Caravans and motorhomes with offside door
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Never had any overtly unfriendly behaviour in a decade, some grumbles to wardens about us facing the ‘wrong’ way, but I suspect they are the same people who make it their business to walk the site noting any peg deviance and report it.
I have noticed a few people this year who are a bit, ‘frosty’, complete with ‘Berlin Walls’ of windbreaks to delineate ‘their’ pitch space - but they do seem to be ‘lockdown campers’ who I suspect once the bargain package holidays in Spain are back on again, will no longer be with us.
badly behaved dogs? It’s in the wardens remit to deal with that issue.
parking across the pitch is the solution, the doors never face each other.
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Doesn't bother me in the slightest which way round folk park, if I felt that uncomfortable I'd move or go and sit around the other side of the van or join the windbreak brigade.
As we spend most of our time off site its not something I'd get upset over.
This year we have noticed an increase in windbreaks and dogs, the last site we were on one unit had 6 small dogs and the van next to him had 3 big dogs. None of them were any trouble, yet we've suffered no end of issues with some owners and their furry friends when they have had just 1 dog.
We have noticed when we use CAMC sites that we are aware of many more dogs than when we use C&CC sites.
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When we had a MH with a fiamma wind out canopy a trick we learned was to use a pair of windbreaks to form the 'walls' of the area below the canopy. The gap between canopy and windbreak created a natural air conditioning effect.
Roll on a few years and inflatable windbreaks are available, so we adapted for the caravan with a full length Dorema sun canopy and a Dometic air windbreak.
Here is the set up at the delightful non standard CAMC car park site at Bridport Bingham Grange, on a serviced pitch over the recent baking hot Whit bank holiday:
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"It’s in the wardens remit to deal with that issue"
Where's that written then?
JK
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parking across the pitch is the solution, the doors never face each other
However pitching that way one is either looking into one's neighbour's front window or the back of their van which may be their toilet compartment. I would much rather not be looking directly into someone's van.
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We were told that reversing in was the only allowed direction at a Private site near Pitlochry. Not only did it put the door on the wrong side, it meant we had to use ramps to get level.☹️ The only reason I could see for the rule was that nose in windscreens looked directly at some statics, although a reasonable distance away. It was early May this year, sub zero at night and not that warm in the day and the silver screen remained firmly in place throughout. However, it was their rule and we complied. It’s the only time I can remember being told which way round to pitch.🤔
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I wonder if they were afilliated sites?
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I suppose if the peg is on the left side of the pitch. So either a non awning, or one where you have LV, awning, car. Or one like Cirencester, where the car goes across the front. To do otherwise would mean you are exiting onto the grass strip in a continually doored MH. We would automatically put it in nose first in such circumstances, as we would not want to do that.
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Each to their own, but I’ve never felt the inclination to look into other peoples caravans, (although you’d be looking into the kitchen on my Hymer, not the toilet) - me? I much prefer to sit outside, drink a beer and admire the scenery.
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I’ve just come back from a week at a commercial site...
’Are there any rules about which way to park on the pitch’?
‘Yes, park anyway you like and enjoy yourself’’
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I'm just back from a 4 site trip, one of which was the C&MC site at Durham. This was the only site where I experienced "an issue" where I had a "conversation" with the warden regarding how I should pitch my caravan with the door on the wrong side.
To void an argument I used the [lucky for me I had one] mover and went nose in, after having pitched incorrectly and nearly finished my setting up.
I drew his attention to the specific wording that says GUIDE. It is not a rule, it is a GUIDE. What must be followed is the fire break distances and rightly so. If I had sited my small Eriba across the centre of the pitch I would have in excess of the required distance between our van and those pitched either side. I decided not to take this route although looking back I wish I had done just to see the reaction it could have provoked.
I'm a level headed fee paying member of the club and I decided not to argue the toss. Next time when my journey time has been greater, I'm tired and my stress levels are higher I doubt I would be so level headed.
Colin
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I assume the issue was that EM wanted to park across the pitch. The club says we can pitch either nose in or rear in but to speak to the warden if we want to pitch any other way. Even if his logic was flawed, if the warden said "no" in this case, there’s little more we can say or do as the warden's decision is final.
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A good reason, inter alia, why I stick to CMC sites.
On the actual question raised by the OP, I do think it is more of an issue than the early responders tried to pretend. My previous van was continental. I'd had two vans before that with conventional layouts, and buying a van with the door on the off-side never even once occurred to me as a problem at the time. My best response is to state, truthfully, that top of my wish list when I replaced that van was - British layout with door on the nearside!
I would lie if I said it was a massive problem, but it was definitely a bit of a niggle on occasions. I often pitched face in - depending on the pitch and the space available.
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When all said and done it is the firebreaks that determine pitching. As the diagrams says on the site leaflet ‘it you wish to pitch differently then have a word with the site staff’. Clearly some creative pitching is possible and allowed, you just shouldn’t assume yourself. I have only known one or two sites, for specific reasons, dictate which way round to pitch. Pitch either way round as long as you occupy the same footprint as the diagram is what I’ve been told.
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I did not ask to pitch across or mention it to the warden. I went tail in, about 1.0m off the peg, allowing required fire break distance.
Colin
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from what has been said to me, several have had enough of being treated as slaves by some members 
