Did I mention that I DESPISE generators!’

[John D]

Last time I camped in Acadia National Park, near Bar Harbor, ME, some camp sites were situated in "No Generator" areas. The manager of the campground was fortunately a retired US Coast Guard officer, and he knew how to say "No".

We were ask pointedly when we checked in, "Do you have a generator?" We replied that we did not, where upon the old Coast Guard officer treated us to his version of complaining about campers who bring generators to this peaceful place and become insulted/insulting when told of the generator rules. The "rules" are, if you declare a generator, you are assigned to an generator allowed area. If the camper does not have a generator, a generator prohibited area is assigned. Then, the old Coastguard officer informs every camper, if you use a generator in those areas, you will be ordered to depart.

The old man told us, some campers say, "We have a generator, but we won't use it." To which the old Coastguardsman replies, Sorry, but if you have a generator with your party, you must be assigned to a "generator allowed" area. This is due to the fact that if you use a generator, a federal law enforcement officer will come to you campsite and order you to depart Acadia National Park, immediately, even is it is 2 am. Period. To avoid letters to senators, congressmen, etc. the policy is to assign generators to generator areas. Obviously, generator people have done this to themselves.

Out of curiosity, I checked out the generator allowed area and found it to be acceptable, physically the same, if not better than any other camping area. (Acadia is a well developed National Park, more so than we are accustomed to in the West.) I understand some campers use their RV to escape the office, as a place of work. They need electricity. I don't begrudge them that, particularly during the pandemic. I'm considerate of their needs, so why are some of them inconsiderate of mine?

The first thing we need to do is speak up. John D

 

[ski3pin]

From our blog post on a trip a few years ago..........................

The campground at Montana's Bannack State Park was a pleasant setting along Grasshopper Creek, just west of the historic ghost town. The sites were dirt, and fairly basic. Other campers trickled in as the afternoon waned. Our entertainment was watching the camp host help shoehorn huge fifth wheels and trailers into the small sites. One fifth wheel took several attempts at getting it into place. At one point I was sure the owner was going to push it into place with the truck's back bumper. To everyone's horror, this maneuver was to position the huge generator in the pickup bed close to the mansion on wheels. It took three pulls to start. Bubba and his brother had power. Our entertainment was now watching groups of other campers wander over to the campground signage to reread the "Quiet Time" regulations. Bubba had read it too. The roar sputtered to silence precisely at ten pm. A loud round of applause erupted across the campground.

 

[camper rich]

If you need to camp in a pay campground, it's much quieter in the campgrounds that have electric hookups. There are usually no generators there.

That being said, I do have a Honda 2200 that I bought as a backup for my solar. It really came in handy on our Alaska trip a few years ago when it rained all the time. The solar just couldn't keep up. We now have a couple of e-bikes and I will run the Honda an hour or two in the daytime, usually camped away from other campers as far as possible (like a couple hundred yards is about right).

We once were camping in a dispersed area east of Salt Lake City and the people next to us ran their genny out with a long cord so that it was closer to us than it was to them. They then ran it all night.

Another time, at Valley of Fire State Park, where the camps are close to each other, a big 5th wheel with onboard genny right next to us ran it all day so they could watch their tv, and then at 9pm, when quiet hours began they shut off the noisy onboard genny and started up a Honda and ran it all night. There was no camp host at that campsite, but we reported them to the camphost at the other campground the next day.

 

[larryqp]

Some people are very inconsiderate when it comes to generator use. Many years ago I was a Camp host at a NFS campground in Utah. Most people didn't use generators, most of those that did only used them for short periods during the dinner hour. But one guy would pack up his family in the truck, start his generator in the morning, drive away, let it run all day, and then turn it off when he returned late in the day. I guess he didn't want to hear it.

The first day I ignored it, even though it was a construction style generator, very loud and annoying to listen to while I spent all day in the campground doing my chores. The second day I waited an hour and then turned it off. This continued all week. He never figured it out, and must have thought his generator had become very fuel efficient.. lol

Sometimes you have to stoop to their level.

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

We had a similar encounter to Larry’s in the Steens. The young couple arrived and ran the generator pretty much 24x7 for the first day. We did have a camp host who intervened. It turned out the wife had diabetes, and they were keeping her insulin cold. It was also their first camping experience, and they were not aware of CG etiquette.

The couple moved to a private CG where electricity was available.

 

[teledork]

I have too many generator stories. These are just some of the "best" ones -

The most recent was a generator running off and on all night at Benton Hot Springs last November. If they had not pulled out the next morning I was going to make a trip to the office. They waved when they left. I flipped them off.

Or the people who looked right at us as they placed their generator within a few feet of our picnic bench (as far away as they could get from their own rig) and retreated into the trailer to drink and play cards. It was a free campground so we left and found a much better place.

Or the time the camp host came to our site at about 9 pm to remind me that I had to stop playing the guitar at 10 while a &^%$%&* generator down from us was running so loud we could not hear the creek. On that trip, just the night before in a different campground a generator ran from 7 - 10 pm. You could see the blue glow of a television through the trailer window. I swore off pay for campsites for years after that.

One story which is not mine - my sister and her family suffered through a night of a generator, an inflatable projection screen and a substantial sound system so the kiddies could watch Pirates of the Caribbean.

I've also camped next to a couple in an RV with an on board generator. The only time it was running was while they were making dinner. It was very well muffled and did not bother us at all as it was pretty much drowned out by the sound of the creek. In that same campground there was a group running one of those compact Honda generators - I guess to power the strings of lights they had hung all around their site. The lights were more annoying than the generator.

I have more stories but they get a little "salty".