Differences between serviced and standard pitches
Hi All,
We are looking at booking our first caravan club site (actually our first caravan holiday) and it mentions about a "serviced pitch with awning" or a "standard pitch with awning". I've had a look online about the differences, including the caravan club, but still not fully sure what the differences are.
In simplistic terms what are the differences between the 2 variants, why is the serviced pitch more expensive and is it worth it?
We have a Bailey Ranger 540/6 with awning so would that make a difference?
Many thanks
Phil.
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In simplistic terms what are the differences between the 2 variants, why is the serviced pitch more expensive and is it worth it?
In simple terms there is a water tap adjacent to pitch so that you can fill up aquaroll or have a constant supply wither direct into some 'vans or using a ball cock in a larger size (40 litre I think) aquaroll. Also a grey water emptying point for the waste water or you can pipe your waste directly in.
At £3.90 a night extra it is not worth it to me. However a 40 litre aquaroll will last us two easily, on a facility site where we use site showers, for longer than the 5 nights that we usually stay on site before moving on. So for our usual 5 night sty paying nearly £20 for one fill up and empty seems a tad too dear.
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Hi
Welcome to the club. On club sites a service pitch means you get your own freshwater tap (sometimes shared between two pitches) and a grey water drain, mostly they will be hardstanding gravel pitches instead of grass.
The majority of posters on this forum are happy to give any advice from their experience so ask away.
Anything regarding club sites I may be able to help being an employee on the sites network
JK
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Take a look at page 23 of your Sites Directory and Handbook.
You pay extra for a serviced Pitch because it has its own water supply to which you can connect a hose direct to your caravan and also a drain so you can connect your waste water outlet thereby not having to use a wastemaster. Some people seem to like Serviced Pitches so they don't have to fetch water or take wastematers to the filling/emptying points at various places on the site. You will still have to take your chemical toilet cassette to the appropriate emptying point.
Only you can decide if a Serviced Pitch is worth the extra money. As far as I am aware, a Serviced Pitch usually has space for an awning.
Whichever type of pitch you decide to book, have a great time.
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A service pitch costs £3.90 (onsite that have them) over and above the normal pitch, and there is still a need to empty the cassette and take rubbish to the bins, but even though OH and I are of the older members group, still can manage to help us keep fitter,with the walk every few days to a service point to empty the waste,we tend only to fill our aqua roll on first arriving on site, then keep it topped up with a watering can of water that is easy to carry and taken when taking rubbish or recyling to the service point,and they like the washing up areas are a "meeting place" that a serviced pitch reduces
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We have enjoyed using service pitches with our caravan. Now switching to a MH, we will have to see. Benefits over and above the water and drainage include. Often a bit larger than the standard pitches, particularly where recently installed. The ones we have used have always been exceptionally level, even on sites which can require levelling.
Disadvantages are the price supplement £3.90 a night. £4.90 at Chatsworth, where they are designated Super pitches and you have your own toilet cassette emptying point on the pitch. Chatsworth also has some non awning service pitches, created due to the 6m spacing rule. Generally I think service pitches are with awning.
Also worth remembering at this time of year, is that you can end up getting little use for your £3.90/£4.90 due to input and waste pipe freezing. A good tip if you are leaving next day and you expect a freezing night is to go back onto the standard system the night before. At Chatsworth a few years ago we were in danger of missing the statuatory leaving time as I could not get the hose off the tap and pipes coiled.😂
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All been said above and good advice respicailly regarding low temperatures from Steve, but if you try one and like it then be aware that for a number of reasons they are very popular and will go first so book early.
I personally love them and will not get a non service pitch if I can help it.
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Phil
Whether its worth the extra £3.90 might depend on how you use your van. If you use the onsite showers and washing up facilities I think it harder to justify the higher nightly charge. Personally I feel the charge is a bit on the high side and £3 tops would be reasonable but I can't do anything about that! We have a motorhome and sometimes have a serviced pitch. Some will think that counter intuitive as motorhomes have larger onboard water and waste tanks. But if you are staying on site for 4 or 5 days or longer and use onboard facilities you still need to empty waste and fill with fresh water and in those circumstances a service pitch is very handy. Not all sites have them but those that do seem to get booked up pretty quickly so they are popular.
David
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First of all welcome! This site is very helpful whether beginner or experienced. As others have suggested the decision whether to use serviced pitches or not, will be governed by how you use your van. We use our vans facilities to the full (shower, cooking, washing up), others use the site showers and kitchens so use little water in their vans. If you end up using the caravans facilities and you are not counting the pennies too much then a fully serviced pitch is for us an affordable luxury. We have an aquaroll adaptor (ball cock) that enables a water supply to be permanently connected when on site (you need ‘potable’ (NOT portable) water or food grade hose pipe and standard hoselock type connectors. We also have a number of differing lengths of solid plastic domestic waste pipe and various connectors (straight, 90/45 degree) so we can run the grey water waste straight to the gully. Another tip if you intend using the vans shower is to have two aquarolls. Simply makes life easier when you unexpectedly run out of water.
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Quite often CMC Serviced Pitches are nearer to Facilities Block & are less in numbers so less chance of choosing your pitch on arrival. If unsure best to check what a 'Serviced Pitch' is on other commercial/private sites etc. Enjoy your time away
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Many thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated.
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One other thing to add about serviced pitches which I don't think anyone has mentioned...... Nearly all serviced pitches are on hardstandings. I think there is only one site on the Club network which also offer grass serviced pitches - from memory I think it is The Firs in Belper. So if you want a hardstanding pitch, you can guarantee one if you book a serviced pitch (apart from The Firs).
David
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I did mention it but on the other thread
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