Dumping grey on the move
Comments
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I don't see the problem. The new Club drains are wide enough to dump either side of the van and the grills must be getting on for a metre wide as you drive over them so no real hardship in positioning the van. The problem with the drain type used at Hawwood Farm is that it is cast in concrete as the site has gravel roads. It is also higher than the adjoining roads which as most Club disposal points are outside of a toilet block might be considered a potential trip hazard? The vast majority of Club sites have tarmac roads so at the very least concrete would look out of place. Now I hear you say that is neither here nor there but I suspect it is to the Club?
David
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That is out of the way, in an area where folk walking to and from the block aren't going to have to paddle through any unhosed dumping. The benifit with the CC type is, as long as folk line up, the grid is wide and nothing should spill on the surround. I very much doubt with the design in your link many get over the actual drain. So in my opinion not really suitable for in front of facility location.
I think the CC have made the best of a bad job with the design.
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We are at Bridlington site where there are two of the "latest attempt"to cater for the poorly designed waste outlets on most motor caravans,and looking at the picture that DD has posted they are much better design than that, and even at Hawes the "pedestrians "are segregated by a path behind that stone wall,
The "problem" we noted when getting ready to leave was that some "member"motor caravaners think that when they stop on the service point and open their ,waste and freshwater taps they can go for a shower while waiting ,it was quite interesting when the queue got to another three and no one could ""find" the owner of the one blocking the service point
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Why not put a 'mirror' on the kerb / dwarf wall / building / wotever vertical surface is nearby in order the driver can establish the position of the vehicle drains to the ground grid / wotever.
The 'mirror' could be of anything that gives a reflection of the vehicle / waste drain. Bit like when using shop windows to manoeuvre into a tight space in the high street.
Or do MHs have the 360 camera system like wot modern tow cars have and give you actual and generated images of the vehicle.
Or mark the concrete with meterage marks and the MH owner can figure out where the dump points align from their door pillar for example
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no, just a bit of sensible thought as part of the basic design....
this just shows it's as easy to make a slapdash effort as it is to make it far better....
DK gets Margaret to line him up...good old Margaret, if you have a co driver that's great.....I do.....but plenty of MH owners don't and they then spend unneccesary time manoevring when it shouldn't be required.
just about every village aire in Europe can manage a square of concrete with a tiny fall away that makes dropping grey waste a simple task...
...but then, we are talking about a MH friendly institution....
Justus2 mentions it's difficult for him to line his waste pipe up, but with a simple 'catchment' design, left/right/centre positioned outlets are all catered for with no need for any turning around....
i realise that CC won't change what they've started and we've now got 20 years worth of 'making the best of a bad design' as posted above.....
so I won't hold my breath..but it doesn't stop me posting that I think they've missed an opportunity to really make a difference rather than coming up with 'the best of a bad design'.....
5/10 for effort, see me
...and, Alan, as you specifically mentioned it, I'm pretty good at finding the loo from quite long range
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...but Steve, why does the MHSP have to be 'in front of a facility location'? a MHSP drain can run for many metres back into the main drains..
I would have thought that having MH stopping in front of the 'facility' isn't good any way, blocking views of folk crossing the road etc, a hazard in itself, surely? as are MH pulling in and driving away regularly.
this should be done away from busy areas, hence no issue with trip hazards (I've never come close to tripping on a French aire waste point) or with visibility for folk who have nothing to do with the MH....
as said many, many times..The French, German, Spanish et al have had this sort of thing in operation in towns/villages all over for donkeys years and the 'default' design from all that vast experience is as DD describes...
why CC thinks it can reinvent the wheel I don't know....theirs certainly isn't round....
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It would not matter what shape anything is "some" will find fault
One thing that flaws the argument about water will "run" for long distances it also needs a "fall" to accomplish it, which would also restrict where they are placed and you cannot have a soakaway with grey waste in many places
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The best MHSP I’ve come across is at Wood Farm AS, Charmouth.
It's in a separate area beside reception out of the way of passing traffic and pedestrians. It has centrally mounted taps with a long gridded drain. The whole area is sloped so water runs into the drain it’s very difficult to miss. Simple!
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...but Steve, why does the MHSP have to be 'in front of a facility location'? a MHSP drain can run for many metres back into the main drains..
Clearly it doesn't. However, placing them elsewhere would require a suitable available space that could be connected to the drainage system. This would almost certainly be more expensive. I can only assume the CC does not wish to spend that sort of money.
The two I have seen at Hawes and Cirencester are relatively inexpensive constructions. Certainly if / when we get a MH I would much rather use them than having to lift a grid.
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Bit late to the debate but a few weeks ago we were on the C&MC site at Middlesbrough, site newly refurbished whole new mh service point with 3 round grates for waste water drop
why did they not put a central drive over grid? Yes I can manage to lift them but you have to drive over them first to position your mh in the right place..0 -
lol.....or take the cover off first and then drive into the hole....
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oh, don't get me wrong, I definitely agree, this is progresss, I don't like lifting manhole covers either...
its just that (IMHO, of course) this was a missed opportunity to implement the design mentioned by TW and used extensively throughout Europe...still, far better than what we currently have so be thankful, I guess...
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You're asking for a thick lip, JV.
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When you consider the cost of them and the technology available these days, it does seem a little surprising they don't mount a relatively inexpensive strategically placed camera to aid in positioning the waste. Even on my X trail, which cost less than half what we are looking at paying for a MH, I can switch between forward facing, rear or side cameras, or a composite generated aerial view.
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