Sleeping With The Genny On

[wannabegone]

DW and I have several trips coming up in the next few months, we plan to leave straight from work and expect to spend several night boon docking in transit. With the summer heat I'm sure we will need the A/C to sleep comfortable. Without hook up I'll be running the genny to keep us cool. I know from being on this site for many years lots of people run the genny while sleeping but the DW read that it is not safe to sleep with it running. I understand the reasons for this but I'm wondering if there is any need for concern or is this just to satisfy the lawyers?

Has anyone here ever had any issues sleeping with the genny running?

[pianotuna]

Better to find a cheap campground. http://freecampsites.net/

[jimh406]

If you drive until it is late, you can probably sleep with fantastic fans only. A lot of areas cool down enough to sleep quickly. As others have said I don't know if you can run the generator where you will all night, but I think it is safe if your windows are closed.

[houstonstroker]

Tailgating and NASCAR races in Texas, we never shut off our generators. They sit outside with the exhaust pointed in a safe direction. The thousands of other RVers in these areas do the exact same thing.

[trailgranny50]

When it's too hot we run ours at night till it runs out of gas. Ours is not on board so we can set it far away from camper and only do this when boondocking. Otherwise the AC runs on shore power. 12v fan placed appropriately and roof vents open works OK if anyone shows up to camp close by in remote spot, but then they'd probably be running their genny too. As for asphyxiation issues, that's what your CO detector is for, right?

[RoyB]

Most public campgrounds we have visited on the East side of the USA DO NOT allow the use of the Generator except during certain hours. They never let you run one after 8PM or before 6AM...

You can find some dispersed areas where you can run the generator anytime you want but those are very rare places. Even the NATL FOREST back road areas have generator run time restrictions.

Camping on private land is not a problem depending on the owners rules.

Good luck finding a spot where you can use your generator all night long for cool sleeping...

This is just what we have run into... Check the rules for generators at the places you expect to be going to. Alot of folks run them anyway but there is always that knock on the door at 3AM in the morning when the rangers is making his rounds and you are packing up to leave...

Roy Ken

[kerry4951]

Ive done it a few times but only in areas where I am by myself and wont bother anyone else. Never had any issues with smell or fumes. In the hot weather we try to stay in CGs that atleast have electric hook up for this reason.

[joe123]

other people in the camping area might object to someone running the generator all night I would.

[sch911]

nycsteve wrote:
Its why God invented Co2 detectors. 🙂

CO Detector I think is what you meant...

[Bumpyroad]

nycsteve wrote:
Its why God invented Co2 detectors. 🙂

yep, I remember a few years back where somebody died at a NASCAR race due to gen sets running and the wind going the wrong direction.
spend the $20 for a camping spot or buy extra detectors.
bumpy

[BuckBarker]

I think that if anyone had "issues" with the genny running while sleeping, they probably wouldn't be here to tell us about it.

[fitznj]

Maybe I'm paranoid but I switch everything off when we go to sleep except in the dead of winter when I run an small electrical fan heater if connected to shore power.

I just don't want to risk carbon-monoxide poisoning - not sure where I get my reasoning from but I can sleep peacefully if I know everything is OFF.

Gerry