Size of pitches - worried
I spent four pleasant days this week at Rowantree Park. The wardens were welcoming and the facilities block superb.
Having a campervan I booked a non-awning pitch even though an awning pitch was the same cost. The pitch was allocated (pitch 3) . My van is a 5.4 metres long van conversion (in other words shorter than average). Levelling blocks water carrier etc are stored
underfloor and accessed through the back doors. The total available length of the pitch between the rear wall and the edge of the site road was such that pitching to the peg and using blocks we had a choice of having our van intrude onto the road at a point
where all vehicles entering the site were passing or position the vehicle where we could not open the back doors. We chose that option for safety but it was very inconvenient and we were nervous about the lack of a safety margin inherent in the van being at
the edge of a "busy" road. there were no other vacant pitches on the site so there seemed little point in complaining however given the level of concern about a fire separation gaps it seems illogical to have a site where pitching offers nil of less than nil
of vehicle impact separation.
Comments
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BlueVanMAn, I suspect that is more to do with Rowantree than anything else, its always full and well packed in as a consequence. Have you come accross this at other sites?
But your comments aside, please can I congratulate you and thank you for booking a non awning pitch when you did not need an awning pitch.
I for one appreciate that kind of honerable action and sincerely commend you Sir, Thank you!
Good show!
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Hobsons choice for me but not for the warden who made the allocation. My point is that the pitch should be capable of safe use and I believe this one wasn't. Have come across narrow pitches between site roads e.g. at Lower Wensleydale but had a choice not
to take such a pitch. Thanks CJ for your compliments though0 -
5.4 m is no length at all. Our caravan is 7.2 overall and is by no means the longest on the market. I have not seen the site since it was altered so have no idea of its location but it does seem so short it is not fit for purpose as most caravans could not
get on.0 -
Hobsons choice for me but not for the warden who made the allocation. My point is that the pitch should be capable of safe use and I believe this one wasn't. Have come across narrow pitches between site roads e.g. at Lower Wensleydale but had a choice not
to take such a pitch. Thanks CJ for your compliments thoughYou said that there 'were no other vacant pitches' hence my comment.
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Hobsons choice for me but not for the warden who made the allocation. My point is that the pitch should be capable of safe use and I believe this one wasn't. Have come across narrow pitches between site roads e.g. at Lower Wensleydale but had a choice not
to take such a pitch. Thanks CJ for your compliments thoughYou said that there 'were no other vacant pitches' hence my comment.
Write your comments here...ET/Wildwood
Perhaps this pitch is so short that no unit could safely use it but there may be some very small m/h which could ,but not many. I am assuming that wardens plan allocation of some pitches for short units (a tricky balancing exercise ) and no doubt do their
best. So when they allocate they need to choose according to need. I dont expect that exercise to produce a potentially unsafe result0 -
Could the problem not have been resolved by going nose-in? Unless you needed to have the bonnet up as well.
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Could the problem not have been resolved by going nose-in? Unless you needed to have the bonnet up as well.
Write your comments here...Not is this case.
A vehicle strike could have caused a fatality because when asleep our heads would respectively have been up against the rear doors of the vehicle.
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if you cant get a 5.4m panel van safely onto a pitch, then that pitch cant be a suitable offering.
...having to even consider 'how to pitch safely' on a club pitch is wrong IMHO.....
you have been passed off with half a pitch at, no doubt, the clubs full 'bargain price'
if someone else had arrived 'last' and had a unit considerably larger than yours, where would they be supposed to pitch?
no, this pitch should be taken out of circulation as it's not satisfactory for even one of the smallest units in general use...
rebate forthcoming?
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That was one of 3 pitches left when we went to Rowntree. Luckily we found one that we could get our 2 berth caravan on and didn't have to take either pitch 2 or 3. They were used during our stay by VW campers which only just fitted.
They aren't suitable pitches in my view.
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Thanks for all the supportive posts.
Using a bit of lateral thinking I have amended my vehicle details to show the length as 6.4 metres being the length with a rear door open. I believe this is wholly justifiable because it is neccessary for safety and operational convenience to be able to
open the rear doors. Furthermore by analogy in much the same way as a tow hitch is an essential operational part of a caravan but not lived in.0 -
I've been reading this thread with interest BVM, I think changing your van length details is the sensible solution. However I think a pitch that prevents good access all round the van should be the norm and you clearly didn't have safe access front or rear.
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Are all pitches at Rownrtree allocated by the warden? If so he was probably rubbing his hands in glee to get a small van in that he could stick on a tiny pitch. At least with a more realistic usable length on the booking form you should get a pitch to meet
your needs even if it is allocated.0 -
Perhaps now we should all amend the lengths of our outfits so that we get more comodious pitches?
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Perhaps now we should all amend the lengths of our outfits so that we get more comodious pitches?
Wardens will be out with their tape measures on arrival - we have actually had that done to us once!
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I don't really care if a pitch is large or small....however if it was the last available and not suitable for any reason I would go somewhere else.
...thats OK if there are sites/CLs in the area and they arent booked up....
being in the higher season, this might prove difficult and involve a lot of ringing round....
much better to have all pitches at a level that can support the majority of members...
yes, we all know that there are generally a couple of pitches that will support large RVs, but the remainder should be able to accommodate all pther vans.....
to be struggling with a 5.4m PVC os just not on.....not at CC rates
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The norm at Rowntree seems to be if you have a large outfit you get a cone put on a large pitch, likewise a small outfit gets allocated a small pitch but no difference in cost. That is the normal pricing equality policy of CC, large caravan, large awning,
copious use of electricity and a pack of dogs pays the same as a small camper van with just 2 people.0 -
"to be struggling with a 5.4m PVC os just not on.....not at CC rates"
But it was 'on' so people either accept it or they don't accept it. I guess that by moaning on the forum it is assumed that the CC will change the pitch layout on the site?
I also assume that the OP hasn't written to the appropriate department in the club?
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"to be struggling with a 5.4m PVC os just not on.....not at CC rates"
But it was 'on' so people either accept it or they don't accept it. I guess that by moaning on the forum it is assumed that the CC will change the pitch layout on the site?
I also assume that the OP hasn't written to the appropriate department in the club?
I really do wonder if your post meets the guidelines for posting.
At the very least it can be described as extremely robust. In an effort to help you understand where I am coming from I reply further below using italics to respond to your quoted points.
But it was 'on' so people either accept it or they don't accept it.
I am not sure what you mean by “people” and careful reading of my initial post may be rewarded by greater understanding
Non acceptance of the pitch was not an option for this “people” as I was told it was the last one and I have a four day booking (made many months before my arrival) which I paid for before seeing the pitch. Your inference that “just on” should be acceptable,
is by analogy like suggesting that it is sensible to stand on the very edge of the pavement in a busy street for four days because vehicles don’t drive on the pavement and then being surprised if you are struck by a wing-mirror of a bus. Common sense must
surely mean that you should not avoidable position yourself whether inside or outside a vehicle in a position of dangerI guess that by moaning on the forum it is assumed that the CC will change the pitch layout on the site?
I am not sure if your allegation of moaning is directed at me as the OP however my I invite you to re-read what I consider to be a restrained and factually accurate post. To be clear my motivation is to alert both members and the Club of a situation
which I consider dangerous in certain circumstances. I have not asked for the the pitch layout to be changed because this pitch could be safely used by a handful of units but really very few . So my point is that the pitch allocation process needs to be handled
better.I also assume that the OP hasn't written to the appropriate department in the club?
Sir on what basis do you make that assumption ?
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As you are the OP I will respond.
The highlighted sentence was somebody elses comment to which the first paragraph is directed....perhaps that wasn't clear enough?
In your original post you inferred that a complaint was not appropriate....in case you have complained later I stated 'I assume' and ended with a question mark.
If you have taken exception to my fairly clear statements I can only apologise and certainly don't mean to offend!
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"to be struggling with a 5.4m PVC os just not on.....not at CC rates"
But it was 'on' so people either accept it or they don't accept it. I guess that by moaning on the forum it is assumed that the CC will change the pitch layout on the site?
I also assume that the OP hasn't written to the appropriate department in the club?
...I think you need a smiley on your first sentance
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Under "Important Information" for Rowntree it says: Sometimes pitch sizes vary on this site and we may need to allocate outfits above 7.8 metres or below 6 meters on arrival. This helps us to accommodate all visitors comfortably.
However, the important point is that units should be able to pitch safely away from the access road and still have full access to their accommodation, including rear doors. We have a pvc and a bike carrier which swings out from a pivot on the offside so
that we can access the rear doors and the bikes. This adds a further several feet to the lenght of the van. It sounds to me that Rowntree is a "pile 'em in site". By contrast we were recently at Glentrool where the pitch we were on was massive and could
easily have accommodated 2 vans. The owners wanted it to be spacious, rather than cram as many in as possible.0 -
Most pitches at Rountree Park have a peg in the far left hand corner. Going nose in with a PVC would preclude being able to exit by a nearside door.
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Hobsons choice for me but not for the warden who made the allocation. My point is that the pitch should be capable of safe use and I believe this one wasn't. Have come across narrow pitches between site roads e.g. at Lower Wensleydale but had a choice not
to take such a pitch. Thanks CJ for your compliments thoughYou said that there 'were no other vacant pitches' hence my comment.
Write your comments here...
But that was not necessarily the only way the pitches could have been allocated.
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I also assume that the OP hasn't written to the appropriate department in the club?
Write your comments here...I did write to the Club and have today received a reply. The reply is constructive and by no means unhelpful.
Interestingly whilst systems might change in the future it would seem that right now wardens rely on the vehicle profile information provided by the member and "have no way of ascertaining further specific needs" (I paraphrase slightly). I have replied that
nearly all PVC users will need to be able to have access to rear doors and that additional length is needed to put van onto levelling blocks so that a pitch for a PVC would need to be a minimum of about 1.5 metres longer than the vehicle on it (longer in
some cases e.g. top hinged rear door). Meantime Mr Monkman states "If a member has a particular setup that needs additional space to the front or rear of the outfit all they can do at the moment is to increase the length of the outfit on the system exactly
as you have done to facilitate this" In other words an official endorsement for my actions and a cue to others to consider whether they need to revisit their own vehicle profiles.The Reply might be considered an interim one because Phil Monkman the Regional Manager Northern England has also undertaken to visit the site and will "(do) anything locally to alleviate (my) problems".
In fairness and for the information of members I will post more fully in light of any further response.
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BlueVanMAn, I suspect that is more to do with Rowantree than anything else, its always full and well packed in as a consequence. Have you come accross this at other sites?
But your comments aside, please can I congratulate you and thank you for booking a non awning pitch when you did not need an awning pitch.
I for one appreciate that kind of honerable action and sincerely commend you Sir, Thank you!
Good show!
Write your comments here...Sorry, I do not agree. I always book an awning pitch, it gurantees a pitch Fit for purpose! Which the Ops non-awning pitch clearly Wasnt, for the Op.
I have a motorhome, and like the option of deploying the wind out canopy......if i want to, without somone coming along and measuring how far out I have wound it ! So, If I booked first, I will get the awning pitch.
If I had been the op, i would have asked the warden for a change of pitch, when the next person left the site.
I have never stayed on Rowntree Park site, but if I do, this thread ensures that i wont ever get put in the ops posistion.....Awning pitch only for me.Nothing Honorable in being inconvenienced on a holiday where we all are members and pay the same pitch fees.
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