Do you walk or park?
OH has head deep in MMM mag at the moment, usual hilarity over some of the letters. One in particular was ranting because they had contacted a site, site staff said park up we will see you later, visitors duly arrived and drove onto a pitch and then sank into soft ground! Grass pitch, they had to be towed off.
Even with a caravan we always got out and looked at a pitch before pitching up to stay, and certainly with a Motorhome it is just common sense to get out and survey ground conditions, yet obviously many don't. We rescued two caravans a couple of years ago with our Jeep that were buried deep, neither driver had got out to look at pitch conditions.
What do other folks do? Just drive on regardless, or assess before pitching up? Obviously talking grass pitches here, I know some much prefer HS in its many forms.
Comments
-
Letter writers to magazines must be a special breed!!! I saw the letter you mention and you do wonder if common sense was left at home. A few years ago we were on a site in Nancy in France and it had been really wet and the ground very soggy. We found a pitch which had a bit of gravel at the front so I gingerly reversed onto the pitch and we were fine. However some Dutch chump decided to drive across the pitches and ended up to his front axle in mud! We do tend to use hardstandings where ever they are available but more difficult in Europe so we are always very careful before driving onto a grass pitch if it has been wet. On another site in Eastern France we carefully pitched so that there was only about a metre to the pathway but others were have lot of problems and having to be towed off. Funnily enough the French guy behind us was on a pitch that looked very slippy but somehow he managed to go out from the site every day and return and park in the same spot without any trouble at all.
David
1 -
I know its under 'Motorhomes' and I have a caravan but it's quiet this morning
Always get out and survey the pitch, more so when allowed to pitch any which way. We both look to the sky for that thing called the sun, look at the pitch for anything left behind that may cause damage, look at any 'obstacles' that I may hit, relocate or knock down
, and after waving to the curtain twitchers trying to make it obvious they are not watching us, I go for it. After either reversing in or motormoving depending on the room available, the good wife then decides it may be better placed elsewhere on the pitch so off we go again
But wherever, we always park, walk/get out and never pitch blindly without looking around.
2 -
We always walk if we're given a choice of pitch. We need to avoid steps and steep inclines for mobility reasons. You can't really take note and drive carefully at the same time!
Recently, on a sloping site at Pontaubult, we watched a french motorhomer drive around the site road to choose one of the many gravelled vacant pitches. He then decided to cut across the grass and his front wheels sank into the soft ground. We, and others, assisted him in getting free. He trashed one of my plastic grip mats which I had lent him.
0 -
I very much doubt if the letter would have been considered for publication if the story was that they had contacted a site, site staff said park up we will see you later, visitors duly arrived and drove onto a pitch and sat there.
It is not just the Internet that carries stories of dubious worth but even the mightiest amongst us can get publication by spouting nonsense.
0 -
a few years ago I was on hard standing pitch in the centre area at Morton in marsh site, I was washing up after lunch looking out the rear motorhome window, several units rolled in, one car towing it's caravan saw a pitch near ours, he turned into the no entry road the wrong way to short cut, and then over the grass to drive on to his choice of pitch from it's rear , unfortunately it had rained for the whole of the previous day, he ploughed 2 very deep ruts in the grass, the caravan followed and made them deeper, he pulled onto the pitch, got out looking very smug to have beaten the 2 units following him until he turned into the no entry, then his face turned to horror when he saw the tracks he had just made, angry words flowed between him and his O H, he got back into his car and drove away, a while later a young couple drove in correctly , reversed their caravan and parked on pitch , the deep tracks lined up exactly with their vans wheels, the warden came around a while later and spoke to the young couple accusing them of damaging the grass, I was getting some water and over heard this, I came to the rescue of the couple as the warden was threatening to throw them off the site for the damage, this was their first outing as a new member, I was able to give the warden the real offenders car number, he found them parked up on another pitch and instantly threw them off the site. I bet the young couple will forever remember their first outing.
0 -
Seems a lot of folks are like us, prefer to take a look first. We have seen a few bogged down Motorhomers this year. Worse one was in Wales last month. Suspect owner might have parked up in the dry, but after two weeks of torrential rain, he was well and truly stuck. His answer was to thrash the engine, it didn't work. Last we saw of him an old SeriesIII LR was chugging round with some chains.
We saw a bit of a whoops moment while at Warwick last week as well. Large posh Hymer (flat front type, A class I think they are called?) was parked up behind us, with a hedge in between. We were sat out having breakfast, and I noticed it had quite a bit of Rhino Tape holding the top nearside corner together, obviously been on a while. Engine started up, then it reversed rather rapidly into the hedge! Made us jump, and there was an awful lot of scratching and grinding of branches to get it back out again! Some Motorhomes seem destined for hard lives!
0 -
like many, i reckon you soon get a 'nose' for pitch quality (especially after years of covering football pitches and golf courses) and some just 'look wet' and are dismissed straight away....some warrant the 'get out and poke about' treatment....a very wise thing to do on any non HS surface...
for a MHer, 'if' you pitch and it is a bit dodgy, using the ramps to point towards the nearest access road can help give impetus upon leaving.
plastic track mats are also useful things for 'all conditions' touring.
HS are even better but well drained grass is generally fine, especially the hard compacted affairs 'in tne sun'...
0 -
0
-
Agree with BoleroBoy that after many years you develop an instinct. Certainly switching to a 3.5 Tonne Motorhome I am even more cautious. Look around and seek advice if necessary. We were about to pull onto a pitch at Chagny and a Dutch guy walked across and warned us off. There had been heavy rain and the day before a Motorhome owner had to be towed off of the pitch we were looking at. The Dutch are good like that.
1
