Keeping your generator secure when crashing for a few hours in a parking lot

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quadna71

quadna71

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Aug 11, 2016
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For those that spend a night at a Walmart, Cabelas, etc, what steps do you take to keep your generator secure? We are considering an occasional 6-8 hour break at some places on a longer trip this summer and plan to have a small generator for keeping everything charged as well as the A/C operational if it is hot at night. I’m talking about one of the smaller generators - like a 3000i Honda or the like. So what is the best practice? Do you just trust that nobody will mess with it? Find a way to chain it to your travel trailer’s frame or the hitch of the truck?
 
Securing it by thick cable lock or chain as you mentioned is pretty typical. It's not that someone couldn't come along with bolt cutters or an angle grinder and still steal it, but less likely at least. Also recommended that you hide the generator from view as much as possible, in an "out of sight, out of mind" fashion for any would-be thieves. FYI generally it may be considered bad form to actually run the generator in a Walmart parking lot, if that was on your list of considerations.
 
In 50 years of camping the only item I ever saw stolen was a generator.
The guy across from our coach had a generator sitting in front of his RV that he used occasionally for a CPAP machine. He didn't have it locked in any way and someone took it.

So lock that baby down!
 
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Honda 3K is not small or light. At any event, wouldn't hunkering down for the night with a generator running at a Walmart considered "dry camping"? J/k.
 
Not many people would be stealing a 130 pound generator, which is what the Honda 3000 weighs. If you had a couple of Honda 2000s, 50 pounds each, it would be a more interesting target. Just use a big chain, and leave it in the truck bed if possible. Not much else you can do.
 
We have stayed in lots of walmart parking lots and last year it was the only place we could stay due to covid as we did a 6000 mile round trip due to a covid death in the family. We run our genny as did other people but about 10pm everyone turned them off out of respect for people trying to sleep. Mine is built in and pretty quiet but im sure someone else would think otherwise. If you were running it all night you would surely upset people
 
Jeff in Ferndale Wa said:
If the running generator is out of sight,it most likely would be underneath the RV. Would that be a potential problem with carbon monoxide entering the living area?
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Yes, that certainly would not be safe. I couldn't initially tell if the OP was planning on running the genny while at WM... or referring to having it sitting in the truck bed while simply stopping at WM in between destinations.
 
scottydl said:
Yes, that certainly would not be safe. I couldn't initially tell if the OP was planning on running the genny while at WM... or referring to having it sitting in the truck bed while simply stopping at WM in between destinations.
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Looks like they want to run it overnight.

"We are considering an occasional 6-8 hour break at some places on a longer trip this summer and plan to have a small generator for keeping everything charged as well as the A/C operational if it is hot at night."
 
I guess we don’t know for sure if or for how long we’d be running it. I’m just looking at ideas right now and haven’t even purchased the generator. I like the idea of having the smallest Honda which is the 2200i but I know for certain that I wouldn’t even want to try the A/C with that. It would easily run everything else though.
 

In Parking Lots​

Get permission first​

It's amazing that many Wal-Marts, Cabelas, and Cracker Barrels allow RV's to stay in their parking lots overnight. But you have to call ahead and get permission first. Don't rely on apps or hearsay on the internet, either. Pick up that phone and (gasp!) talk to a real person. Sometimes it's not even that the business doesn't want you there - many cities are passing ordinances against this, and you might get a knock at your door from the local police at 2am asking you to leave. Always clear your stay with the store manager first!

One night only​

This should be obvious, but unfortunately it’s not. These businesses are allowing you to stop over on your way to your next destination. Do not set up camp here! Don’t pull out your camp chairs and grills. It's not a tailgate party, people! Leave those for football season. Arrive late and leave early. Don't take up their valuable parking spaces for their customers.

Buy something​

These are businesses, and you staying in their parking lot costs them money. It’s common courtesy to go in and buy something while you're there. Make it worth their while. Let them know you appreciate that they are offering their parking lot to travelers for the night by spending some cash at their store and even saying thank you.

No dumping​

Don't dump gray or black water in someone's parking lot! This should also be obvious, but we’ve seen people washing their dishes outside of their RV and leaving their leftover noodles on the ground. I'm serious. Like, what the heck? Treat their space like you would your own, and leave it better than you found it.

Keep it down​

Seriously folks. It’s one night. There should be no need to pull out your noisy generators in a parking lot with other travelers who are tired from their drive and just want to get some sleep. Often the area set aside for RV's is small and everyone is close to each other so keep it quiet and be respectful.

On Slides and Stabilizers

There's a common refrain out there that you should never put your stabilizers down, disconnect your tow vehicle, or extend your slides while in a parking lot. While we get what they're saying, it's not always realistic. We have 6 people in a vintage trailer. We have to put stabilizers down for the safety of our frame. Many newer RV's with slides aren't even usable when they're in. And sometimes you genuinely need to run an errand to somewhere else in town. Use common sense, and try to stay on the down low!
 
quadna71 said:
I guess we don’t know for sure if or for how long we’d be running it. I’m just looking at ideas right now and haven’t even purchased the generator. I like the idea of having the smallest Honda which is the 2200i but I know for certain that I wouldn’t even want to try the A/C with that. It would easily run everything else though.
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You will need two Honda 2000s to run your AC. The good part is that you only need one when you just want to charge your batteries. We still found it much much easier to use the two 2000s than the single 3000 my neighbor had. After we commiserated with him how it took two strong young people to put it in his truck, the neighbor agreed.
 
While I appreciate everyone weighing on the merits of me even wanting to use a generator while staying in a parking lot overnight, I’m more interested the security of the generator. That said, I think I got what I needed out of the responses here. Thanks scottydl, Arch Hoagland, UTTransplant, and dnnsmrgn.
 
If I'm parked at Walmart and there's a big truck in there running the APU for his refrigerated box trailer, no one will even hear my generator. I wouldn't run it all night anyway(no need), but when I'm ready for coffee in the morning...
 
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