You can unplug everything and open all the switches, but a nearby lightning strike will still fry your generator through that unbounded ground rod. Lightning gr

You can unplug everything and open all the switches, but a nearby lightning strike will still fry your generator through that unbounded ground rod. Lightning ground potential is very eager to take the shortcut to your other ground rods through a few millimeters of insulation and open switches on the path through your generator and house wiring, when the alternative might be tens of meters of dirt :) I don't care what the NEC doesn't say, NFPA 780 says you have to bond all ground rods.