So what did the Club ever do for Motorcaravanners?

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  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,387 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #422

    Is it a small minority? You do not know that but one thing is for sure, it is not small amongst the whole motorhome community of which I question if as many as 30 percent are members of the Club.

    peedee

  • moulesy
    moulesy Forum Participant Posts: 9,402 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #423

    Well, none of us know for sure, and although I did ask one very keen MHer  (wink) for an estimate earlier in the thread none has been put forward. But judging by the fact that the various petitons mentioned earlier have had relatively poor support I would guess (nothing more than that) that it's a small minority of club MHers  (let alone MHers as a whole) who are touring in the UK in the same way as is being highlighted on the continent and therefore an even smaller minority who would make sufficient use to warrant the expenditure involved.

  • ATDel
    ATDel Forum Participant Posts: 335
    edited March 2019 #424

    Looks like it is a minority on this thread as only about 3 or 4 people are arguing for knock down price car parking spaces for their nights stay.

    we own a Motorhome and have just spent the past 10 weeks in Spain mainly  on aires, some free some very cheap and some quite dear for what you get, do I expect the same sort of places in the uk? No I don’t, we do things different in the UK maybe not right but different. I personally cannot see the CAMC advocating aire style parking with inches between outfits in the carpark or wherever but having to have 6m between outfits elsewhere.

    Why not contact local councils to do this sort of parking they already have the land in form of car parks in the “right areas”, over night parking at £8 to £10 would be a great money spinner for them. Then you would get the it’s too expensive for what you get brigade complaining. The problem is one persons expensive is another’s good value.

    Someone said back a few pages the club is not forward thinking, really, what about all the different accommodation they now supply on different sites, is that not forward thinking and the start of evolving into something more than just a caravan or Motorhome site, generating a lot more money for the club to reinvest.

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,387 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #425

    Petitions of late have a very poor response because the government has quite rightly pointed out it is a matter for local authorities not national government. That is probably widely known from one of the very early petitions which did garner many more signatures. So you either lobby local government or the clubs which provide sites.

    peedee

    P.s just checked the first petition was round about 2004 when like Bluemanga I also wrote to the Club about "Aires"

  • moulesy
    moulesy Forum Participant Posts: 9,402 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #426

    Or Aldi/Lidl etc.....wink

    But you tell me, PD, since the last MHer I asked swerved the question, what percentage of club MHers  (let alone MHers as a whole) would you estimate are wanting to tour the UK (for several weeks at a time) in the same way as on the continent?

  • Navigateur
    Navigateur Club Member Posts: 3,880 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #427

    As both these organisation have run promotions in springtime on camping and caravanning supplies, might this be a good time for whoever it is that is going to approach them to do so.

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,139 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #428

    I’ve been wondering, M, just who would use the aires/nighthalts over here because the advocates of them seem to do most of their touring over there.🤔

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,387 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #429

    I haven't the faintest idea and I don't suppose the Club has either without surveying its motorhome members.

    peedee

  • moulesy
    moulesy Forum Participant Posts: 9,402 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #430

    And surely that's the point? Until and unless some of the advocates for this sort of provision make the effort to do a bit of homework and gather any evidence of significant demand, nothing's going to change.

    Maybe that's why the likes of Morris,  Haven et al haven't seen it as a bandwagon worth jumping on?

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,387 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #431

    Maybe that's why the likes of Morris, Haven et al haven't seen it as a bandwagon worth jumping on?

    These kind of businesses don't operate UK wide or are in the all swinging and dancing holiday park business.

    A number of surveys have been tried on the motorhome forums, what response there has been has always come out in favour of night stops for motorhomes. I think Britstops is now in its 9th year of providing them and added 150 extra stops to its handbook this year.

    If my estimate of only 30 percent of motorhomes owners are members of the the Club then that means the Club is failing to attract the majority to its fold which is why it changed its name in the first place.

    At the risk of repeating what has been said by others and myself, the Club still has someway to go to make it attractive to the majority.

    peedee

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,139 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #432

    "These kind of businesses don't operate UK wide or are in the all swinging and dancing holiday park business."

    Correction, they are in the business of making money so would jump at the chance of making a bit more profit if they thought nighthalts would provide it.

    All power to Britstops. They’re meeting the need so why inappropriately try to involve this club?

    'Swinging', really?😳

     

     

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,387 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #433

     That is because it is so much easier to tour over there and so it should be here, but it isn't and until the powers that be make it more attractive to do so I cannot see this changing.

    peedee

  • moulesy
    moulesy Forum Participant Posts: 9,402 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #434

    "If my estimate of only 30 percent of motorhomes owners are members of the the Club then that means the Club is failing to attract the majority to its fold which is why it changed its name in the first place."

     

    Well there always seem to be plenty of (apparently) happy MHers on club sites whenever I use them, many on the serviced pitches. The real question, as far as this thread is concerned, is surely what proportion of the 30% wish to tour the UK (for weeks on end) in "the continental style"! 

  • peedee
    peedee Club Member Posts: 9,387 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #435

    so why inappropriately try to involve this club?

    Nothing inappropiate about expressing an opinion which as a current member I am perfectly entiled to do.

    peedee

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,139 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #436

    Of course you are, PD, as long as you remember it is only your opinion and the club consists mainly of caravanners who would be excluded from any such provision by the club so would probably walk away thus decreasing member numbers and leaving sites half empty. There you go, you’d then be able to convert the 'proper' club sites into cheap aires. Job done!

  • Navigateur
    Navigateur Club Member Posts: 3,880 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #437

    estimate of only 30 percent of motorhomes owners are members of the the Club

    I wonder what the percentage of people who own trailer caravans are members of this Club?

    The manufacturers year on year publish figure for sales of new caravans, both trailer and motorised, but nowhere does there seem to be any figures for the number taken out of service each year.  We can't even rely on vehicle registration figures for motor caravans, though they do reflect the number entitled to be on the road, as I guess once it is not economic to to keep going with repairs for MOT tests there may still be many useful years left as a static somewhere.

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited March 2019 #438

    If where we store our c/van is any sort of figure motor caravans are now about 25%_30%in store ,out of over 500 pitches and the majority seem to be used the same as c/vans,and as we are constantly out and in very few get much use as they seem to be always there

  • cyberyacht
    cyberyacht Forum Participant Posts: 10,218
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    edited March 2019 #439

    At the risk of further muddying the waters, the objection to utilising LNA/car parking facilities on CAMC sites is partly driven by the 8pm cutoff for arrival. If it is primarily to restrict vehicle movements, how do MH's who have gone out for the day/evening access their 'paid for' pitch? Whilst I agree that vehicle movements into the small hours is to be deprecated, could not arrivals be allowed up to 10pm, possibly with formal check-in the following morning? That would release the LNA/car park for "aire- type use". Are we so set in our ways that it is anathema to 'think outside the box'?

     

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,139 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #440

    You need to ask a warden if it’s practical, CY. I suspect new arrivals can only arrive when someone is on duty irrespective of the booking in process. 

    Those who have gone out for the day already have their barrier cards but who’s there to let a 10pm arrival in?

  • Unknown
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    edited March 2019 #441
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  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited March 2019 #442

    Who would open the ,as noted on more site the security barriers ,that the motor caravans if? going out would use their card/fob/code to re enter as the PVCon the pitch opposite us did at about 2130 last nightwink

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited March 2019 #443

    I think the person you should be talking to is JK, or perhaps sitting tight like the rest of us and see what his (to me) cryptic response was all about...

    i just made some observations and the reply seemed to suggest (to me) that some of them weren't too wide of the mark...

    but, again, the reply mentioned other wardens coming back to work soon and (perhaps) being briefed on some new (blue sky?) thinking.

    of course, I'm making 2 and 2 add up to 300 or so...but purely based on JKs response....to which, you'll note, I replied 'intrigued' as I had no real idea what he was alluding to.

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited March 2019 #444

    now, that's the second time you've been really personal today, and the third in recent times.....and, of course,wrong...as usual.

    my daughter has never been on a cc site....

    yes, I advocated cars being in car parks (away from the race track) but I know this doesn't happen, hence my question.

    do you spend all day practicing being like you are or does it come naturally?

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited March 2019 #445

    For what seems the majority of motor caravanners that use this clubs. sites , with the on going purchase of run down sites and the amount of money it is costing to refurbish them and still upgrade existing sites, also as is posted so many times unable to book a pitch as sites being full, then it seems the it is catering for all types of LVs as per any inclusive members club

  • ATDel
    ATDel Forum Participant Posts: 335
    edited March 2019 #446

    I believe it does for Motorhomes the same as it does for caravans, offers different types of pitches at set prices, why do you think you are so special driving a Motorhome rather than tugging a car.

    if you want cheap with little services there are plenty of sites around which offer those a lot of CLs do CSs do go and park in a car park somewhere, oh Sorry you can’t use CLs as your not even a member but boy have you got some opinions

  • Navigateur
    Navigateur Club Member Posts: 3,880 ✭✭✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #447

    Whatever the cut-off time for the site closing to new arrivals there will always be someone, and it could as easily be you as me, that plans to arrive half-an-hour before that time and then has a puncture.

    So no LNA, and have to drive around the streets all night until site opens for new arrivals at noon (or later!).

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited March 2019 #448

    I do think you need to remember your past posts and the insults that you tend to insert when  quite often it seems, others are not taken in by your blinkered, it also seems, outlook to anything not in your singular outlooksurprised

  • Tinwheeler
    Tinwheeler Forum Participant Posts: 23,139 ✭✭✭
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    edited March 2019 #449

    Let’s not forget the upgrade to MHSPs. It might be very little and very late but it sure ain’t 'zilch'.

     

  • young thomas
    young thomas Forum Participant Posts: 11,356
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    edited March 2019 #450

    in response to you're 2nd para, I would....

    when we are home, I'd love to be able to tour our own country in 'the continental style' but, as we are home mainly in the 3 or 4 Summer months, it's not easy then to do so without booking a whole trip before one wheel has turned...

    popular sites will be fully booked (everyone books) and with no provision for the casual tourer (the nub of much of this discussion) I won't be setting out, thanks.

    ok, I'll do a couple of one, two or three site trips, but having booked sites (for us) it takes all the spontenaiety out of touring, hence we don't do it here...

    oh, and there's the weather...undecided

  • JVB66
    JVB66 Forum Participant Posts: 22,892
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    edited March 2019 #451

    But still it seems ahead of most otherswink