# How close can you park?



## aultymer (Jun 20, 2006)

Pulled onto an empty CS this afternoon - 1/2 acre of empty site.
Left for a couple of hours in the Toad and returned to find another van had parked within 6 feet of ours!! Why?????
There is the same open view from all of the site, plenty of hook ups, there are no trees to block a tv signal and only a quiet back road nearby.

Are owners of 'Starlet II ' vans in such dire need of company?


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## DTPCHEMICALS (Jul 24, 2006)

Safety in numbers. :lol: 

Dave p


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## trevd01 (Oct 26, 2007)

Once on a CL, after parking the van where the owner wanted us to be, a tugger, whose caravan was maybe 3 or 4 metres away, returned and parked his Shogun between his caravan and our van, so close to our van that we couldn't get out the door...

He explained that that was where he was parked before we came, and felt it was his right to leave a space to sit out between his caravan and 'car'.

He was persuaded by me to move. But in the night he (and I can't prove this) unplugged our hookup. :evil: :evil: :evil:


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

_Wherever _ you park a motorhome it's a racing certainty that another one will be along in a minute and park smack next to you. They have a sort of herd instinct.

G


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Herding instinct is correct. Yesterday evening we parked at a Platz opposite a restaurant. This is a very large field, well over an acre. There were three others parked when we arrived. About a hour later another van arrived and parked so close to us that if I opened our kitchen window I could knock his hab door. A little later he moved forward a bit which I assume was so that he could see in our cab windows. 

As they left their van to go to the restaurant the couple from the other van stood in front of ours and gawked in through the windscreen at us. I thought that was so rude it was funny, so laughing I waved at them. They completely ignored me and carried on looking in. Maybe they couldn't see me waving. These were German people. It's not the first time we have had Germans staring in at us while we are sitting in the van. The German concept of rudeness seems to differ from the British one, Alan.


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## sallytrafic (Jan 17, 2006)

At the Great Dorset Steam Fair Marshals park you initially. They make allowance for awnings cars etc etc so caravans get a larger pitch than a tent for instance. There has to be 3 meter clear gap between units of whatever type. Later as some people leave, infillers come and pitch up marshals don't always notice them. A smallish motorhome thought nothing of attempting to park between me and a tent that was already too close. He was six inches from my awning which I had only put 1/2 out because it was windy. 

I asked him politely not to park there he ignored me. It was only when I started to dial security on my mobile that he went away. He nearly took one of the guy ropes from the tent with him.


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## machilly (Feb 10, 2007)

a couple of years ago having just started fulltiming, we had regularly been staying at a CL in Glasgow area near Twechar/Cumbernauld. we had been fairly friendly with farmer. so fast forward a year and we were into August, again staying regularly It was a Thursday and we were working in Edinburgh so left the site at 4pm, got back at Midnight to find a Caravan parked next to us, only 4ft from our motorhome.
Got up next morning and confronted Caravanner, his excuse he had been driving 300 miles and was tired, so Farmer put him there, I told him to move, but he refused.
No as this was a CL and was covered by CC rules, (20ft minimum between vans) I confronted the farmer, he was so unhelpful at that point, I pointed out the safety issue and that he was breaching CC rules, apart from the fact he had more vans than he should have. result was I packed up and went with a full refund of my money, I have never used the CL again, and as we have been fulltiming now for a further 2 years, he has lost in my estimation £1500 in revenue from me,there was times on the site where it was only our van on site, he has also lost my respect, so I do not recommend the site, in fact I discourage people to go there. I did not contact the CC, maybe I should have, I did take pictures, but I had nothing to gain by snitching

regards


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## loddy (Feb 12, 2007)

Personal Magnetism :wink: 

Loddy


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## dovtrams (Aug 18, 2009)

It must be the human instinct to herd together. I park at the chippie in Blair Athol if I am travelling down the A9. The last time I was there, I pulled in against the back wall and in no time, three Italian motor homes also pulled in so close that I could no open my hab door. This need to stay close is also evident in car parks; park your car in an almost empty part of the car park and without exception when you come back to it others will be parked around you. What is annoying though is caravanners who seem to think that they can park up, put up a large awning then get annoyed when you tell them that they cannot park their car between that and your MH, leaving you nowhere to sit outside or put a canopy out.

Dave


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## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

Charcoal barbeque, lots of lighter fluid & some cheap sausages would probably bring him to his senses  If that does'nt work try walking about with a kitchen knife clenched between your teeth. When he see's you draw a line across your throat with your index finger. He should get the message 8O 

D.


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## barryd (May 9, 2008)

I find this most annoying especially when wild camping. You find a lovely spot all on your own and then someone will come and park right next to you. Fair enough if it is a tight spot but on a few occasions I have been in places where there is loads of room and you still get someone who will come right next to you. Why? I dont confront them though (well if your wilding what right do you have) I just move myself.

People are like sheep and do seem to need to herd together. Pathetic.


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## Zozzer (Aug 13, 2006)

erneboy said:


> Herding instinct is correct. Yesterday evening we parked at a Platz opposite a restaurant. This is a very large field, well over an acre. There were three others parked when we arrived. About a hour later another van arrived and parked so close to us that if I opened our kitchen window I could knock his hab door. A little later he moved forward a bit which I assume was so that he could see in our cab windows.
> 
> As they left their van to go to the restaurant the couple from the other van stood in front of ours and gawked in through the windscreen at us. I thought that was so rude it was funny, so laughing I waved at them. They completely ignored me and carried on looking in. Maybe they couldn't see me waving. These were German people. It's not the first time we have had Germans staring in at us while we are sitting in the van. The German concept of rudeness seems to differ from the British one, Alan.


Maybe the answer is to close the curtains before you start making the MH rock.


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## inkey-2008 (May 24, 2008)

Start the eberspacer they don't like that.

Andy


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## grouch (Oct 1, 2005)

Take the filter out of the sog and run it for a bit.


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## aultymer (Jun 20, 2006)

He was on the wrong side for the Sog and the wife wouldn't let me do my bread on the roof trick in case I was spotted by the site owner.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

_bread on the roof trick _

Come on Aultymer - spill !!!


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## aultymer (Jun 20, 2006)

Do pay attention Pippin - I have told it before!

Simple - a couple of slices of damp bread will stick to a roof



until the seagulls find it at dawn!

Sounds like your roof is coming in!!


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

Hi.

Now would you complain if they had a MHF's sticker in the window, you would be inviting them in for their tea and saying in this thread what a wonderful time I had with my new found friends.

Of course you just didn't blank them but entered into the spirit of motor homing.

Didn't you?.


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## aultymer (Jun 20, 2006)

Well Ray, I do not trust divers for a start.
Something to do with vanishing moorings in the Clyde!

But, to respond to your comment: When we returned to our van the blinds on the side of our new 'friends' van went up within minutes.
This I took to be a sign that they did not want to join us for drinkies.
I did not see any stickers nor would an MHF one have altered the gulf between us. (all 6 feet of it).

This morning he managed to pass the front of our van to recover his cable without responding to my wave. This was a wave using all my fingers and I had a smile on my face.
I really wanted to engage with him, to try to find out why he found it necessary to be so close.
He then juddered off the grass and left.


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## rayrecrok (Nov 21, 2008)

aultymer said:


> Well Ray, I do not trust divers for a start.
> Something to do with vanishing moorings in the Clyde!
> 
> But, to respond to your comment: When we returned to our van the blinds on the side of our new 'friends' van went up within minutes.
> ...


Its all clear now he saw you moistening the bread, and thought they must be poor, they are having "Pob's" for tea.

He was a snob.


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## machilly (Feb 10, 2007)

What I cannot understand is this, if someone parks that close that I feel uncomfortable, don't they...I think personally it is ignorance, it is like going on a campsite, and parking so that when you look out of your window you are looking directly into someone else's domain.
If I arrive at a site I tend to ensure that I park offset, or at an angle if I can so that I am not encroaching in the other persons space..
I can understand a Newbie or an Inexperienced camper doing it but most of the P*&^)£ks have been camping for long enough....MHF sticker or not leave the gap that youn are suppsed to 6m (or 20ft in old money)


regards


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## Codfinger (Jan 11, 2008)

*Too close*

Last year while in France we stayed on a site right by the river, on our return we found an Italian m/h had set up camp so close to us we could hardly open our window! bloomin noisey gits they were too with 4 kids..................we left the next morning
Chris


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## Mick757 (Nov 16, 2009)

so riled i posted twice!


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## Mick757 (Nov 16, 2009)

trevd01 said:


> Once on a CL, after parking the van where the owner wanted us to be, a tugger, whose caravan was maybe 3 or 4 metres away, returned and parked his Shogun between his caravan and our van, so close to our van that we couldn't get out the door...
> 
> He explained that that was where he was parked before we came, and felt it was his right to leave a space to sit out between his caravan and 'car'.
> He was persuaded by me to move. But in the night he (and I can't prove this) unplugged our hookup. :evil: :evil: :evil:


Dont get me going on this issue. Tuggers are a pain in the bloody arse for this trick. Elsewhere on this board ive already said this happened to me twice inside 24 hours. Why the hell cant they either leave room and park round the other side, or, park end on to their van?? :evil:


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## carolgavin (May 9, 2005)

I can park very closely if I really want to, but I like to leave myself room to get out :lol: :lol:

I always park away from anyone in supermarket carparks and I always come out to find some muppet parked 4 inches from my door, DESPITE the whole carpark being empty...........................................like why??????????????????

Do they think I am lonely or sommat when really all i want is for my nice wee car to remain dent free,or scratch free. Am thinking of getting a big sign that says sommat rude, but am too nice a person for that :roll: :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink: :wink:


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## marionandrob (May 14, 2005)

*Re: Too close*



Codfinger said:


> Last year while in France we stayed on a site right by the river, on our return we found an Italian m/h had set up camp so close to us we could hardly open our window! bloomin noisey gits they were too with 4 kids..................we left the next morning
> Chris


This happened to us so often when we were off on our travels for 6 months that if we were the first on an aire we would bet on how closely the next arrival would park to us and how quickly the satellite dish on the roof would be set up.

I think the record was 3ft and the dish was already tracking before the van had come to a complete halt.


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