Generator noise and Forbes Free Camp

Bruce and Bev · Guru

RE: Generator noise and Forbes Free Camp

Jamjar · Senior Member

Bruce, you'd be surprised how common Jamjar actually is. I'd love to know why others use it.

J.

Daryl620 · Veteran Member

I was camped there last night (21/10) in the trees at the western end, didn't hear a thing, slept like a log.
Did try to use the toilet in the Lions park but it was locked at 7pm, so walked aross the bridge to the Bowling club......

Jamjar · Senior Member

I was there the night before, Daryl. They must have known I'd be there. :)

Loo was open at 8am, thankfully.

J.

-- Edited by Jamjar on Thursday 22nd of October 2015 09:48:55 PM

Travelling Andos · Newbie

hi all,
We have read the above comments and we use a gennie to watch tv. We turn it off at 10pm and are always considerate of others around us. We love sport and when camping we love watching tv. Surely people that watch tv with their gens on to watch footy or golf etc are not "arrogant". Not every camper has power in their vans!! We have parked next to other campers with gennies and always tell them we will be using our gennie to charge phones etc. and watch the footy and we have never had a problem.
Not all campers have the luxury of having solar etc ,and as many on here have said, quite a few people do need to run their gennies for medical reasons.
Unlike many that have commented above we need to run our gennie to watch tv etc. Be considerate of others that need to run a gennie!

Happywanderer · The Master

I will be at Forbes tomorrow night if anyone is in the area. I don't run a Genny.

Jamjar · Senior Member

Ok, all this generator talk got me thinking I should get one too. Have just bought a very small and light Lectron 800w Inverter Gen.

I only need it to charge ipad and lantern. I could even splurge on a little fan for the summer.

J.

Young Simmo · Guru

Jamjar, our 1000 watt Honda Inverter genset runs our 2 fridges, 42 inch TV and a couple of lights when we get a power failure, and doesn't even sound like it is loaded so you can spoil your self a bit more.
Simmo.

Jamjar · Senior Member

That's good news indeed, Simmo.

J.

Santa · Guru

Perhaps we're just lucky, in our years of traveling have never experienced a problem with generator noise or come into conflict with a fellow camper.

We tend to free camp most of the time.

chrisnchris · Senior Member

Re needing a gennie for a c pap Hubby uses one and we use a small 300watt inverter and a 12 v connector and have had no problems in 2 yrs and it uses very little power Maybe the only negative is that the humidifer has to be off .
Cheers

Hydeeeho · Senior Member

How day everyone

It seems not to many like other people using generators, but I bet some of the complainers have those bloody noisy diesel heaters they run on cold nights and cold mornings, they are as noisy or worse than genny's as this happened to us at a nice free camp at Brockelhurst, so each to their own I guess

Santa · Guru

On a positive note, we stayed at the free camp being discussed on a trip down the Newell Highway a few months back.

Probably 6 or 8 others camped there on the night we stayed, we found it to be a delightful spot, right on the water/lake, well maintained with lots of trees.

As a bonus Forbes is a lovely spot to spend some time looking around.

Santa · Guru

Hydeeeho wrote:
How day everyone
It seems not to many like other people using generators, but I bet some of the complainers have those bloody noisy diesel heaters they run on cold nights and cold mornings, they are as noisy or worse than genny's as this happened to us at a nice free camp at Brockelhurst, so each to their own I guess

I agree, diesel heaters are noisy buggers of things, lucky the Kea is well insulated against heat and noise, coupled with a bit of hearing loss we seldom if ever have a problem with noise.

Perhaps growing old does have some benefits.

Jamjar · Senior Member

I'm smiling, as our power has been off for a couple of hours and the bloke across the road and three houses down has his generator going. I can hear it loud and clear.

Must be some sort of omen. :)

J.

03_Troopy · Guru

We lost power for a week when we had storms here around Newcastle a few months ago, and ran our Honda EU20i from 7am till 9pm for the whole week. The only complaints at the time were that people couldn't buy a generator because they had all been sold.

Jamjar · Senior Member

I bought a Kinchrome 7HP 3000w one, after our power was off for 18 hours and I ended up with $400 worth of defrosted rats. I've never had to use it, touch wood.

J.

Happywanderer · The Master

I am at Forbes Free Camp at the moment. I can hear a generator going somewhere not too far from here and it is 8.30 pm.

I also wonder what are the rules for grey water here? There is a caravan not too far from here with grey water running away underneath and for a good 10 - 12 feet behind the caravan it is flowing.

Not having a gripe on either, just an observation because of this topic.

Jamjar · Senior Member

I didn't see any signs at all re: water etc. I emptied a bucket of water - all biodegradeable - onto the ground as it was looking very dry.

Is it still crowded there?

J.

Happywanderer · The Master

Jamjar wrote:
I didn't see any signs at all re: water etc. I emptied a bucket of water - all biodegradeable - onto the ground as it was looking very dry.
Is it still crowded there?
J.

Yes, quite full. Would say 15 to 20 vans of all descriptions.

Jamjar · Senior Member

Is it common for a free spot to be so busy, or is it just Forbes that's popular.

It's not as if it's a touristy place and Parkes is better for shopping.

J.

Happywanderer · The Master

It's always been a popular spot as far as I'm aware. I have been staying here twice a year for at least the last 4 years, usually two nights each time.

Because I stay here I usually shop here, haven't really shopped in Parkes at all.

Jamjar · Senior Member

I first went to Parkes for the pet shop. Then discovered they have Coles, Woolies and Aldi. The nearest town to me only has IGA, so when I go to a bigger town I do a mega grocery shop.

Forbes having Bunnings and Spotlight is a bonus.

The Caravan repairers in Parkes are very friendly, too! and seem reasonably priced. I had work done at the Forbes one, on my previous van and I thought he was very expensive.

J.

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

A good start is to get a 12v LED TV and at least a 100 AH battery.. Even if it charges off the engines alternator .. It will give you heaps of TV time at night... Reminds me Of this joke...

A guy came knocking at my door 2AM in the morning.. Lucky I was up playing ACDC ...

-- Edited by Aus-Kiwi on Saturday 24th of October 2015 12:22:51 AM

Happywanderer · The Master

Well, I can tell you at 3.45am now, it is not a caravan generator. Having been outside twice overnight with Daisy, I can tell you the noise is coming from a property over the road. Maybe a commercial generator.

Aus-Kiwi · Guru

Could be a water pump ? Anything ...

Jamjar · Senior Member

Well, that's a bugger, as it means it isn't going away. :(

J.

Happywanderer · The Master

Sounded like a refrigerator unit and I haven't had much sleep. Funny I've never noticed it before.

Jamjar · Senior Member

Yes, I thought it sounded like a refrigerated semi, but I couldn't see one.

If I stay there when I pick the van up, I'll go walkabout and see if I can locate the source.

J.

Mutt · Veteran Member

a lot of semi drivers sleeper cabs have a small Diesel engine they run while they are sleeping. it is a a/c climate comfort control. I thought at first they were a refrigerated units. it sounds as if someone is running a generator.