Camper van parking etiquette

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  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited July 2016 #62

    No doubt there are sites where most want to look at the view, Bunree for instance...customer choice and all that. I'm quite pleased to able to face which way I want. I don't mind anything really as long as it's a decent pitch or site.Wink

    Write your comments here...We are all different Hitch. I prefer the car on the offside. We no longer use an awning but still prefer that arrangement unless, on occasion, coming back with 4 bags of shopping!

  • mickysf
    mickysf Forum Participant Posts: 6,474 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2016 #63

    I think you 2 are at cross-purposes.

    Surely Brue means the peg is towards the centre of the pitch, not the centre of the van.

    Probably, but the peg could only be placed in the centre of the pitch if it was a non-awning. Corner of van to peg and van to right of it of course!

    That way you could go either way round and you won't be stepping out on grass. Each way round the accompanying car if present, would then go on left wouldn't it? (Viewed from road)

  • brue
    brue Forum Participant Posts: 21,176 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited July 2016 #64

    I think you'll find that the little diagram which appears on most site details doesn't apply to all sites due to narrow pitches. On most non awning pitches the peg is in the corner and there might be room for a car or a roll out awning (if it's in the safety space.)  Sometimes the car goes sideways across the van. But you will indeed step out onto the grass if you turn the van round to face the opposite way.... if there is any grass....Wink

    Nuff said, I'm off on holiday soon, not too worried as long as I like where I'm going!

  • mickysf
    mickysf Forum Participant Posts: 6,474 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2016 #65

    Too right Brue, thing learnt from this is if in doubt check with those that know! In fact that's what it kind of suggests on the leaflet. Wardens discretion is a wonderful thing!Happy Just
    ask!

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited July 2016 #66

    If we are on an awning pitch, which we try to book, and not useing canopy or awning ,we usually put the car on the door side ,whichever way we are facing, gives more room especially on hardstands to service water and wasteCool

  • Cornersteady
    Cornersteady Club Member Posts: 14,427 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2016 #67

    likewise, on the occassions we have an awning pitch but don't put it up, we always ask if the car can go its place and the van moved a few feet to the left of the peg, never been refused yet as I assume the 3m spacing rule is still adhered to. 

  • KjellNN
    KjellNN Club Member Posts: 8,670 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2016 #68

    I think you 2 are at cross-purposes.

    Surely Brue means the peg is towards the centre of the pitch, not the centre of the van.

    Probably, but the peg could only be placed in the centre of the pitch if it was a non-awning. Corner of van to peg and van to right of it of course!

    That way you could go either way round and you won't be stepping out on grass. Each way round the accompanying car if present, would then go on left wouldn't it? (Viewed from road)

    The peg on a decent sized awning pitch is generally placed, not actually in the centre, but "towards the centre" so that the van ends up central on the pitch, as per your diagram.

    This allows vans to be either nose out or in and still keep the corrrect spacing.  If you go nose in with a UK van or nose out with a Conti van, your awning will then be on the left and your car on the right, as viewed from the road.

     However there are some narrow awning pitches, such as at Cirencester, where the peg is in the LH corner, so a UK van can only be nose out and a Conti van nose in, otherwise they would be stepping out onto the grass strip and could not put up an awning.

    If you use these narrow awning pitches, with an awning, the car has to go across the front of the van.

    At Cirencester, these pitches are not long enough to allow this if you have a long van, only possible to achieve if the van can overhang the grass to the rear considerably.

    With a non-awning pitch the peg will sometimes be in the LH corner, and sometimes in the centre.  It will depend on where it needs to be to maintain the 6m space between vans.

    Not all non-awning pitches are non-awning because of size, look at Rowntree for example, there it is due to the space between some pitches being too narrow, and rows of vans being too close to each other ar the rear of the pitch.

  • Cornersteady
    Cornersteady Club Member Posts: 14,427 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2016 #69

    I think you 2 are at cross-purposes.

    Surely Brue means the peg is towards the centre of the pitch, not the centre of the van.

    Probably, but the peg could only be placed in the centre of the pitch if it was a non-awning. Corner of van to peg and van to right of it of course!

    That way you could go either way round and you won't be stepping out on grass. Each way round the accompanying car if present, would then go on left wouldn't it? (Viewed from road)

    The peg on a decent sized awning pitch is generally placed, not actually in the centre, but "towards the centre" so that the van ends up central on the pitch, as per your diagram.

    This allows vans to be either nose out or in and still keep the corrrect spacing.  If you go nose in with a UK van or nose out with a Conti van, your awning will then be on the left and your car on the right, as viewed from the road.

     However there are some narrow awning pitches, such as at Cirencester, where the peg is in the LH corner, so a UK van can only be nose out and a Conti van nose in, otherwise they would be stepping out onto the grass strip and could not put up an awning.

    If you use these narrow awning pitches, with an awning, the car has to go across the front of the van.

    At Cirencester, these pitches are not long enough to allow this if you have a long van, only possible to achieve if the van can overhang the grass to the rear considerably.

    With a non-awning pitch the peg will sometimes be in the LH corner, and sometimes in the centre.  It will depend on where it needs to be to maintain the 6m space between vans.

    yes, agree fully, there was an statement as such in the club magazine awhile ago, also Jill has a letter from the club confirming the nose in/out.

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited July 2016 #70

    likewise, on the occassions we have an awning pitch but don't put it up, we always ask if the car can go its place and the van moved
    a few feet to the left of the peg, never been refused yet as I assume the 3m spacing rule is still adhered to. 

    firstly, Corners, im shocked!Wink

    seriously though, im not a connoisseur of 'spacing' but if the van was moved further to the left, by up to a metre ('a few feet') wouldn't this put your van only 5m from the adjacent caravan and only 2m from their awning (assuming they had one)?

    ....seeing as pitches/pegs were recently realigned to support the minimum safety regs?

  • Cornersteady
    Cornersteady Club Member Posts: 14,427 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2016 #71

    likewise, on the occassions we have an awning pitch but don't put it up, we always ask if the car can go its place and the van moved a few feet to the left of the peg, never been refused yet as I assume the 3m spacing rule is still adhered to. 

    firstly, Corners, im shocked!Wink

    seriously though, im not a connoisseur of 'spacing' but if the van was moved further to the left, by up to a metre ('a few feet') wouldn't this put your van only 5m from the adjacent caravan and only 2m from their awning (assuming they had one)?

    ....seeing as pitches/pegs were recently realigned to support the minimum safety regs?

    its the holidays - I do shocking things in the holidays. Ok looking from the front on an awning pitch, there is space for car + caravan + awning and there should still be 3m between the car on the left and the awning on the right to the next awning/car.  ie 3m + C + V + A +3m  - don't you love algebra hope you get what the variables (letters) mean?

    If I don't put an awning up (as stated) the caravan is moved a meter moved to where the car should be, the car is then parked next to the right of the van where the awning would have been, if the awning isn't there its 3m + V + C +3m ,

    providing new(V) +new(C) < C + V + A, the spacing is maintained. anyway the wardens wouldn't let me do it if it was breaking the 3m rule, as I always ask.

    I would have used proper subscripts in the equations but sadly the CT software doesn't support a maths equation editor, probably it's only fault

  • EasyT
    EasyT Forum Participant Posts: 16,194
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    edited July 2016 #72

    likewise, on the occassions we have an awning pitch but don't put it up, we always ask if the car can go its place and the van moved a few feet to the left of the peg, never been refused yet as I assume the 3m spacing rule is still adhered to. 

    Similar here except that I like the car to be not on the door side of the van but in the 'normal' position. I do however place the caravan about 2 feet further away from the peg to give room for water etc but also to make sure that I can open the car door
    fully and still be at least 6'' clear of the caravan. That way if I am leaning into the car for something and knock the door such that it swings fully open or the wind catches it it does not strike the caravan. As I do not use an awning above minimum clearances
    still available.

  • KjellNN
    KjellNN Club Member Posts: 8,670 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2016 #73

    Like ET, we sometimes find that the peg is a little too far to the left on a hardstanding, which means that by the time you have enough space for the Aquaroll etc, and to be able to open the car door, the wheels of the car will be on the grass.

    As we only have a roll out canopy type awning, which is not as deep as most other awnings, we too park the van further to the right than indicated by the peg if this will not bring us too close to our neighbour.

    A good site to visit to marvel at the various interpretations of the "peg rule" is Black Horse Farm!

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited July 2016 #74

    likewise, on the occassions we have an awning pitch but don't put it up, we always ask if the car can go its place and the van moved
    a few feet to the left of the peg, never been refused yet as I assume the 3m spacing rule is still adhered to. 

    firstly, Corners, im shocked!Wink

    seriously though, im not a connoisseur of 'spacing' but if the van was moved further to the left, by up to a metre ('a few feet') wouldn't this put your van only 5m from the adjacent caravan and only 2m from their awning (assuming they had one)?

    ....seeing as pitches/pegs were recently realigned to support the minimum safety regs?

    its the holidays - I do shocking things in the holidays. Ok looking from the front on an awning pitch, there is space for car + caravan + awning and there should still be 3m between the car on the left and the awning on the right to the next awning/car.
     ie 3m + C + V + A +3m  - don't you love algebra hope you get what the variables (letters) mean?

    If I don't put an awning up (as stated) the caravan is moved a meter moved to where the car should be, the car is then parked next to the right of the van where the awning would have been, if the awning isn't there its 3m + V + C +3m ,

    providing new(V) +new(C) < C + V + A, the spacing is maintained. anyway the wardens wouldn't let me do it if it was breaking the 3m rule, as I always ask.

    I would have used proper subscripts in the equations but sadly the CT software doesn't support a maths equation editor, probably it's only fault

    youve only address the 3m rule but not the one that you might be compromising....the 6m rule....

    forget cars (C) and awnings (A) and think motorhomes (M)...

    isnt the essence of the major spacing between habitation units (6m) as opposed to the minor spacing between cars and vans (3m) the one that will be compromised by moving to the left?

    even though we have no accoutrements (C or A) our van (V) has to be at least 6m from the van on our neighbours pitch.

    yes, an allowance is made to allow cars (C) to encroach within 3m, but even with no car (-A)Wink we are not allowed to move further left than the
    post as we will break said 6m rule.....ie too close to next doors van, nothing to do with his/your cars (HC/YC).

  • Randomcamper
    Randomcamper Club Member Posts: 1,062 ✭✭
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    edited July 2016 #75

    likewise, on the occassions we have an awning pitch but don't put it up, we always ask if the car can go its place and the van moved a few feet to the left of the peg, never been refused yet as I assume the 3m spacing rule is still adhered to. 

    firstly, Corners, im shocked!Wink

    seriously though, im not a connoisseur of 'spacing' but if the van was moved further to the left, by up to a metre ('a few feet') wouldn't this put your van only 5m from the adjacent caravan and only 2m from their awning (assuming they had one)?

    ....seeing as pitches/pegs were recently realigned to support the minimum safety regs?

     

    no car (-A)Wink 

     

    Doh...........I thought I was getting the hang of this algebra malarkey, now I'm not so sure....

  • SteveL
    SteveL Club Member Posts: 12,303 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2016 #76

    Depends very much on site I would say. Some are very tight, such that to stray away from the peg would put you closer than 6 metres from the other van / vehicle. I assume since Corners gets approval from the warden, there must be more than the minimum 6
    metres available. Hence the reason why you should ask first, not just do it. However, I should think seeing  the 3 m spacing is from the side of your car to the front of the neighbouring awning,  and a car is 1.5 m or so wide, and an awning 2 m. Not forgetting,
    allowing 0.8 m for the aqua rolls. Actual space available would in general be 0.8 + 1.5 + 3.0 + 2.0 = 7.3 So on most sites, there should be a little bit to play with.

  • Rocky 2 buckets
    Rocky 2 buckets Forum Participant Posts: 7,101
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    edited July 2016 #77

    When using a C/Van on a CC site I reversed it to near enough, I never really took the 'millimetre perfect' route. I found myself sometimes a good 2/3ft away. I never did get asked to realign or straighten in any way. I guess if any Warden did notice my positioning
    they calculated I was not creating problems. Good use of discretion I'd sayHappy

  • Tammygirl
    Tammygirl Club Member Posts: 7,957 ✭✭✭
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    edited July 2016 #78

    yes, an allowance is made to allow cars (C) to encroach within 3m, but even with no car (-A)Wink we are not allowed to move
    further left than the post as we will break said 6m rule.....ie too close to next doors van, nothing to do with his/your cars (HC/YC).



    BB just park at the end of a row then not a problemWink

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited July 2016 #79

    likewise, on the occassions we have an awning pitch but don't put it up, we always ask if the car can go its place and the van moved a few feet to the left of the peg, never been refused yet as I assume the 3m spacing rule is still adhered to. 

    firstly, Corners, im shocked!Wink

    seriously though, im not a connoisseur of 'spacing' but if the van was moved further to the left, by up to a metre ('a few feet') wouldn't this put your van only 5m from the adjacent caravan and only 2m from their awning (assuming they had one)?

    ....seeing as pitches/pegs were recently realigned to support the minimum safety regs?

     

    no car (-A)Wink 

     

    Doh...........I thought I was getting the hang of this algebra malarkey, now I'm not so sure....

    LOL, i must have used the interchangable synonym 'automobile' (A) by mistake, im really sorry...Wink

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited July 2016 #80

    yes, an allowance is made to allow cars (C) to encroach within 3m, but even with no car (-A)Wink we are not allowed to move further left than the post as we will break said 6m rule.....ie too close to next doors van, nothing to do with his/your cars (HC/YC).


    BB just park at the end of a row then not a problemWink

    Ha, that would be familiar territory, TG....as you can see, im usually at the back of the classUndecided