Generator on Aire

[lindylou]

So we were at an aire in San Sebastion. We have our honda (very quiet) generator on at 7.30pm to get some electrical heat.. This guy next door in a caravan comes banging on the door with fingers in ears indicating to turn it off. We did !
Well first it was only early evening. And 2 he wasn't as a caravanner really entitled to be there. Their van was in darkness and I guess it was a jealousy situation. Were we wrong to be using generator ? What would you have done ?
Lin

 

[Techno]

Only generator owners like generators at any time. Surely gas or diesel erbuspacher are more effective for heating when off hook up?

 

[makems]

I'm surprise the Traffic wardens allowed the caravan to stay. Last time we were there (2011) they were giving anybody not obviously in a motorhome a ticket - vans, coaches even one poor chap in a stealth motorhome (admittedly his van conversiondidn't have any side windows).
They also towed away a MH that had overstayed - the owners were horrified when they returned.
We got a ticket too as the van we had then a personal reg which was too short for the ticket machine to recognise (you have to enter the reg no to get a ticket). By the time we had gone to the town hall to find out what to do (it was shut for siesta, naturally) and returned the wardens had been!
The local Police came round on one of their regular patrols and sorted it out for us. Very friendly and helpful.
If the wardens back then found you using the generator they would probably have slung you out or given you a ticket.
Maybe they have been laid off due to the poor state of Spanish public finances. Or because of the state of the finances they are desperate for anybody to stay whether in a tin tent or even using a generator!

 

[scotjimland]

So we were at an aire in San Sebastion. We have our honda (very quiet) generator on at 7.30pm to get some electrical heat.. This guy next door in a caravan comes banging on the door with fingers in ears indicating to turn it off. We did !
Well first it was only early evening. And 2 he wasn't as a caravanner really entitled to be there. Their van was in darkness and I guess it was a jealousy situation. Were we wrong to be using generator ? What would you have done ?
Lin

Why were you running a genny.. had you ran out of LPG ?

Whether he was 'entitled' to be on the aire or not is quite frankly academic .. you were making a noise, he wanted quiet .. he had every right to complain..

Why assume he was jealous, do you think all caravanner's are envious of motorhomers ?

In answer to your question, you should have apologised.. We are all 'campers' whether we have a motorhome, surf bus, caravan, RV, 5er or beat up tranny .. live and let live.

 

[lindylou]

Only generator owners like generators at any time. Surely gas or diesel erbuspacher are more effective for heating when off hook up?

Yes but if gas is low and you dont have erbuspacher . Couldn't hear the generator ourselves. And there was one much louder at the other side of the car park. Which we could hear !

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[lindylou]

Why were you running a genny.. had you ran out of LPG ?

Whether he was 'entitled' to be on the aire or not is quite frankly academic .. you were making a noise, he wanted quiet .. he had every right to complain..

Why assume he was jealous, do you think all caravanner's are envious of motorhomers ?

In answer to your question, you should have apologised.. We are all 'campers' whether we have a motorhome, surf bus, caravan, RV, 5er or beat up tranny .. live and let live.

Did apologise. Did turn it off ! It was early evening and was not causing a nuisance.

 

[Techno]

That is just bad planning. If you know it's going to be cold you make sure you have the means to keep warm, a generator can't possibly provide enough heat even if you ran it all night when it gets colder. How much petrol do you need to carry? as for the other generator two wrongs don't make it right.
I've noticed before that the direction the exhaust is facing has a big bearing on where it is heard and I imagine he was on the receiving end

 

[lindylou]

Why were you running a genny.. had you ran out of LPG ?

Whether he was 'entitled' to be on the aire or not is quite frankly academic .. you were making a noise, he wanted quiet .. he had every right to complain..

Why assume he was jealous, do you think all caravanner's are envious of motorhomers ?

In answer to your question, you should have apologised.. We are all 'campers' whether we have a motorhome, surf bus, caravan, RV, 5er or beat up tranny .. live and let live.

Did apologise. Did turn it off ! It was early evening and was not causing a nuisance.
And as a side the generator was running when he arrived and parked right beside us when the place was almost empty !

 

[Oscarbobs]

If it does not state their not permitted I use my genny on aires up until 8pm if i need to but i dont arrive until late. If you need it, you need it. Its not a campsite, but i try to stay out of the way and keep the usage to a minimum.I would not use it to heat the van as that might drag on a bit!

Dave

 

[Gromett]

I have a simple rule with my genny. I Never use it if there is anyone else about. They have come for the peace and quiet and I don't have any right to deprive them of that.

The only exception to this rule is at rallies/shows where it is accepted that generators will be used. I however only use it in the afternoon between 1 and 6. Some people like to sleep in, don't want petrol fumes with their lunch. Most people like peace and quiet in the evening so I try to switch off by 5pm to avoid dinner as well.

If I am going to be on an Aire and need electric. I will pull over in a layby prior to going to the aire to use my generator.

Just my opinion of course. But I feel just because others are rude and inconsiderate doesn't give me the right to:thumb:

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[lindylou]

I gather from most of the posts that generators are not really tolerated on aires. We do try to be considerate, and as I said were on an empty part of the park. I stand corrected.

 

[callumwa]

I gather from most of the posts that generators are not really tolerated on aires. We do try to be considerate, and [HI]as I said were on an empty part of the park.[/HI] I stand corrected.

In your OP, you said he was the "guy next door". So was he "next door" or on the other side of the car park. In still conditions sound can easily travel quite a long way. If there is a light breeze and you are downwind it is greatly amplified.

Also it was 7:30 pm. You say "early evening". It would be dark. Did you consider that perhaps he had a baby child, or grandchild sleeping with him in the van?

You asked what others would have done. I would always try to be considerate, so if there is anyone nearby I would not use my genny after dark. I would try to avoid using at all if there was anyone in the vicinity.
I would have planned ahead and ensured I had sufficient gas for heating, which would also have been much more efficient for keeping the van warm.

Whether he was in a caravan or a Motorhome, or whatever else, that is totally irrelevant in my view.

So much for all these posts about people in "warm" Spain..........

p.s Were off to Portugal on Thursday.......:thumb::thumb:

 

[sedge]

Have to say, foreign neighbours when wanting to use their genny, have always come and asked us and anyone else around them 'Is it OK if I use my genny for - however long, please?' (we don't since we don't have one LOL)

And were I that other chap, if it was disturbing me I'd come and ask you to turn it off, and if you said 'I just need it another half hour' or summat, I'd say OK probably. If you pointed to your mobility scooter/elec wheelchair plugged in, I'ddefinitely say fair enough mate, you carry on - and apologise.

People can convey such requests politely and without upsetting anyone, whatever their and your language skills, we've found.

 

[ukbill]

looks like ya on a loser here lindylou maybe you should have run a pipe from the exhaust into his exhaust then he wouldn't have heard it or if we was there swmbo could have exhausted his exhaust for ya

 

[chesterfield hooligan]

if I was in the dark in a caravan

or if I was in the dark in a Motorhome

and you were running a jenny

I would have asked

if we could plug in your jenny

then I would give you a beer ​

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[JSH]

Hmmm...

I thought that the OP was asking a reasonable question to be honest. Probably not looking for the "rinsing" she got from most of the posts. Live and let live? You are having a laugh!

Merry Christmas!

 

[haganap]

No Rinsing from me at all.

I would, Have, and Will use my generator on an aire. Like you, its a Honda its quiet, I have a long extension lead and can place the genny 100 meters away if required.

Me? I would not of used it for heating though, regardless of the gas situation.

I think you have been more than reasonable, the bloke had a choice he could of moved on, you were there first.
Depending on my mood, I would of maybe, offered a solution by offering to move my self or telling him I would be running it til 10pm.

Then,
I would be telling him tough tough titty, do one. You are far more reserved and polite than many I know. Genny's are often used on aires, especially this time of year... So pat your self on the back and for the way you dealt with it.

As someone said, live and let live, well that includes your right too to.


:thumb::thumb:

 

[lindylou]

In your OP, you said he was the "guy next door". So was he "next door" or on the other side of the car park. In still conditions sound can easily travel quite a long way. If there is a light breeze and you are downwind it is greatly amplified.

Also it was 7:30 pm. You say "early evening". It would be dark. Did you consider that perhaps he had a baby child, or grandchild sleeping with him in the van?

You asked what others would have done. I would always try to be considerate, so if there is anyone nearby I would not use my genny after dark. I would try to avoid using at all if there was anyone in the vicinity.
I would have planned ahead and ensured I had sufficient gas for heating, which would also have been much more efficient for keeping the van warm.

Whether he was in a caravan or a Motorhome, or whatever else, that is totally irrelevant in my view.

So much for all these posts about people in "warm" Spain..........

p.s Were off to Portugal on Thursday.......:thumb::thumb:

You missed a bit of one of my posts ..( And as a side the generator was running when he arrived and parked right beside us when the place was almost empty ! )
He didn't have any children with him and saw the generator was on. There was only 1 other motorhome there so had the pick of the parking area and chose to park next to a running generator.

 

[Snowbird]

I dont own a generator, but having read some of these posts, I think I will get one .

 

[Techno]

I'm going to get one with a long enough extension lead that I can place it next to you a 100 yds away

Paul what is the voltage at the van after 330 foot of extension ? ;-) or 4 hook up cables

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[lindylou]

That is just bad planning. If you know it's going to be cold you make sure you have the means to keep warm, a generator can't possibly provide enough heat even if you ran it all night when it gets colder. How much petrol do you need to carry? as for the other generator two wrongs don't make it right.
I've noticed before that the direction the exhaust is facing has a big bearing on where it is heard and I imagine he was on the receiving end

We had no intention of using a heater all night. We did have gas but it was a very cold night. We had just come back from town and were soaking wet as it rained continuously. The warm air gas heating was not enough to get warmed through so we used a small fan heater for a while. Why have a generator and not make use of it ! Had he been next door when we arrived we would have thought twice about using it, and asked if he minded. But he, as I have already stated, saw it was running and still chose to park right beside us.

 

[joner8888]

A Caravaner---
They are not called "tuggers" for nothing

 

[Techno]

If I was inside trying to get warm with the windows shut and a fan heater running I probably wouldn't hear the generator outside.

 

[Barclaybasher]

You did the right thing - anything that upsets your neighbours should be
avoided - gennys, noisy kids, noisy dogs.................................

He shouldn't have parked next to you if the genny was running........but I have noticed that the French do like to park next to other campers -

Two French vans on an empty Aire - next to each other

Two British vans on an empty Aire - as far away from each other as possible...........

 

[BwB]

I'm going to get one with a long enough extension lead that I can place it next to you a 100 yds away

Paul what is the voltage at the van after 330 foot of extension ? ;-) or 4 hook up cables

As far as I'm aware, AC voltage doesn't suffer any where near the drop off that DC voltage does on a long run. 100m would be nothing for AC. :thumb:

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[scotjimland]

So , you arrive on an almost empty aire, only one other chugger who is running a genny.. you park up well away form him, (no doubt to avoid the noise from his genny) .. then go into town.

You come back, soaking wet and decide to run the genny using a fan heater for additional warmth.. , not unreasonable.

Later on, a caravanner pulls in, parks beside you, gets out of his car to go into his van. Presumably, he must have heard your genny at this point ....

However, rather than parking elsewhere, puts his steadies down, goes inside, probably has a cuppa and something to eat, gets ready for bed, maybe a quickie.. then puts his lights out... only then does he decide to pay you a visit to complain about the noise.

Odd behaviour indeed.. even for a tugger.. maybe he got the knockback

 

[lindylou]

So , you arrive on an almost empty aire, only one other chugger who is running a genny.. you park up well away form him, (no doubt to avoid the noise from his genny) .. then go into town.

You come back, soaking wet and decide to run the genny using a fan heater for additional warmth.. , not unreasonable.

Later on, a caravanner pulls in, parks beside you, gets out of his car to go into his van. Presumably, he must have heard your genny at this point ....

However, rather than parking elsewhere, puts his steadies down, goes inside, probably has a cuppa and something to eat, gets ready for bed, maybe a quickie.. then puts his lights out... only then does he decide to pay you a visit to complain about the noise.

Odd behaviour indeed.. even for a tugger.. maybe he got the knockback

Right bar one thing. Didn't park well away from the other motorhome to avoid the noise. Just happened to choose that slot. In fact we were very surprised when someone did park beside us. German by the way. Think he was maybe in a right old mood as it had chucked it down heavily all day. Come to think of it. It might be a good idea to park beside someone with a genny running !

 

[Snowbird]

If it was me I would just walk over with me extension lead in hand and ask if he would mind if I plugged in

 

[haganap]

Right bar one thing. Didn't park well away from the other motorhome to avoid the noise. Just happened to choose that slot. In fact we were very surprised when someone did park beside us. German by the way. Think he was maybe in a right old mood as it had chucked it down heavily all day. Come to think of it. It might be a good idea to park beside someone with a genny running !

GERMAN

Oh for god sake,

You never mentioned that bit oh:oh:oh:

yes you were wrong,, Completely Wrong.

You should of just shot him there and then

 

[Snowbird]

Have always found that to be the best solution when I ran RVs, just ask if you can plug into there genny as yours is VERY noisy. They either say they are just switching it off or yes of course you can plug in. Win Win situation :thumb:

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