Oh The JIngle Jangle Of Wind Chimes

[JudyJB]

I HATE wind chimes! Does not matter how large or small, or what tone.

Motorcycles are almost always a temporary sound, but wind chimes are a 24 hour per day torture!!! It is very hard to be accepting because they are equivalent to me to constant chalk squealing on a blackboard.

Sorry, but I would have to move sites.

 

[Tom]

Why is it that MOST big DP owners have to start their engines early in the morning and let them run for an hour?

I haven't observed ANY DP owner running their engine for an hour, but I hope this helps answer your question. A DP engine does need to run long enough for the air suspension to come up to ride height, and to allow the brakes to come off. Without sufficient air pressure, the brakes won't come off, and the DP is going nowhere.

Here are a few things I do to try to mitigate the annoyance for neighbors:

1. If we're only staying overnight and we're on a reasonably level site, I don't 'dump' the air. That usually means I can't/don't extend the jacks (because the coach is "too high"), but a little rocking during an overnight stop is not a big deal. Since the air wasn't dumped the night before, the suspension and braking systems usually have sufficient air pressure in the morning for me to start the engine and drive off.

2. If I'd dumped the air for whatever reason, I'll run the engine long enough to bring the air pressures up high enough for the 'low air presssure' alarm to shut off, then drive off slowly to let the air pressures come all the way up before we hit the highway. If necessary, I'll stop and fast idle outside the campground.

3. A version of #2 - I bring the air pressures up and shut the engine off until we're ready to leave.

4. If possible, I'll delay our departure beyond "early" in the morning, unless I used #1 above.

I've consciously employed one or other of the above every time we've left a site.

 

[Tom]

Let's not stereotype motorcycle riders.

Says the guy who stereotypes DP owners

BTW I was a long-time motorcyclist and never felt the need to "gun" the engine..

 

[John From Detroit]

I am a bike guy. It's street a street legal cruiser with pipes. I never start it and ride it before like 9am and when I do I don't goose the throttle in the park. I let it warm up 30 seconds to a minute and then I "idle" drive it out of the park. I figure that's accommodating enough.

I have heard many motorcycles ... Most of the ones I hear in parks are so "loud" (not) that I hear the chain slap when they engage the transmission (In short the engine noise is ... Well not offensive at all) A few however remove the baffles.. this is illegal and make as much noise as they can.. Usually they do not return to that same campground.

They may, however, return to that jurisdiction (Like i said... Illegal a couple of motor officers I used to dispatch carried tools to inspect for absent baffles)

 

[Ex-Calif]

Aside from "being noticed" there was/is a practical reason to goose the engine. A lot of the older v-twins would/could load up the plugs with a rich mixture at idle. They have a lumpy idle to start with and even just sitting at a red light they could load up and the engine stall.

Not sayin' it's right, just sayin' it is - LOL...

 

[Tom]

Aside from "being noticed" there was/is a practical reason to goose the engine. A lot of the older v-twins would/could load up the plugs with a rich mixture at idle. They have a lumpy idle to start with and even just sitting at a red light they could load up and the engine stall.

Thanks for that; I never understood why riders kept pumping the throttle while sitting at idle.

I rode mainly single cylinder motorcycles, and didn't experience that issue. My first motorcycle was a twin cylinder, ridden off-road, but I still didn't experience that loading up.

 

[jymbee]

I HATE wind chimes! Does not matter how large or small, or what tone.

Motorcycles are almost always a temporary sound, but wind chimes are a 24 hour per day torture!!! It is very hard to be accepting because they are equivalent to me to constant chalk squealing on a blackboard.

Sorry, but I would have to move sites.

You nailed it. Wind chimes don't repel evil spirits, they ATTRACT them into your campsite!

 

[ziplock]

even just sitting at a red light they could load up and the engine stall.

Is that a great motorcycle? I know I am missing something here.

 

[Ex-Calif]

Thanks for that; I never understood why riders kept pumping the throttle while sitting at idle.

I rode mainly single cylinder motorcycles, and didn't experience that issue. My first motorcycle was a twin cylinder, ridden off-road, but I still didn't experience that loading up.

It really depends on the engine. Take a 450 twin. A cruising bike might have a smaller bore/longer stroke/ lower idle and RPM range. A dirt bike might have a bigger bore/shorter stroke/higher idle.

Lot's of technical reasons but primarily it's about engine responsiveness. A shorter stroke is "peakier" and "revier", if that makes sense, and that's a good quality for a dirt bike that is up and down the RPM range many times a lap.

But they don't usually have wind chimes on them (obligatory reference to the thread topic - LOL)

 

[Foto-n-T]

Had to laugh when I saw your motorcycle in the picture. I'm not a fan of windchimes but loud motorcycles starting up in the morning have given me more grief than windchimes. Is your bike a quiet one or a noisy one?

I spent many years on hot rod bikes with straight pipes and I like you find them annoying. This 2017 Victory Cross Country has stock pipes on it and travels through the RV park at dead idle so as not to annoy others or run over errant puppies who stray into its path. Or the occasional deaf or blind old person who is wandering aimlessly through the park.

 

[Foto-n-T]

And why is it that most riders also have this need to gun the engine to make lots of noise if they are sitting still? Could it be that your neighbor doesn't like your noise any more than you like his?

Ah but you assume that the motorcycle is a loud one which would be incorrect. You probably also mistakenly assumed that it's a Harley which it is not. By the way, the neighbor with the wind chimes also has a motorcycle which thankfully is also quiet.

 

[Foto-n-T]

I haven't been too active on this forum for the last few years. Thanks for indulging my "need" to see my written word on the interweb the other day. Most of you read this for what it was, my feeble attempt at humor. Others... well let us just say that I didn't expect the thread to drift into the dark reaches of obnoxious motorcycles, untamed house-apes and diesel pusher owners who insist on letting their Detroit powerplants idle for prolonged periods.

For those of you interested but not interested enough to comment I'll let you know that the motorcycle picture was simply for effect and that particular bike is as quiet as the day it left the now defunct factory in Iowa. I am not nor was I upset with the neighbor, I choose to live jammed into an RV park that maximizes its profits by stuffing as many units as possible per square inch and therefore accept the minor annoyances which accompany this particular lifestyle.

We all do this RV thing for different reasons which are ours alone. We also have a commonality amongst us and sometimes a sense of humor is not that common trait which binds us. So do your best to keep that sense of humor and try not to take things too literally unless the sign says something like "High Voltage" or "Bridge Out."

 

[Rene T]

I haven't observed ANY DP owner running their engine for an hour, but I hope this helps answer your question. A DP engine does need to run long enough for the air suspension to come up to ride height, and to allow the brakes to come off. Without sufficient air pressure, the brakes won't come off, and the DP is going nowhere.

Here are a few things I do to try to mitigate the annoyance for neighbors:

1. If we're only staying overnight and we're on a reasonably level site, I don't 'dump' the air. That usually means I can't/don't extend the jacks (because the coach is "too high"), but a little rocking during an overnight stop is not a big deal. Since the air wasn't dumped the night before, the suspension and braking systems usually have sufficient air pressure in the morning for me to start the engine and drive off.

2. If I'd dumped the air for whatever reason, I'll run the engine long enough to bring the air pressures up high enough for the 'low air presssure' alarm to shut off, then drive off slowly to let the air pressures come all the way up before we hit the highway. If necessary, I'll stop and fast idle outside the campground.

3. A version of #2 - I bring the air pressures up and shut the engine off until we're ready to leave.

4. If possible, I'll delay our departure beyond "early" in the morning, unless I used #1 above.

I've consciously employed one or other of the above every time we've left a site.

I use to work for a company that had big box trucks. The truck would sit in the building for sometimes a week. Long enough for the air pressure would have bless down to zero PSI. What we use to do it build up pressure in the tank using the shop air compressor thereby eliminating the need to run the truck for several minutes and filling the building with exhaust fumes. It also had office space on the second floor. Do any rv’ers do that?

 

[Larry N.]

I don't carry a shop air compressor with me. I have two sources for air when on the road. One is a Viair I use to refill the Jeep's tires after airing them down for off-road (or other tire needs, though not the big'uns). The other air source is the air system in the coach which, in addition to suspension and brakes, is also the source I use to air up the coach's tires.

So when I've been sitting for a while (overnight, or several days), if the pressure is below what operating the suspension takes (it's higher than needed for brakes) I'll start the engine then, when oil pressure is up, I'll engage the fast idle, which builds up the pressure much more quickly than at slow idle (usually 2-3 minutes, or so), then once it's up I can drive off. If something comes up that takes much time I'll shut off the engine until we're ready to go. But I won't go until the suspension is up, to avoid damage to the air bags and the VERY harsh ride.

All the above being said, it's rare that we're on the road before 8 AM.

 

[Tom]

What we use to do it build up pressure in the tank using the shop air compressor thereby eliminating the need to run the truck for several minutes

Rene,
Just curious, was the shop air compressor hooked to the wrecker's/tower's air intake (under the hood on our DP)?

 

[Rene T]

Rene,
Just curious, was the shop air compressor hooked to the wrecker's/tower's air intake (under the hood on our DP)?

I think they connected the hose to the air drier drain.

 

[Tom]

I think they connected the hose to the air drier drain.

Assuming that can be done, there's no way I'd crawl under the coach to hook it up.
In any event, the noise of our portable air compressors would be more annoying to neighbors than running the engine for several minutes, and I suspect they'd have to run much longer than the engine to air up the coach.

 

[Old_Crow]

I currently have 7 wind chimes hanging in my coach. They are inside and will chime quietly with air movement through the windows, or if the a/c is on. They are inside because they are made of glass plates and stained-glass pieces by my late wife.
She probably made 200 a year, and for a few years we made good money on them at craft fairs.
I do have one that I hang outside occasionally, but it's tiny and can't be heard for more than 25 or 30' away, even in Quartzsite's gale force winds.
I do love the deep tones of the giant ones, but I don't have any of those, firstly because so many people freak out about them, and secondly, a big one is a PITA to deal with when traveling.

As far as motorcycles, we had 3 Harleys. One had stock exhaust and quiet mufflers. The other 2 were hot rods(92" Shovel and 88" cammed up Evo)with straight pipes. Had both those hot rods for over 14 years, many miles and states and never once got a noise ticket. Not to say they weren't loud. We were just mature(?)enough to know when to twist the wick and when not to.

 

[ziplock]

made of glass plates and stained-glass pieces by my late wife.
She probably made 200 a year, and for a few years we made good money on them at craft fairs.

They sound beautiful!

Can you share pics?

 

[Old_Crow]

Glad to.


The big one with the multi-colored glass is a piece of Ponderosa pine that I picked up at our campground near the Grand Canyon, the smaller wood one with the agate slices is a root that came out of a bank on our property in Arkansas. The plates were sourced at various flea markets for under $5 apiece.