Damage to caravan on a club site
On Sunday when we returned from a day out the first thing I noticed was the grass had been cut which is not unusual as the wardens do a excellent job of looking after the site's. but unfortunately something else I noticed was two dents on the side of my caravan which I know where not there before.( due to the size I'd have notice the before ) which I can only guess were caused by the lawn mower running over stones and flicking them against my caravan .after speaking to a fellow member he informed me that it'd also happened to him in the past . I am curious how many other members has this happened to if it is common surely the club should Look at better guards for there lawn mowers . I am not blaming the wardens but what if instead of damaging my caravan the stone had hit a child of dog .
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What did the warden say?
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If the lawn mower is properly maintained, all the guards are fitted and the machine is used correctly, stones shouldn't get thrown, for one thing it breaks health & safety. The main culprit for throwing things is a brushcutter, these are only really guarded to stop stones being thrown at the operator and half the time the operators remove the lower half of the linehead guard.
Can you prove the dents were not there before ? This will be the problem.
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If stones are being thrown high enough to impact the side of the van, it would indeed be a worry. Had you been on site long? We have one on the side of ours that I suddenly noticed. However, I suspect someone caught it with something hard and sharp in the storage compound.
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Maybe it shouldn't happen but neverthless it does occasionally. We have been inside our caravan when it was showered with gravel. One stone hit over head height and left a substantial dent. The (private) site management couldn't understand the problem and refused to accept any responsibility. Short of suing them I don't know what we could have done.
I am always very wary of rotary mowers because they can potentially do serious injury or worse.
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I realise it could have happened by any number of means but surely the thing to do is to have a non-accusatory chat with the warden.
How can you assert that you know it was caused by the warden when you haven't even spoken to him/her?
As it is, If there is a problem with the mower guards, the warden will still be blissfully unaware.
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The guards on a walk-behind rotary are designed to deflect anything downwards, the only problem is that can lead to clogging and ultimately the engine stalling if the grass is long. Well meaning operators have been known to tie the flaps up slightly (or in some cases, fully back) to allow the grass to eject faster, this can lead to stones being thrown. I have heard of at least one person being killed by a stone throw by a rotary mower (the blade tip speed is in excess of 150MPH), so I would urge you to discuss your problem with the warden.
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Too late for that YP, you've outed them
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I can sympathies with you YP, it happened to me while on a CL a couple of years ago. Like you we returned back after a day out to find the grass had been trimmed and I noticed a small cut in my awning window next to the door. It was definitely not there before as the awning was brand new.
I did not confront the owner either for the same reasons.
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The club does (or did) have walk-behind mowers as well as ride-on mowers, but the same thing goes. If it is a collecting ride-on, the collector must fitted at all times whilst cutting grass. If it is fitted with a rear discharge cutterdeck, it should be fitted with a flap (usually made of a reinforced rubber type material) under the machine to catch and deflect anything ejected by the cutterdeck. If it is fitted with a side discharge cutterdeck there will be a large flap to deflect anything downwards, Removal or tampering with any of these guards is against Health & safety, but they do get tampered with in the mistaken belief that it makes the machine work better.
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The point is that you can't possibly know it was the lawn mower, as you weren't there. It could have been a stone from a car or child, a child playing with a toy, shuttlecock bat etc. It's unfortunate and bloody annoying, but you can only suspect, not know the cause.
I'm with youngphil, how can you really say anything ?
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Highly unlikely that a car or a child playing would make two dents in a caravan, however a mower could.
We were on a CC site a couple of years ago where the warden told me of an incident that had required the club to instruct wardens not to use the sit on mowers as an awning peg had been left in the ground and when the mower connected with the peg, the peg flew through the caravan door and damaged the fridge. Not sure if the van door was open or closed.
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I don't know what it is about kids and stones but my grandchildren and their mums before them had a thing about putting gravel on the lawns.
I've found the odd peg on or in the grass on sites but it hadn't occurred to me that they could be so dangerous. I shall have to be most fastidious in checking around in future.
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I too suffered a dent in my van, when it was less than a year old, from a ride on mower on a club site.
I know it was from the mower because I was sitting in the van at the time and heard it.
I did go and mention it, to the mower driver, but only got a shrug of his shoulders.
The good news is that it was 10 years ago, I have still got the van and the dent and it has not spoiled my enjoyment of it one jot.
I can't help thinking that some people can be a tad too precious about cars and caravans.
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I must assume from your avatar and name that you are the proud owner of a very expensive car, £75k plus if new.
I am therefore surprised that you would be content to have it dented by someone else's actions.
Not sure I share your view on this one, surely it is my choice if I am happy to have a dent in my property and I have the right to remain precious if I choose. I worked hard to buy my kit so would prefer it to be undamaged by others.
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I had the rear side window on my Mondeo estate smashed by a stone from a mower whilst visiting a sheltered housing complex. The gardening team there denied all knowledge of it but the fact that the side of the car was covered in grass clippings suggested very strongly that mowing was the cause. Unfortunately the grass cutters still wouldn't accept liability.
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I wonder if damage caused by stones etc is the reason that site staff are now instructed to leave the grass between2 and 3 inches long when grass cutting as it reduces the chances of mowers both ride on and hand held hitting debris the grass
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