Camping at a truck stop
Hopefully this post won’t offend motor home owners, it’s bound to offend some, but that is not my intention so apologies in advance if it does.
We’ve been caravaners for 35 years and members for about 30 of those years. Until the last few years the typical sounds we’d hear on a site would be; people wheeling their plastic water containers to the water point, the tap tap of pegs being driven into the ground, birds, the occasional dog barking, faint chatter from nearby campers, the wardens going about their work and of course the sound of cars arriving or leaving site.
We’ve noticed how slowly the numbers of motor homes has started to outnumber the caravans on sites and from our perspective this change has also had an impact on the atmosphere of camp sites.
We still have all the aforementioned sounds but now we also have; motor home Diesel engines running while they queue up for their water point or, while the occupants deliberate which pitch to occupy, or while they shuffle back and forth on a pitch trying to get the most level spot (something they repeat every time they go out for the day). Then we have those who get back to site in the dark and also leave their head lights shining while they manoeuvre back onto their pitch. On one occasion we were unlucky to be pitched next to the motor home water point where not only did we have the engine noise of queuing motor homes to contend with we also had radios playing and diesel fumes literally being pumped out of the side of their vehicles onto our pitch. Some but not all motor home users even left their engines running and radios playing with the driver door wide open while on boarding/off loading water.
Like I said I don’t want to offend motor home campers but the atmosphere of campsites is at times more akin to camping at a truck stop.
Comments
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Bit early for the weekend. Perhaps a POETS day tempter.😂
Not that I would ever leave our engine running when queuing, I agree very antisocial. However, on the other side of the coin, as our MH is heated and we use a silver screen, we don't need to leave our engine running to defrost it on a winter morning. 😀
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The thing to do is to have a polite word with those who leave their engines running etc. They clearly don't realise they are offending you.
On the upside, the modern day diesel engines are very clean so won't be polluting the atmosphere or stinking you out.
Likewise car drivers can be equally thoughtess with leaving engines running, doors open, radios playing and leaving their cars blocking roadways unnecessarily so it's something we all need to be aware of.
As I said, mention your concerns. The thoughtless amongst us won't know otherwise.
PS. The only bit of your post i find objectionable is the title. It's guaranteed to get folks' backs up as sites are nothing like truck stops. It's also misleading as I was expecting to read a post about truck stops. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here that the whole thing isn't a wind up.
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It's a good job that caravan owners don't also irritate you when taking ages and ages, blocking the site roads when faffing with motor movers to get their vans on to the pitch, then spending the next hour banging what seems like hundreds of pegs into the ground for their enormous awnings. It certainly doesn't irritate me, it's part of daily life on a site..
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I have just returned from Cornwall and was highly entertained by a chap trying to manoeuvre his Motorhome / Campervan onto leveling blocks. He must have had 20+ attempts with directions from his wife, it was pure entertainment. The people on the site next to us sat in their Awning were in stitches and provided commentary. Better than anything on TV lately. So Justus 2 it is not only Caravaners that have the ability to annoy or entertain you.
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Most caravans I see are reversed onto the pitch, disconnected from the car, the car is removed from the road and the mover is used to manoeuvre the caravan onto the peg. The same is true when they leave their pitch. The road is never blocked for more than a few minutes.
As for pegs it takes 10 minutes usually to drive in all the pegs so not sure where you get your hour from and moreover some motor homers also erect awnings/tents so knocking pegs in is not exclusive to caravaning.
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Quite so ADP, we once saw what appeared to be novices in a brand new motor-home demolish a small fence, and new caravan owners unhook their van on a sloping site and nearly lost it down the hill. There is, however a difference between inexperience and lack of consideration for others.
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The word is 'misleading'.
Or is it 'inciting'? 🤔
Actually, many tow cars share the same engines as MHs.
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We don’t recognise what you are moaning about, simply because we are bright enough not to endure anything that vaguely irritates us, and choose our Sites accordingly.
I think you might just have reached that age where for some, life is all about intolerance to others, rather than still getting out, enjoying oneself and remaining content with your own life. It’s a slippery slope, I would advise a detour and a happier pathway if possible😂
Edit. Regarding on Site entertainment. Club Sites are the epitome for people watching. It’s rare we spend a day around a busy Club Site, but it can be a fascinating watch. I am quite sure that we have been the focus of much wonder and speculation as well at times. As we usually travel with two or sometimes three dogs, in either a small caravan, or a small motorhome, I have lost count of the number of times someone has asked me “we were wondering where the dogs sleep”🤣
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Like I said I don’t want to offend motor home campers but the atmosphere of campsites is at times more akin to camping at a truck stop.
Of course you posted to offend Grant, an apology does not wash away your real intention. The few posts so far has already brought out the "and what about the caravanners", so let the regurgitated war begin.
The movement and setting up of both motorhome and caravans has never bothered me one iota. Maybe if I had ever pitched near or next to the motorhome waste/water point I would wish to have chosen more carefully, but have not as yet.
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Justus 2, I take it you mean he considered the need to entertain us all because of the lack of poor TV entertainment . Not necessary the weather was nice so a comfy seat and glass of wine was adequate. I don't want to labour the point but are you suggesting that Motorhomers don't bang pegs in windbreakers and Guy ropes? surely not !
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My solution would be to step outside, get into your car (quietly) and go for a nice drive. Take a picnic, enjoy the nice scenery, maybe even a little exercise if possible.
While out, notice those motorhomes parked up in nice spots, bit of cooking inside going on, table laid, en-suite facilities to hand. Won’t be long before you start to think differently, hey, they’re not so bad, maybe we should consider one.........🤣
I don't want to labour the point but are you suggesting that Motorhomers don't bang pegs in and Guy ropes? surely not !
If it’s attached to something on a Site, technically, it has ceased to motor. The owners will be at the bus stop or out on their ebikes👍
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Heaven help you if you ever find yourself at a real truck stop, Grant.
So tell us what you did about the situation. Did you speak to the drivers who annoyed you so much or did you bottle it all up to have a moan on here and cause division? I fear you will achieve nothing positive with this approach.
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I had initially considered changing the title of this thread but, having read all the comments and got the flavour of the discussion, I'm locking it purely because, although the OP states it was not his intention to offend, it's having nothing but a negative affect on the relationships between motorhomers and caravanners.
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Maybe I live in a trance on site (possible and could be drink related) but I've never noticed any MH 'behaviour' as listed in the OP.
Some of it is not reasonable anyway, I wouldn't expect anyone (towcar or MH) to switch off their lights while driving onto a pitch.
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