. A 12 volt machine would save a lot of the problems that come with trying to run a generator through the night. A suitable sized battery charged from alternator and/or a solar panel is likely cheaper than a generator. Even the quietest generator is likely to cause problems in a crowded camping area. Sound travels a long way in the still of the night and rocks on the roof is a common response to things that disturb.
If you choose to get a generator, expect visits from annoyed neighbours from any time after sundown and before about 8:30 in the morning. Most people value the quiet serenity at the end of the day and consider it just plain bad manners to impose a generator on fellow campers. Morning times, many travellers are retired and like to sleep in a bit. Noise complaints are common to a lot more than just generators. People packing up early and idling the diesel for some time are all stories of inconsiderate neighbours.
Iza
-- Edited by Izabarack on Wednesday 11th of March 2015 09:24:52 AM
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Iza
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Just a quick note Dougwe (and others with generators) that at least one insurance company does not recognise using chains to secure generators. So if the generator is stolen you are on your own.
That insurance company will only accept welding the generator on - which is really not very practical! I imagine that will also apply for BBQs and other equipment.
hello rexsboggs5, welcome to the forum. I don't know about others but after awhile the noise they make gives me a headache. Anyway, the advice of others before me sounds good. regards.
The fumes from gennies make me sick quite apart from the noise. People seem to point the exhaust away from their direction with no consideration for others.
I would be very angry if someone near me ran one all night.
I have used an Resmed sleep Apnea machine for 5 nights off a 1/ 110 amp battery using an 300 watt inverter with no problem .wWe were running fridge off gas and only using battery for lights and sleep machine , Have now purchased an portable 120 watt solar panel to charge up battery when parked up , We all have different needs
Hi and welcome. We have a genny for emergency battery charge, most times if we need 240 volts we have a large inverter to do the job, but it only runs our electric blanket on a very cold night. Mind you we have solar to charge the batteries normally.
We have been on the road for 2 years and never needed the genny. I was rather peed off with a neighbour at a free camp when he ran his genny all night. Mind you I'm not anti genny, but it's got to be useful on cloudy days.
Take care and travel well.
PS. Beware of passionate anti genny people, they can get under your skin rather easy.
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yep some people don't think when they use there generator last yr this guy pulled up beside us in tight camping setup for a music festival . the first thing he did was put the noisy thing on our side of his van and start it up . we did ask him nicely if he would move it but he said it was to loud on his side of the van . well dummy were over here and were not getting any power from it but he didn't want to move it . funny thing it vanished that night and it wasn't us the people behind him moved it into there truck and on the last night it came back after they went to bed . i even had the cops put onto me
we've stayed in a number of larger free camping areas and people who use gennies usually park as far away as they reasonably can and then put the unit between the bush or road and the rest of the campers.
Modern gens, like Honda and Yamaha are pretty quiet, even on a still night, so we've never seen any agro
KFT has a good idea about the sign advising why you are running a genie.
Even if you cant afford batts and solar panels, maybe just one battery which is hooked via an Anderson plug to your car - this will charge up your 'van battery when on the move and will support your machine all night.
We carry a Honda 2.0 as a backup to our solar when free camping and have used it on 2 days (during the day and having spoken to our immediate neighbours) when the whether was really bad. Other campers didn't mind - we only ran it for a couple of hours to re-charge the batteries in our 'van.
But remember, the quality gennies are very heavy and if you intend to buy one - go visit a supplier and make sure you can lift it easily into where you intend to store it while on the road.
Good luck, get out there and enjoy your trip !!
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
I still can not believe people complaining about most modern generator noise it is no noisy than people talking and laughing bloody birds squawking yes do not run them all night be get real we all have to camp together there will always be something that some one else does that annoys some one just get over it and enjoy life
I suspect Bobs comment about this loud orchestra music was a bit tongue in cheek and I agree with geobell........most free camping areas are pretty large when you get more than a couple of 'vans in them and if the person with the genie parks as far away as possible from the others and has his/her van between the genie and the rest of the campers - theyre hard to hear - especially with wild animals barking, howling, screaming, wild cows moowing around you at night or trains with wheat, iron or coal rumbling past and blowing their bloody horns
And really, how often does it happen that someone is running a genie all night.............we've only struck it once and they were tucked well away from others - it was very hard to hear. And a good excuse for another nightcap lol
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Cheers Bruce
The amazing things you see when nomading Australia
For those suburban dwellers seeking solitude in the country areas need a reality check. Generally country people get up early as there are a multitude of things to be done and the noises consist of trucks, tractors, harvesters, cattle calling to each other all night etc. etc. so a bit of noise from a fellow campers Genny is little to tolerate, they would be welcome at my camp. (I have solar power). Diesels are required to be "warmed up" before use. It is not the Gennies etc that is the issue but how one chooses to respond, either get annoyed or angry which only upsets yourself or be accepting of the situation. The sole advantage of having wheels is that You can move on! the freedom of travel also extends to the freedom of other campers to do their thing also. we all need to be tolerant and courteous to each other.
Firstly let me say that my wife say's "I'm generator paranoid when it comes to using our gennie". If and when I run it I keep it very close to us and take the attitude if it bothers us then it will bother others and act accordingly and I only will use it for a couple of hours between 8.30am & 6pm.
Now let me tell you about the B*tch from hell..... A couple of years ago we pulled into a rather large free camp in the middle of the day where generators where permitted and we were the only ones there. Great I thought I'll be able to run the gennie without issue.... Note I said "I Thought"....
About an hour later, this woman pulls in and parks right next to us AND within 10 feet of the running gennie, unpacks her camper then comes over and demanded we turn off the generator NOW. Note I said "demanded" not ask.
I quickly and politely pointed out that this free camp was huge and questioned why she would set up right next to us when there was ample space around. She replied "Because this is the best site and if you want to opperate the generator you should move". Note we where here first and she said "you should move"
Well that got my back up, and a heated discussion then broke out, I kept my cool and to the amazement of my wife I didn't swear but did learn some exciting new words from our new not so friendly neighbour.
We held our ground and ran the gennie till 5.30pm and as a comprimise I did move it from "her side" to the other side, but that too wasn't enough. She continued with her rants in an attacking manner until it got to the point where my normally placid and non confrontional wife had enough and to my shock told our neighbour promptly where to go in no uncertain terms.
In my arguments I pointed out that our belief is that when it comes to generators like it or not they are a part of "camping" and there should be a level of tollerance from on all sides. Seems my diplomatic approach wasn't enough and only a woman's touch could quell the arguement.
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Steve, Di & Ziggy We named our Motorhome "Roadworx" because on the road works "On The Road Again" Ford Transit with 302 Windsor V8 conversion, C4 Auto, 9 Inch Ford Diff All Lighting L.E.D., 260 Amp/h AGM, 530 Watt Solar + Kipor Backup Gen.
Thanks to all who replied. As an early poster pointed out, there are differing views on this. The latest Caravan World has some good articles on managing power, so that will be useful as well. Thanks to all who took the time to reply.
