This came up in a kiteforum discussion but I thought i might put it here in hope of getting the word out ...
Just got back from a pretty joy trip to the NW desert - the only downfall of a brilliant trip was the number of generators to be found in what was previously a peaceful camp site
the noisy things are everywhere up there now - usually packed in the back of ford
F 1 billlions with quad bikes in them
or Toyota battlecruisers towing portable houses , boats ,10 gerry cans for the boat and a spare genny to keep the fridge going so the fillets go back to town once the ocean has been slammed
I dont generally like to stereotype - but lets just say that SOME of the Genny crew reminded me of a movie called "Idiocracy"
Whats the point of getting out in the bush if all you do is basically duplicating what you have at home? These bloody generators are obnoxious, even the little quiet Hondas as they go all the time, make the same noise at the same level and they never move. The first time I had the pleasure of listening to them while camping was a couple of years ago.
I haven't been camping for a while but when I do I try to keep it as basic as possible, cooking over a fire, looking at the stars at night, enjoying a few beers out of the esky. Even cold beer is a bit of a luxury. If its not going to be basic I may as well stay at home.
...or run mains power everywhere!
Surely a good PV panel & battery could do the job if power was needed? Might have to look at cutting appliances though.
We also spent easter at a camping ground (Nelson Vic, powered site). Very quiet bush-type site, good crew & no gennys!
In saying that, we took an ice-box w/ice, had torches, and only used the power for lights at night, charging mobile phones & for giving the heater a burst first thing in the morning (for the bub - her hands were frozen each morning), otherwise we were outside all day & most of the evening.
Cruising and living aboard a yacht is just like "camping" from an electrical point of view.
I have never heard a yacht running a generator at night but they still have lights, audio and visual entertainment and cold beer.
Anybody running a generator at night in a camping area could only be an inconsiderate prick.
I'm thinking its just the tip of the iceberg, all those cashed up baby boomers are just hitting the roads, there is a whole generation of them just starting to retire and hit the road. It's ridiculous what people think they need to travel with these days.
Mayby the baby boomers should be renamed Gen Gen?
Hey there........!!!!! "WHAT ABOUT MUM" she deserves
as little work as possible too. Poor bugger dat wife,
who has to do it all like the early settlers, ......natives even,
and all on a cold dirty floor too. Have respect for mum !!
solar panels is the way to go, the grog's cold [ and shardy]
and the food prime. A warm sleeping tube instead of a roo skin
after all it is the 21 century. I did it mid last century, it was interesting
But very hard, tinned dog months in a row, no portable refridge,
I'm dat oldfella time , i'm really bad one dat one. 
What about mum? its camping, so you should be cooking on a bbq or open fire, then it becomes dad's domain to burn the snags, set fire to the tent and drop the steaks in the dirt.
Hi Peeps,
Interesting topic and can be looked at from both sides. I agree with you Matt, that noisy gennies should be banned entirely and hours of use for silenced Gennies should be seriously restricted and enhanced with sound attenuation barriers.
I think what it comes down to is if you are a considerate camper or a selfish one. Seems to be a growing number of CUBS who are out for a good time with their mates and to hell with everyone else. I have seen the most abhorent behaviour and acts of pure selfishness and disregard for the environment and others which have ruined the holidays of some families, one case in which the wife ended up in tears and the family packed up and went home a week early.
Perhaps a sound proof box could be hired to those with gennies to enable them to be seriously silenced to ambient levels. A cheap sound proof box could be made for as little as $100 and compulsory hire for $10/night for those that want gennies. Good solution for the campsite, campers and gennie abusers.
When I camp out without the wife and skids, I go minimalist, a Waeco in the back of the Ute, a swag, a small twin burner stove and a camp chair, + toys (surfboards, kites, dive gear etc). Bare essentials only. The best way to camp really.
When I go camping in Winter with the kids and wifey (longer than 1 month), I go somewhere in the NW (sorry, not telling!) where the nearest campsite is minimum 50m. There is nothing there, not even water, no shops, no amenities whatsoever. Mrs and kids demand a little more comfort and fair call too. The happier they are, the happier I end up being which improves everyones holiday.
If you are camping for two weeks, it's a totally different experience and a gennie is not required. We live on the beach for up to 3 months and for that amount of time, a Gennie is a nice unit to have when used sparingly. I have a silenced Honda 4-stroke and dig a 1m pit to put it in, then cover it with a wooden roof/enclosure which makes it pretty quiet, even right next to it. We use it from time to time to charge laptop (need to work a little), charge house batterys in camper, phones for when we go into town and the occassional DVD on the Lappy.
We bring everything in, and take everything out. We usually have 200+ litres of drinking water and chemical toilet. We are self sufficient for up to 2 weeks and live of what the ocean can provide (cheaper, healthier and fresher). We do the 2.5 hour drive to town once a fortnight to buy vege's and fruit from the growers. Keeps cost down big time to enable it to be cost effective.
We used to use the alternator in the Patrol for power, but running a 4.5lt 6 cyl engine for 2 hours although quieter, is far more toxic to the planet and is expensive. Got rid of the gas guzzler and have a smaller turbo diesel vehicle now but don't use it apart from going to town and back.
We rely heavily on Solar but when we have a couple of weeks of overcast conditions, and a Waeco that is trying to freeze a 25kilo mackie, it slowly kills off the batterys. There is a proper battery charger in the camper which is 240v and the Gen looks after this for us. A couple of hours of Gennie is enough to top it up for long enough for the sun to kick back in and allow the panels to come back online. It can be in the middle of the day when everyone is out having fun away from the camp.
I am investigating the use of the latest Airbreeze wind turbine to help when the sun isn't out this year. Bit Exxy but should be good. I saw one at Gnaraloo this year and it was whisper quiet, even 15m directly downwind. No louder than the noise of the wind in the trees and past your ears.
For long term camping, the rules are different and can be fine so long as the owner is considerate of others and takes the sort of measures we do to prevent any undue noise. We like the quiet too!
Hopefully the wind turbine coupled with an inverter will make a big difference to allow us to run power without the Gennie at all, however it will be there as a back up.
We've camped at Gnaraloo in swags, tents, back of the car, SF campers and now the Jayco. The most important thing is to leave the place cleaner than you found it, and be sensitive to others and respectful.
I don't expect everyone to agree but having done it every way, and learned from the experiences, we improve our setup each time with our learnings from the previous time. This makes us more economical, lighter, more eco friendly and leave a small patch of the world cleaner than what we found. Again, it seems to come down to if you are considerate and courteous.
DM
^^^^^ It is if you are only going for a couple of weeks. Short term roughing it rocks. Roughing it for months is damn harsh on the missus and kids. If you want to have the missus and kids gagging for a nice long holiday and not whinging, "when are we going home", then they need to be reasonably comfortable.
We need heaps of stuff as we home school the kids (both girls), and I need to get at least a little bit of work done one or two nights a week.
Most of our stuff is toys
DM
Well the world did not end on May 21st as predicted by Rapture Preacher Harold Camping. And now our own Australian prophet Reflex Films may also been proved wrong.
Gennies are not the end of the world at 3 Mile Camp on Gnaraloo station as it is proposed to ban them from end of the September 2011 school holidays. This is a step to try to maintain 3 Mile Camp as a WILDERNESS TOURISM destination so that generations to come can still get away from the all encompassing commercialism and consumerism
Sentiment in the camp is mixed. Some would like to ban them immediately but there has to be a transiton period too allows people to make alternative arrangements. Others are saying they won't come back if they cannot use their generator.
If generators are banned it is proposed to increase the availability of plug spots at the shop where you can plug in an Engle fridge
I love it. I used to go camping as a kid. I was a keen Sprout, short time patrol leader and in the priviledged position of having a scout master who was also a major in the army. He inspired us with stories of rookies who had been scouts who always landed on their feet first as newly conscripted recruits.
He took me on my most memorable camping trip aged 13. 40 kids carried in all we needed or three days, set up a village, had the most awsome fun, and the only sign we left was flattened grass.
People don't go camping now, for the most part. They move house. I am sure that the best part of the holiday is the return home to the wide screen.
They cannot let go. Who FFS, are the people who take their radios fishing
