Fully Serviced pitches
Comments
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It is a counter arguement. In the light of my above post the Club needs to think very carefully about where it is going with pitch provision and facilities. It is noticable on the cheaper, lets say more basic sites, motorhomes outnumber caravans by 2 to 1. Of course those that only use Club sites are not going to be aware of this.
peedee
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That is totally irrelevant Michael. It is not what may or may not be needed. It is about what people want! And the majority want hard standing whether motor home or caravan.
On the site that I am on at present as many motorhomes as caravans seem to have chosen grass whilst hard stands were still available
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smaller quick turn around pitches with no facilities but of course all the dyed in the wool caravaners would be up in arms as they would think MH's would be getting some thing they are not but of course they could be used by all and the caravanners can park their cars in the car park so they do not stray onto another pitch if they so wish?
Strangely enough I suspect that those same caravanners have little desire to park their car with its inbuilt storage half way across a site away from their pitch and quite a number of motorhomes seem to have a toad or a store tent.
I am sure you could get maybe 4 smaller pitches from 2 large normal pitches with the grass between and have say 3m between vans
Possibly but as the CC require a minimum of 6 metre separation that is a non starter as well as being off topic
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In truth many sites need to broaden their appeal both for those wanting serviced and economy pitches, the latter preferably being hard standing. The search facilities and prices should also reflect this. In my view there are too many sites offering one size fits all.
peedee
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Equally I wonder whether the possible enticement of saving mony on non EHU would bring enough trade to cover the fact that those pitches are useless to many site users. OK I use the term useless very loosly as the pitches themselves are only useless if a site is full and folk want EHU.
The present few economy pitches tend to be out on a limb where there is an odd pitch that may not warrant the cost of extending the EHU system. If the club were to deliberately provide non EHU pitches then I suspect the saving to the user might be around £5 max. Because of the relatively small number of such pitches likely to be provided I doubt the CC has much interest in providing
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Not exactly the truth is it PD, more your view?
It is probably your view because you do not want to use that sort of site (one size fits all) yet for the vast majority it is exactly what they want.
Good news though the club only has about 10% of all sites in the UK so still plenty of sites for you to choose from and leave the club sites for those that do?
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nor do we, Michael, or Peedee...or....
we've never caravanned...our MH has water tanks that give us independence from services, it's one of the differences/benefits we enjoy over a caravan.
but DK and SteveL have MH yet they choose SP...they may be able to provide your answer.
however, they were both caravanners....might be some connection? perhaps old (water management) habits die hard?..
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At the moment I think they are on a gentle decline which could get steeper if more and more turn to motorhomes
You could be right PD but, at present, the CC sites seem to draw their fair share of motorhomes and although you do use some basic UK sites you are not adverse to using typical sites with EHU etc .
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and wasn't there something about since the rebrand there was a significant number of new members having motorhomes?
I've seen this decline posts every year yet here we are. Wishful thinking perhaps?
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One of the huge benefits of a MH for me is the ability to fill the tanks and the freedom of not having to ‘do’ water on a daily basis, of not being tied to wheeling water containers around or hooking up to services every time we pitch.
Doubtless people have their reasons but it beats me why MH-ers park up connected to Aquarolls or with waste containers under their drains.🤷🏻♂️
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A fair assessment ET but I think many motorhomers using Club site are ex caravanners and long time Club members and loyalty to the brand creeps in with their choice. If you keep an eye on some of the motorhome forums there is a totally different breed of motorhome owner out there who wouldn't dream of using full facility sites.
peedee
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Maybe they have smaller tanks, stay on site longer and tend to leave MH pitched. No idea. An aquaroll only needs one fill for the duration of my stay and so no need for daily fill.
No idea why MHs choose serviced pitches but the simple fact is that they do for their own reasons
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Any site ,as here that has good access to public transport,,or easy access to nearby towns/villages seems,has now become attractive to motor caravans and this is all grass with no serviced pitches and it is about 50/50 +1trailer tent and even with "easy?"parking on the sea front in the time we have been here may be two pitches have had equipment left where a motor caravan has gone out for the day, but a steady stream of cars have been out,
Ps any chance of naming any of these "basic"sites ,or are they the normal for your posts a bit "obscure?"
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A fair assessment ET but I think many motorhomers using Club site are ex caravanners and long time Club members and loyalty to the brand creeps in with their choice.
Perhaps PD. I have been a caravanner for the best part of nearly 40 years. CC sites make up 60% of my touring pitches. Is this solely out of loyalty? No it is solely because they provide what I want at a standard that I like and require little further investigation prior to booking. There are CC sites that I will not use and that is due to location or poor exit.
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I agree with your post, I also feel the rise in MH ownership (especially small first time vans) will lead to changes in varying pitch/service requirements, with more looking to tour with more stops, less time in each place.
in turn this means less requirement for services on a pitch (a fill on entry, dump waste on exit) and perhaps less need for EHU...
smaller vans won't have large 3 way fridge freezers (more likely to be a smaller 12V unit) microwaves and the like and may be 'traded up to' from tenters who are comfortable with gas kettles.
some commercials and C&CC are providing more choice with flexible pricing to suit differing requirements.
is the move to more SP what everyone now wants?
yes, for well heeled caravanners who stay on site a bit and need water often...possibly..
for small MH owners whose on board services can easily last them the shorter length of stays they may be taking....why?....not necessary and just more cost.
im sure CC knows what it's doing but touring is not a one size fits all hobby these days as the competition is reflecting.
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We are in danger of going way off topic, the simple fact is there is a demand for all types of pitches, the more expensive serviced pitches and cheaper types.
Keep up the gibes chapesses, your wasting time typing them, they go right over the top and you know you are never going to get to know most sites I visit. lets just say last trip was two Club sites, one of them non facility, one CL and one commercial. A good cross section in peak period in my view.
peedee
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im sure CC knows what it's doing but touring is not a one size fits all hobby these days as the competition is reflecting.
Was touring ever one size fits all in regard to what folk wanted?
Not sure what examples of competition you may have in mind BB. Competition for CC is principally main stream sites as that is the section of providers that it is in. I know that C&CC offer no EHU grass pitches but not aware of any mainstream sites providing the option.
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David, I agree with you, in part...
if you'd parked next to us on any of our long term sites we wouldn't be moving...using bikes, feet, public transport etc to enjoy the area...
however, for the two/three weeks journey down or back, our requirements are different...
one or two nights...sometimes a site, sometimes not...but in either case our batteries are fully charged, we will have loads of water on board and don't need to empty waste for many days...only the cassete needs to be emptied and there are loads of places to do that.
in the uk, things are different for us....we don't long term here (for loads of reasons) so our tours are shorter in total length and certainly the number of days on each stop...usually two to four max.
again, we don't need EHU or water, we can fill with fresh on arrival and empty the waste on leaving....also recharge cassette prior to leaving.
taxation, cost, environment and other factors will gradually remove large gin palaces from our camping world with smaller, lighter less fully equipped vans coming to the fore...witness the myriad of cheaper budget MH pouring into the market...Swift have even brought in a range below their bottom rung offering (Escape) as they felt it had moved too far upmarket.
Gas hobs, battery fridges and water self sufficiency for (say) three days each stop may be the ideal requirement for the young VW/PVC MHer of the future.
serviced pitches won't figure in that world...especially if the price keeps rising.
but for our long term stays in the sun, I agree with you.
hope the sun is shining there and you've had your morning dip👍
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Keep up the gibes chapesses, your wasting time typing them, they go right over the top and you know you are never going to get to know most sites I visit. lets just say last trip was two Club sites, one of them non facility, one CL and one commercial. A good cross section in peak period in my view.
It is pointless using unknown sites as comparisons. However you refer to a demand for 'cheaper pitches' but what price point defines cheaper in say May, June, July ?
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