Small motor homes on awning pitches
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I would always book an awning pitch so I can choose to put the awning up or not when I arrive. I also enjoy the extra space to sit out in.
If a price differential was introduced I might think twice but then it would have to be a huge difference in price for me to downsize. If you happen to have a massive van with massive awning (I've even seen people having to park half on the grass separators to be able to open their car doors they take up so much room) then good luck to you but don't complain about me with my small van and outside chair enjoying space that I've paid the same to use. 😎
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Sometimes it's not the size of the pitch itself that determines whether it's a non awning one, it's the width of the grass break between. Some are several meters wide some less than a metre. It's all about the distances between the pitching pegs and thus the firebreaks.
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she quoted
..... "Standard pitch without awning - As you'd expect, these pitches are the same as above (Standard pitch with awning) but without the space for an awning. On some sites awning pitches are in demand so if you don't plan to use an awning please try to book this pitch instead."
You were just selective with what you quoted.
We don't know .... but it'd be unlikely
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We have booked awning pitches in the past but on arrival been offered a choice of both. Sometimes, on seeing them, those non awning pitches are 'better' situated for us and will willingly change. This allows those that want one to have another to choose from. However, that option to put up our awning is often made on arrival being weather dependant and sometimes pitch dependant.
Most often these days mind we choose to wind out our canopy and not put the sides on which we can do on a non awning pitch. We don't have a car with us mind!
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Slightly off topic ( but it's getting boring anyway) what I want to know is what did folks do with the horses and ponies in the early days? Guessing tethered somewhere, but perhaps dual usage and saddled up in day for off site excursions?
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In the last couple of days there have been a couple of threads that have provided amusement, it's a bit like a merry-go-round
Although I'm not fond of regimentation I may spend more of my caravanning leisure time over here on club sites next year so all the info/opinions gleaned on here may be most useful
PS - if there is a pitch available that takes my fancy I will snap it up regardless what Taffsdad has to say
If however, the warden asks me to move for someone with a disability I will pack up and move with good grace
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We always book an awning pitch, if available, as it then gives us the option of deploying our roll out awning. However, depending on the weather this might stay rolled, particularly early and late in the year. We would chose one, even if there was a price differential.
Non awning, except where they are declassified awnings as a result of maintaining the 6 metre spacing, tend to have the peg tight against the back left hand corner and require the car to be parked in front of the door. Not ever so good if I want to BBQ, as I end up with only a small space in front of the car.
It also of couse limits in which orientation (nose in / out) you can put your van, unless you want to step out onto the grass divide. This is perhaps more important with a MH, which are not quite so easy to level front to back.
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We tend to book an awning pitch too, but there are several issues.
Firstly, like others, we don't usually decide on whether to put up an awning until we are on pitch. Then we may decide to use an awning for just part of our stay. Although we will often put up an awning on the day we arrive, sometimes we will leave it until the next day. We invariably take down the orning the day befiore we leave. Sometimes we use the canopy only (we have a Thule wind out) and unless we put the sides in, will sometimes wind it in in extreme weather.
Secondly, we like full serviced pitches when we can get them. As far as I'm aware there are no non-awning serviced pitches, so it is quite possible that a small unit will use a large pitch in order to hook up to services.
Thirdly, some of the non-awning pitched are 'car park type', without a grass strip between. Personally I don't find these pitches very attractive or inspiring, so would never take one out of choice.
Perhaps the time has come for the Club to have a price differential between awning and non-awning pitches. That would save any argument. It would clearly be a case you, you pay the money you take the choice.
No system is absolutely ideal. I guess the only answer is to make all the pitches the same size. Sadly, that would not happen without cost (and possibly 'planning permission' issues), and of course this would reduce the overall number of pitches available.
David
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as David says, over there, price is a differential on larger or smaller pitches, and over here many sites just charge for an awning whichever pitch you're on...
perhaps because the club doesn't do this, is it surprising that we get so many comments along the lines of 'we always book an awning pitch' as there is a perception of more room....which may or may not be the case.
We do the same, for probably the same reason....
we dont actually have an awning, and deploying a wind out is allowable on any pitch provided that etc, etc....
doesn't this mean that, for those who can't book very far ahead, there is likely to a 'genuine' shortage of awning pitches for those that wish to use them for their primary purpose?
yes, I know its first come etc, but not everyone can book very far ahead..
so, I agree with the club's sentiment in the quoted text upthread, but folk being folk, won't naturally choose a non awning pitch over an awning one, even if they don't have an awning....unless there is some carrot to encourage a change in mindset.
we had many threads in the past about 'small vans on large pitches' or 'on awning pitches without using awnings'....yet the club does nothing (apart from the above text) to 'encourage any mindset change.
perhaps these threads don't represent the true overall feeling and the club hasn't seen a real message getting through....
but like 'pricing' and some other hot topics, this is an oft debated one and I, for one, would like to see a small price differential between the two pitch types to see if it would encourage change.
perhaps a pound off non awning and a pound on an awning pitch?...a £2 differential.....£14 a week might be enough to spread the requirement....
we don't have an awning, nor a car, nor barrels and our van isn't large, so we would (pretty much) find any pitch large enough for our needs, but untill the club 'encourages' me otherwise, I'll continue to do what the majority seem to do, book an awning pitch if free, despite the knock on effect which prompts threads like this one.
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We have a small motorhome. A site we like (not York) is often fully booked. To complete a recent holiday arrangement I considered paying for a serviced pitch on one night and an awning pitch the next just to make our booking work. Is that anti social ?
In the end I couldn't put together a tour which worked and abandoned all the bookings and stayed at home.
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are there predominately more awning pitches than non awning pitches? From the sites I've been to and thinking of across all the network I would say the answer is yes. Many newer sites built from scratch are all awning and are any new pitches being made non awning? When I first joined the club last century all pitches were awning and I would say it is an accident of the spacing regulations on older sites that 'created' non awning pitches. I can't see the club making any new non awning pitches in the way the do for SP, bigger seem to be the way to go?
So adding on a cost for awning pitches is really an increase in pitch prices overall for most of the network, that appears strange as the proponents of this often complains about pitch fees being too high in the first place and wanting subsidised pitches paid by us all in stop overs?
No good deceasing costs for non awning pitches if there are far more awning pitches and hence more costs, also what about sites that are all awning pitches?
A small differential would make no sense (unless you're a MoHo poor) as it wouldn't put people off? Too high and you would lose income?
Just some questions and points really
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All sites are not priced the same at the moment, therefore any differential, such as BB mentions, would relate to that site. Sites that are all awning would continue to be priced as they are. Sites such as Old Hartley, which is all non awning, similarly. Although they could probably increase the price there, because of the view.😀
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so you mean do the prices by a site by site basis? based on the proportion of awning and non awning pitches?
There is a still some lost income perhaps, imagine if Old Hartley, which is full most peaks periods? well it is full all next week and a very popular site rightly so. It has 59 pitches, reduce the pitch fee by a £1, that is 59x1x7 = a loss of £413 per week to the club and what it would lose next week, £2 reduction £826, now then add in all the peak weeks when it was/will be full and that is a lot of lost income over the year? Would that be countered by the increase in other sites? Yes maybe but we'll end up paying more?
and what about grass non awning v HS non awning
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I would not change the price of Old Hartley, it would remain the same, as would sites that are all awning. Apart of couse from the normal inflation rises.
Only those sites that have both would adopt the £2 differential. So I suppose overall there would be a cost increase for many, as I think there are more awning than non awning on the majority of those sites.
Overall, I would think the club would gain slightly in terms of revenue.
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there is a demand for SP pitches, the club includes them, but at a premium....
there is a demand for awning pitches, the club provides them, but at the same price as a non awning pitch....
i dont see why the difference in price policy.
the SP has an infrastructure cost to be recovered from the customers, which it will over time.
the awning pitch is either larger (latent value (cost to the club) based on area) or perceived to be larger/better value by the customer, which the club doesn't recover ever.
again, an anomaly.
perhaps if all pitches were the same, all SP/HS/awning pitch then all really would be equal.
at the moment, an awning pitch is definitely more equal than a non awning pitch.
if the number of awning pitches rises throughout the network, anyone wanting one but left on a non awning pitch will see this as poor value, despite the price being the same.
if the majority of pitches really are awning pitches, even at 75%/25%, a 50p increase on an awning pitch would cover a reduction of £1.50 on a non awning pitch....so still a £2 differential, same 'incentive' but a 'balanced' account....income just spread more appropriately across how customers see 'pitch' value.
numbers above easily adjusted across the estate depending on pitch ratio. of course, SP have their own extra costs so would be excluded, which may bring the ratio down to the earlier £1 each way figure.
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I always book an awning pitch, the reason is you have more choice when you arrive, pitch size is a bonus, a lot of the non awning pitches I have seen are in dubious places, so I will continue to use awning pitches wether I need an awning or not, a large pitch and a small unit looks better anyway, so purely for artistic reasons I will continue in this vane.
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I like your thinking
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We used to book non awning pitches but found we then had a very limited choice as to where we could pitch. As there is no price difference we now book awning pitches and are able (most of the time) to pitch where we prefer !
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Exactly, TJ. Why should we put up with second class pitches just because our units are a bit smaller?
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Depends on the size of the tables, the type of seating and my requirements. I am unlikely to require a table for 8 for two of us. If we just want a drink and the place is busy I will probably choose a table for two. However if the tables for two are cramped and we are also having a meal I may well require a table for 4
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The two of us, finding no table for 2 available and having been refused a table for 4 or 6, have walked away from more than one restaurant in recent years.
I equate that to being refused, scorned or criticised for wishing to use an awning pitch. The organisation would lose my business.
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MM, if it’s me, me ,me on a site & me,me,me paying the same as everyone else, looking for comfort for me, me, me, then yes it’s a-“lot of me, me, me”👍🏻😊.
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If it's a busy cafe and the two of us go in then the likely hood is there is only a table for 6 left empty. The rest would be taken as its so busy 😊 I would happily sit there.......but I would also offer to share if some others came along.
However when it comes to pitches that are all the same price the 'first come first served' rule kicks in. I'm not going to take a small pitch in the hope that someone with a van the size of a static arrives to take up a larger pitch. If people want to drive around with vans the size of a house on the back of them that's their choice and risk, just don't have a go at us with small units for enjoying ourselves and using what we paid for.
😎
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if there were only a table for 6 left and a couple came in, a proper retaurants would quickly turn this into a table for two and a table for four, wouldn't they?
however, with pitches, this isn't possible, but, as above, other campsites might have a different approach, where pitches are graded into sizes... usually just small and large (or std and premium, in marketing parlance).
provided the correct spacing is maintained (and the point is made above that sites are heading towards predominantly awning pitches) it may be that some of these are 'obviously' std (or even sub std in some cases) and this might be a way of helping customers get what they pay for...
again, a std pitch is more than enough for a stand alone smallish van like ours...
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