Motorhome parking in Supermarkets
Please find a letter I sent to Sainsburys ,have other motorhomers had the same trouble????
Thank you for the spaces for Motorhome parking at your Penzance store,BUT, every time I attempt to park in one of the spaces I can't, as they are taken by Range Rovers and large vans and others that don't or won't park in other spaces ,obviously they don't want their expensive cars scratched,I'm sure if I parked my motorhome in a disabled bay someone would report me and a member of staff would have a word in my ear , SO WHY OH WHY DONT YOU STOP THE ABOVE FROM PARKING IN THESE BAYS ?
I can assure you this is happening all the time ,please advise me on what you attend to do on this matter.
Comments
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You should try parking a caravan and car when you are disabled on a motorway let alone a supermarket car park then you might have cause for complaint. There are very few motorways that cater for disabled towers,Yes you can go with the lorries or coaches at the risk of an £80 fine as I well know from Exeter Services, and also a very difficult and long approach to facilities.The Disabled Motorist Federation have advised me that new planning for Motorways have to allow parking for vehicles being towed by disabled drivers or who have disabled passengers, and so far very few accomodate them.......SG2
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I have never found a supermarket with MH spaces but it seems there is one fairly close at hand!
I'm afraid it is a fact of life that people will abuse many things, including parking facilities. In reality there is little Sainsburys can do. They cannot impound the vehicles or fine the drivers.
When touring with the MH we make sure we visit supermarkets away from busy times and have never had a problem parking in the extremities of their car parks.
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Think what it is like for us poor caravaners...... We dare not go into most supermarket carparks lest we never get out again!
Oh what business they do loose.... we pitch and proceed on foot to the nearest convenience store
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If I had a large car or a large van I too would not park in the miniscule bays provided for cars, I would park in something bigger if available and if I couldn't find that I would inflate my child dummy so I could park in a 'parent and child' space.
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I found it rather interesting that Sainsburys had at least made an effort to provide parking spaces especially for motorhomes. Perhaps the mistake the made was putting them too near to the entrance? I doubt whether you will get them to police who uses the space as there won't be any money in it for them to warrant the expenditure.
The problem I find with supermarket car parks in the UK is the way they are designed. Access roads are often narrow and designed in such a way to slow the speed of cars down. No bad thing but more difficult for motorhomes.
David
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It can be a problem in any car park, I wouldn't say I have never had a problem, if I cannot get into one, I look for the next and will happily park using two car spaces or more. I have come across provision for motorhomes in some Continental supermarkets especially in tourist areas.
peedee
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The introductions area seems to be malfunctioning with posts out of sync date wise etc. Noted in the snagging list.
I agree with Tinwheelers post. Timing for supermarket shopping helps, I would expect to find it more difficult at busy times. Usually no problems for us. In Ireland I noticed caravanners using parking everywhere they could.
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Luckily for the OP, Penzance has two more supermarkets close by, both with huge car parks! Tesco is two hundred metres up the road, and Morrisons is two hundred metres down the road!
The airport to the Isles of Scilly however, is a good few miles away! This is CCC planning at it's finest!
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That's good news Brue. Always thought it was a poor decision for the businesses of Penzance, lots of folks would stay prior to going to Scillies, done it ourselves.
Three supermarkets within half a mile of each other is just plain stupid, even if Sainsbury's coffee shop has a good view! We have never had a problem parking MH or car and caravan in any, but of the three, Morrisons is always the easiest.
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Where ever possible I choose to park at the edge of a carpark and if it has grass verges I'll park so the rear over-hang is over the grass.
I must admit tho' of the newer s/markets round South Cheshire the parking spaces at Lidl in Middlewich do seem to be longer and wider than most I see.
Could it be that the designer was a Club Member
??
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One of the many advantages of touring France rather than the UK is that supermarket car parks are generally more spacious. You can take up two bays with the motorhome. Autoroute Aires have excellent parking for caravans and Motorhomes, HOWEVER, problems persist just like the UK. If the caravan place is in a shady spot the cars will park there. If the lorry park is full or inconvenient then lorries will park there and so it goes on. It's a universal problem unless fines are imposed and areas are policed.
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The introductions area seems to be malfunctioning with posts out of sync date wise etc. Noted in the snagging list.
Sorry to go off topic a bit but on the question raised above. It's not just Introductions it can apply to any section from which a post is moved, for example Ask the Expert is another. Introductions and Ask the Expert are just the two main section from which posts are moved so probably more noticeable. The bigger problem is when a post is moved and the original remains where it is and also in the section it's been moved to. We are never quite sure how moving/deleting threads will actually turn out. This has been raised directly with Rochelle and she has passed it on to IT. Hope that helps to explain a bit?
David
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When we return home from an extended trip out, round various parts of the UK, I tend to drive into the nearest Sainsburys en route, find two bays end on and park in both of them. I still manage to overhang at the rear and front though.
Mind you I do have to eyeball the entrance to ensure there are no height barriers.
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At the February half term saw, for first time, MH parking bays at Sainsbury's in Dawlish and yesterday were at Penzance and noticed them.
We had joked that it was unfair to us caravanners but as others have said it will probably be frustrating for those with an MH when they get used by other vehicles.
The only place we usually park with no access or space problem is Cribbs Causway as you can use the coach parking area.
Re the AA vehicle, I once sent them a photo of one of their recovery vehicles parked next to the 'Caravans Only' sign at Leigh Delamere services on the M4.
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When parking in supermarket car parks and other such areas I tend to look for spaces away from other cars or at least somewhere the back of my pick up can overhang. With some parking bays so tight, I have on many occcasions found cars parked so close that I've had to climb in from the other side. Also as the step bumper is a good six inches proud of the body and then the tow ball is another four/ five inches further, I have experienced cars behind nudging it. Even when in traffic!
On a funnier note, when I collected my previous caravan, I pulled into toddington services, for a quick pit stop for the call of nature. Although I had towed trailers the extra length hadn't sunk in. As I pulled in, I could see the there were a group of bays that empty. Great, I could pull through into the one in front. Wrong... I overhung front and back 😟 And to make matters worse I wasn't very straight. On trying to pull out the caravan got close to a parked car. My companion was no help. I was stuck!
Across the way I could see two reps that had their heads in the boot of their car. These had noticed the twit with the caravan and were grinning like the said cat😸No way was he going to move it!
I can still see their faces as I split the outfit and instead off struggling, used the biggest remote control toy that they had seen in their lives! Bet I was the talk in the pub that night!
Hitched up and got away as quickly as I could, safe but very red faced 🙄 Totally forgot the reason I why I stopped.😟
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We never park with our Caravan in Supermarket or Town Carparks too congested. We always organise and do our shopping before we leave the site or after we have arrived on a campsite.
if they do provide large car parking for leisure vehicles it should me for Caravans and MH's.
When in Europe we do not have any trouble with parking with the van, very long outfit, If needs be Service Area.' Or Lay Bys as ample room is provided for Caravan's and MH's. We have a 4x4 and parking in the UK is ridiculous as spaces are too small. Go to Lidl's or Aldi around here and their spaces are larger to accommodate the larger 4x4 or Van vechicles.
DianneT
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That Sainsbury dip into their margins to actually provide large unit parking is to be applauded but IMO it is being unrealistic to expect them to invest in staffing to policing the use of these spaces.
I am not sure they have the tools to do much about it anyway without incurring huge legal costs.
If aggressively challenged on “what they intend to do about it”, as a shareholder I would suggest they paint them out.0 -
Agree with Sailorgirl, the provision of parking for disabled caravanners (or Motorhomers) at Service Stations is inadequate. Mostly we are sited far from the facilities if indeed there is any dedicated parking places. Coaches always seem to have the best places (50 plus customers for the overpriced food is a good reason for giving them good access) and woe betide if you use them! I must admit that we have used a coach park when it has been empty and got away with it and I'm sure with a disabled badge you would have a good case to argue for using a near empty coach park so that you could get to the toilet. The thinking is that caravanners (&MHs) are not the biggest spenders at the service station but my guess would be that they are (or would be) on a par with HGV drivers.
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We find it's much easier to use our own facilities, Nev. It doesn't much matter where you find space to park then. That's the beauty of cvans/MHs.
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Why on earth would anybody take a caravan into a supermarket carpark, stupid idea😐
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Our main route to Cornwall was down part of Fosse Way, and we always pulled into Tesco at Stow for a break. Just used two bays, not a problem. It's not an issue now with MH, we just find somewhere pretty, pull up, kettle on while dogs are having a walk, by time exercised pooches are back, I have a tasty meal, fresh hot cuppa ready and we dine in comfort for a lot less!
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That is just what we do minus the dog bit.
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