Taking care of an irritating generator next door

[JuneBug]

We just got back from volunteering for the Telluride 100 Mountain Bike Race. We stayed in the town campground, which has an astounding number of people crammed into a very small, wooded area. No utilities (no water, no electricity), just a bathroom/bathhouse and NO CAMPFIRES allowed. There is a section for RVs and trailers but that was universally ignored, so trailer, tents, Class B & C, and van campers were all snuggled up together. A gigantic 5th wheel parked at the site next to us and ran their generator until 10 pm and turned it off. The second night, someone had to remind them and they turned it off immediately. That was the quietest campground at night that I've ever been in. You could have heard a pin drop at 10:05 pm. I think because of the no campfire rule and the fact that it's cold at night there, everybody just went to bed. Lots of early risers, but no problems there.

[beakman]

I do my best to nicely talk to a generator operator when it's being used during ''quiet times'

The last time it was 1.5 hours after shutdown. I walked over as he was messing with it and asked if I could help. He said no, he was fine. I responded that I thought he might have a problem as he was running it after hours. Of course the response was "I thought it was OK". I told him that if he needs to charge his batteries to get through the night then perhaps run it for a half hour before shutting it down.

He did return to our campsite in a 1/2 hour and apologised.

Nice guy,,,,,, now read the pamphlet they give you when you pull into a campsite.

I guess my aversion to the generator noise comes from the fact that we were sailboat cruisers logging 25,000 miles under the keel during our almost 13 years. People that cruise a long way from home know the rules at anchor even though there aren't any. You only run your generator during the day and only to charge your batteries. If you need air conditioning you have a sillenced generator. That's the unpublished rule.

You can't be clueless and cruise on a boat. If only they could do that with RV'ing.

Dan

Well at least he didn't tell you to @#$@#$ off or anything.

I'm jealous of you having 25k under keel. That's on our bucket list. You'd think I was busy enough with a teardrop starting, but I can't help but look at sailboat ads, too. We LOVE the water...

[Camp4Life]

You can always annoy him back, especially if he's watching TV. You need a base-load antenna, long cable, linear amp and CB Radio. Place antenna near his camper, could be laying down in a bush nearby. Run cable to your camper into amp. Keep keying the CB mic on and off. It'll make his speakers click and crackle and drive him crazy. You could even play your own music through his speakers, or ask him through his own speakers to turn off his generator. Eventually he'd get annoyed and turn off the TV thinking it's broken and then might just turn off the generator.

[PontiacPureBred]

Just to play Devil's advocate.

Why is your comfort, or your idea of camping, more valid than someone else's? Some like to camp quietly, bird watch and relax, others consider it a chance to let their hair down ...

Just starting a dialog.

When I have camped and wanted solitude I go where people aren't. I mean out in the boonies, off grid, "dispersed camping", backpacking into the interior, etc. Yes with a tear or trailer it presents a challenge, but it's not impossible.

I'm not some young whipper snapper, mid 40's, and I have camped in the boonies, I have camped in state and national parks, I have camped in campgrounds, privately owned campgrounds, riverbanks when I canoe, mossy knolls in the BWCA. I have partied at campgrounds with long time friends, I've stayed up way past bedtime, I have consumed adult beverages, I may or may not have been a disturbance to other campers (when I was younger). And I see both sides. If you're 22 broke and want to have fun over the weekend with friends you might want to head for the hills and have some fun, I don't wrong others for doing what they came to do and paid their good money for. I have options, as we all do. There's literally millions of places to set up camp in these great United States and God bless people for still wanting to get out in nature, even if their idea of getting out in nature requires a generator, adult beverages, music being played, what have you. IF they are breaking rules of the campground then they should be asked politely to stop, if that does not work, call the ranger. Otherwise, I say live and let live. If I'm the one unhappy I can move my camp where I will be happy.

Maybe that puts me in the minority but I truly believe we can all have fun out there and what others do shouldn't effect our mood or fun.

[12Volt-Travel]

You can always annoy him back, especially if he's watching TV. You need a base-load antenna, long cable, linear amp and CB Radio. Place antenna near his camper, could be laying down in a bush nearby. Run cable to your camper into amp. Keep keying the CB mic on and off. It'll make his speakers click and crackle and drive him crazy. You could even play your own music through his speakers, or ask him through his own speakers to turn off his generator. Eventually he'd get annoyed and turn off the TV thinking it's broken and then might just turn off the generator.

Great Idea! We're loving it. Thank you!!