Am I missing something here???

[tladouceur58]

I might be a bit slow, but there is one thing I cannot figure out for the life of me. I am hoping some of our members might enlighten me on the subject.

I have an older 30' class A with 4 house batteries, solar unit, 5500 Onan generator and a couple of Canadian Tire brand inverters to power things inside when I am off the grid. This all works great for me and I can raise and lower my Winegard Trav'ler dish, watch tv, use the computer, etc. etc. even when I am boondocking without running my genny. The only time I fire up the generator is when I want to use my hair blowdryer, my Kurig coffeemaker or to enjoy the electric fireplace when I am not plugged into shore power.

What I DON"T UNDERSTAND is why the newer, very expensive, top-of-the line rigs need to run their generators 24 hours a day while boon docking.

This is the 3rd night in a row, at different places along the Oregon coast, that several of these behemoths have pulled in beside me in either a government campground or a casino parking lot, put down the levelers and fired up the gennys immediately and then let them run the entire time they are there.

Do they have things in them that require 110v electric ALL the time? Do they not have propane as alternate fuel sources for their fridges and furnaces and hot water? Does their solar not give them the power they need? How much power DO they need?

It seems to me that they are not very efficient if they need to run a genny all the time. Plus, the noise is horrendous. They must be much larger than my 5500 Onan, because even when I was running mine to blow dry my hair I could STILL hear the neighbors genny and I could NOT hear my own

Please, if someone could help me out, I would be grateful. I always try to understand my neighbors bad habits rather than get mad at them. They world is much more peaceful that way. After all, I don't want to have to go after them with a baseball bat at 3:00am when I am trying to sleep if they really, really, REALLY do need to have the genny running and making all that racket

[MSHappyCampers]

We run our genny when staying overnight at Wal-Marts or other places along the way when a CG is not convenient. We like to sleep at 65 degrees and run the A/C's on either cooling or heat pump mode. We don't like to use the furnace for heat unless the temp is below where the heat pumps are capable of operating. Our Onan 7500 is pretty quiet so I don't think it would disturb anyone else that might me close. JMHO

[Oldme]

Efficiency may or may not be a point of the rigs you
see.

Owner understanding of their systems may be a point.

It all comes down to what the owner of the rig wants to do
with his rig.

[t55watson]

There is not a modern coach out there that needs to run genny 24/7. They ALL can overnight without the genny. Don't believe me? Check with the manufacturer. Some people have to run it just 'cause they got it.
This is one of the reasons my DW wont stay overnight at Wally,truck stop or casino. No plug ins we wont stay.

[flaggship1]

Originally Posted by t55watson

There is not a modern coach out there that needs to run genny 24/7. They ALL can overnight without the genny. Don't believe me? Check with the manufacturer. Some people have to run it just 'cause they got it.
This is one of the reasons my DW wont stay overnight at Wally,truck stop or casino. No plug ins we wont stay.

Because you won't run the generator?

[t55watson]

Originally Posted by flaggship1

Because you won't run the generator?

No....because we don't want to listen to others. No matter how quiet the genny they still make noise and at 3 AM they seem to increase in volume.

[Sky_Boss]

Originally Posted by t55watson

There is not a modern coach out there that needs to run genny 24/7. ...

Well...I guess that depends on the owner's choice of comfort. While I recently heard that some all electric MHs with big battery banks can run a single AC unit on an inverter, I *THINK* that if you want to run AC, Heat Pumps/Strips you need the genny running unless you are plugged in.

So...to the common point of the OP. When do folks want to run AC or Heat Pumps the most while not driving down the road? At night.

BTW...I have heard furnaces that were nearly as noisy as a generator so I am not certain that is a "better" option for being more stealthy. In general, my roof tops are fairly quiet in heat pump mode both in and out of the coach. They are a bit noisier in the AC mode both and out.

To me, the bottom line is that if one learns that certain CGs and boondock locations are not their cup of tea, I would think they should avoid them.

[CampDaven]

I tend to only fret about things I can change. You can change your location.

Real boondockers find real seclusion. I am not one of them. I find real power outlets. :-)

[Cooperhawk]

I have a lot of money invested in our MH and I really hate to park it where I need to worry about someone running into it or stealing things from it. If I can afford thousands and thousands for a nice unit, I can certainly afford to park in a nice CG overnight. I will stop in Wally Worlds to procure things, but not to spend the night. I want hookups.

We generally try to be parked for the day by five PM. That way I can enjoy a nice dinner and evening and get a good nights rest. It is after all supposed to be the Golden Years. Why live like a truck driver? Been there done that.

[caissiel]

We do stay at those stated locations. We have generator solar panels and never need to make any noise because we respect others.

The trucks are now parking at WM and idle all night. They cannot do that at truck stops. I am beginning to think going to truck stops it might be quiet.

With all the talking about these fantastic RVs why the need to run all night. We coldowm before night and again in the morning. Heat is the same. Shut furnace at night (programed that way) and on in the morning and nothing freezes in our unit.

We most have a much better unit for FT.

Beginning to hate it in the CG also. How can they sleep at night with 2 units running.

[Ray,IN]

We have a "white noise" machine/radio,clock/alarm, with volume knob that will mask outside noises and create a soothing background noise, we prefer the fan setting that sounds like-well- a fan running. I think it cost ~$20, is battery-powered, and used every night wears out 2 C batteries in 10 days >2 weeks.
We all have the right to do as we please, as long as we respect those same rights of others.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by caissiel

The trucks are now parking at WM and idle all night. They cannot do that at truck stops. I am beginning to think going to truck stops it might be quiet.

Why can't they? I know some states have anti ideling laws now but that would also cover a W*M parking lot.

[RanCarr]

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

We run our genny when staying overnight at Wal-Marts or other places along the way when a CG is not convenient. We like to sleep at 65 degrees and run the A/C's on either cooling or heat pump mode. We don't like to use the furnace for heat unless the temp is below where the heat pumps are capable of operating. Our Onan 7500 is pretty quiet so I don't think it would disturb anyone else that might me close. JMHO

Sometimes it's the exhaust fumes from someone's generator that's sickening. We have a generator in the old Class-C but will make sure we park away from others when we have to run it in a parking lot somewhere.

As for noise, I never heard a "quiet" generator. Perhaps the bigger rigs are insulated from the noise so the owner doesn't hear it, but those who have a generator have always woke us up when they pull next to us and turn it on. If people must run their gen's, why not park away from those in TTs, PUPs and others who don't have one?

[JFNM]

Originally Posted by tladouceur58

What I DON"T UNDERSTAND is why the newer, very expensive, top-of-the line rigs need to run their generators 24 hours a day while boon docking.

I completely understand the frustration. On my last trip, I spent three wonderful nights in total solitude up in the mountains. Then one of these big rigs came along and started their generator (never shut it down). It was "quite" but still ruined the peace and quiet. I have no idea why, we were at 8000' MSL and the overnight temp was a comfortable 60 degrees.

As much as I hate to say it, most people are very inconsiderate of others. Maybe this is a big-city mentality or something, I don't know but I see it most everywhere I go. Very sad.