Camper van newbee

DaveR

Guest
Hi There,

I am taking the first step to possibly buying a camper van by hiring one for a week. Although I relish the prospect of the freedom my wife has concerns so maybe you can answer a few of them for her.

1 What is the law when it comes to parking on the side of the road and in public car parks overnight?

2 Is there a website that can list any free parking areas in the south west? (We plan to travel from Portsmouth to Cornwall and back over a seven day period stopping at various points.)

3 She also has concerns about being attacked if we camp away from others and not on a proper site, is there any substance to that fear? I have never heard of it myself.

4 Any other practical advice for newbee campers.

Thanks in anticipation of your help

best wishes

Dave R
 
This is the best website for wild camping spots
I would'nt like to quote the law ,because I'm not sure of every detail. We go on the presumption if there is not a sign saying no overnighting , then it should be OK.
If we are not happy or feel uncomfortable with a place then we move on. It's always worthwhile parking up earlier than you want to in a strange place then it givers you time to move on.
Give it a go !!
 
Dave, having just retired from work, never been camping before, me and the wife bought a very old Hymer in August this year. Although we've already been to France in it - we try to make use of it every weekend in the UK. I support what jann says in that if there is no sign that says no overnight parking then go for it. I think the rules are that - depending on weight, it may need parking lights on the road, definately if it faces the wrong way. Also if you feel uncomfortable then move on. We are both over 50 and have actually parked overnight on Blackpool front - part of the prom only needs a ticket until 8 pm. I think it says no parking for HGVs or caravans but it doesn't say no motorhomes so we stayed. Around 2 am some drunks banged on the side of the van and shouted 'wakey wakey' so I gave a fairly robust anglo saxon retort and heard no more. We have also stayed right on the sea front at Old Conway in Wales, no fees, no restrictions, no hassle. Woke up watching a seal play in the sea. A little known secret is to join the RSPB for £40. Some of their sites allow you to park overnight provided you don't take advantage - Bampton Cliffs - on the East Coast for example. We are going to start checking out all their other sites.

From what I have seen and read, motorhomes are going to be big business in the future. By this I mean that Government is trying to get legislation passed for 'Aires de service' to be built at UK motorway services and there is a growing campaign called 'Stopovers UK' by the motor caravanmagazine asking every local authority to provide suitable sites for motohomes. There is a reluctance by local authorities as they feel they will be swapmed by travellers in caravans so the club is trying to educate them that a motorhome is not the same as a caravan.

Anyway I've only just started but loving it already.
 
Welcome!

DaveR said:
Hi There,

I am taking the first step to possibly buying a camper van by hiring one for a week. Although I relish the prospect of the freedom my wife has concerns so maybe you can answer a few of them for her.

1 What is the law when it comes to parking on the side of the road and in public car parks overnight?

2 Is there a website that can list any free parking areas in the south west? (We plan to travel from Portsmouth to Cornwall and back over a seven day period stopping at various points.)

3 She also has concerns about being attacked if we camp away from others and not on a proper site, is there any substance to that fear? I have never heard of it myself.

4 Any other practical advice for newbee campers.

Thanks in anticipation of your help

best wishes

Dave R
Click to expand...


Dave ... Firstly congratulations on your excellent decision to join us!
I don't know the law regarding overnight stops but I've yet to see a HGV driver hassled by police when in a lay-by!

As stated previously, this is the creme de la creme of wilding!

We usually try and park where we feel comfortable, but always try and make certain that we can make as quick an exit as possible (make sure the camper is not nose against anything when you pull in, keep the drivers seat free, try and make certain everything is inside when you retire for the night) I generally keep my baseball bat type steering wheel lock to hand and have a mega bright torch that once shone in someones eyes it usually takes about 5 or 6 seconds til they can see properly again (according to my wife (Whoops))

Practical advice..... Get out there as much as possible... Oh yeah... And don't forget to wave to other MH owners! ;¬)
 
We have been motorhoming now for 13 years. One piece of advise given to us was not to leave it 'til dark when you decide to park up. Always know where your keys are. We have a hook above the stable door to put our keys on. As soon as we pull up anywhere they are moved from ignition to hook. You then get into the habit of doing a "cockpit" check when moving off again:-
Gas off- check
lockers closed- check
roof vents closed- check
12volt switched off- check( we were told to do this so leisure battery fully charges when driving, don't know if it is true!)
Then you are ready for the off!

Happy camping.You will love it.:D
P.S> as my husband is disabled I have to do all the donkey work, Emptying a chemical loo is not that bad !
 
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Leisure battery and saftey

All I know is that my leisure battery is charged up while I drive and also our solar panel on the roof helps it along a little. When you hook up on a site (I have a generator) the battery gets loaded. As for saftey, We are contemplating on buying a sapper throwing out 120,000 volts, what the cops use in the U.S. which I saw on e-bay. Anyone know if this is against the law?? In the meantime we have a baseball bat, some sort of spray (I call it CS gas, which it isn't) my second half has and an alarm system we rigged up for all doors and windows internally. We always park in a quick getaway position. Touch wood, to date after 30 years of wild camping the gods have been good to us.
Thought I would mention it. Watch out on service stations or queit roadside laybys. Rouges do spray in knockout gas through vents or partially opened windows, then ransack you in their own sweet time. You are out for the count. This happened a few years back in Germany. Hope you still enjoy your freedom after reading this lot.
David
 
David & Ann - I don't know if you're kidding but stun guns/zappers or whatever you call them and any type of CS or pepper spray is totally illegal in UK. OK in Germany and France (I think) but not here.

I like to take a baseball bat - WITH BALL - purely for recreational purposes.
 
Hi Dave.
I too am new to motorhomes, but have been an truck driver in UK and Europe for many years.

General rule to overnight parking, if it doesn't feel right, move on! common sense rules.

Parking on the road requires lights if in an area of road with a speed limit of over 30 mph. Be aware that most lay-byes are considered to be a part of the main carraigeway and whilst HGV's need lights when parked on any road regardless of speed limit during darkness, I have only ever heard of one truck driver being given a ticket for parking overnight in a lay-bye without lights.

A parked HGV driver would be considered responsible if another vehicle ran into the back of the truck whilst parked in darkness without lights and I suspect that would be the same for any vehicle considered to be dangerously parked.

On my travels I see many motorhomes parked up for the night and it seems far more relaxed in France and Spain than in most other countries including the UK.
 
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Thanks for your replies

Thanks for all your responses and I am really looking forward to our trip.

With regard to safety, can I suggest you have a look at the Xmarker personal defence spray on www.lucieblackmantrust.org.

There is a video to show what it does and I am taking a couple of these with us.

any more advice for our first trip would be gratefully received

cheers

Dave R
 
Stunguns/CS Gas

Hi Linfitdrifter,
Thanks for letting me know that stunguns /CS gas is perhaps illegal in this country. You are absolutely right it, is legal in Germany, only if you have no criminal record. I appreciate your advice. To our other MH buddy Kell, what I meant by parking in laybys is that they are well off the road. I know I keep harping on Germany. I have returned to the UK after 34 years to retire, and tend to forget the laybys are a vast difference from (D) and (GB) You are right in saying you need your lights on after dusk. I still have to do a wildcamp in the UK but will certainly head for Scotland for my first experience.
David
 
David & Ann - trust me they ARE illegal - no perhaps about it. Prohibited Articles under the Firearms Act. I would also like to add for the benefit of readers that I made a half hearted comment about baseball bats. All I will say is that unless you have the physical presence and the ability to verbally dominate a 'situation' then a baseball bat or any other defensive weapon is a no no - simply because, if you don't win the situation then whoever is taking you on wins your bat !! - Much better to travel light and be prepared to hand over what you have - unless you can defend yourself long enough until you have dialled 999 on your mobile and you know your exact location - make a note of that - where are you ??
 
Howdy Linfitdrifter
Your advice is appreciated, though I had to smile in the way you put it, pen to paper. At 64 I ain't no superman, so will forget about the stungun, but keep the bat for recreational purposes. I like your logic about the baseball bat. As I said earlier in one of my threads I have never had problems in 30 + years of wilding camping.
 
Howdy Linfitdrifter
Returned to the UK in 2005 to retire in Cornwall. If ever you make it down this way, St Agnes and St Ives are places to be seen. I live in a small cove 200 yards of the beach, where in summer is quite busy from folks from around England and Europe visit. National trust have the upper hand on the parking areas around here. If you are a member, parking is free. But the cliffs here are littered with parking spots if you want to wild camp. Very hilly country along the coast line, the views and sunsets are worth seeing, especially the seals and dolphins. David
 
Cyclist

New to Motorhomes. Waiting for delivery of a new Tribute circa March! My wife and I are very keen cyclists and consequently planto be away from the van for up to about 10 hours at a time. We often do 70-100 mile rides. The prospect of wild camping is very attractive, I am not so worried about stopovers as I intend to get a decent alarm and would be in close proximity to the van at all times -but I am reticent to leave the van unattended.
I guess that using municiple /*/**/*** sites in France would be economic and give a degree of security? in Uk I suppose that CSs would be the thing for a base camp.
I suppose that there is security in numbers.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
Parking

I think it is illegal to park on the road facing on coming traffic. For that matter, any street, even on country lanes, even with your lights on. Cops turn a blind eye to it, nevertheless, it is the law.
 
Car Park Messages

There are a number of new signs showing up on Cumbria coast car parks showing tents with a line through them, caravans with a line through them etc. The councils also have a concern about gipsies so that is why the height restrictions are in place.

The difference between tents, caravans and motor homes is the fact that we pay road tax and as such have the same rights to park as any car owner so long as we act responsibly, even at night. A caravan is not taxed and therefore does'nt qualify.

Many local businesses see the benefit of motorhomes in their towns and villages but the local councils don't tend to have such commercial sense.

I agree with many of you if the place feels right Ok. In my own experience most of these places are in Scotland.
 
Whats all this about stun guns and cs spray ! is it just me are some of you getting a little paraniod? I have never been hasseld by anyone while camping(in the uk, france and spain) ive onley been shown kindness by locals when meeting them
It is all about being polite, by that I mean picking your spots carfully .
Not in the middle of a village or town or near folks homes/farms, On a busy main road even , why would anyone would want to camp in a layby on a
A road beats me! there are some exceptions to my basic rules that I go by but onley a few
KD
 
safety

safety is important but if that is your main concern doesn't it detract from the pleasure of simply stopping on a whim, for me one of the main joys of wild camping. i have never had any safety issues from humans but a few from animals. sheep can sound monstrous when they decide to have a scratch on the bumber in the middle of the night, very alarming.
sadley i did read of an incident in our local paper about intimadation of m. homers , they parked up in a carpark without realising that it was the local boy racers track.
boy racers i do try to avoid but if the worse comes to the worse just challenge them to a race.
i am a lone femail and do always keep doors locked in towns/villages but on beaut. beaches in the moonlight with a warm breeze ,just lie there and enjoy
 
Just a word about the weapons/self-defence thing:

Never bring a weapon into a "situation" that you are not prepared to be used back on you. A thief or attacker may get it off you and use it in return! For this reason, although I have a couple of serious-looking knives and a machete (used for lane clearance when off-road in the Land Rover) and a shotgun at home, I would never try to use these against a burglar or anyone who looked like he meant harm. A heavy torch is the most I would use.

Speaking of which, the following (from a Police Officer) is the best advice I have had. He was advising me about home security (we live miles away from anyone else and the Police could take half an hour to get here). He told me to get a Maglite torch (solid aluminium, very bright, very heavy) of at least the 4 D-cell variety (mine's a 6-cell). If you hear a disturbance in the night, grab the torch and hold it in your right hand (for RH people), Grasp it by the shaft just behind the light and let it swing to the floor. Then lift it back over your shoulder and get your finger ready on the button. The torch is now next to your eyes, pointing directly forward, the barrel pointing back over your shoulder. If you encounter an intruder, press the light on and he will be temporarily blinded for about 3-4 seconds. Use this time, when you have the complete advantage, to bring the torch down over your head, using the full force of your arm and shoulder, and hit him on the head. With a bit of luck, he won't get up for a while. Now use your mobile (he may have cut the phone lines) to call the police.

If this goes to court and they try to paint you as using unreasonable force, you have all the aces up your sleeve. You heard a noise and took a torch to investigate - what could be more reasonable? (You couldn't say that of a baseball bat, even if you did have the ball to go with it.) You shone the light to see who was there, you feared for your safety and the safety of those around you, and in your panic you struck a blow with the nearest thing that came to hand. Tasers and stun-guns all look a bit too premeditated for a UK court, and knife or shotgun could easily be used to kill you if you lost them in the fight.

I'm not advocating violence, far from it. I am the most peaceful chap in the world. But I have my torch and I know what I'm going to do with it if the worst happens. It stays under my bed, and I sleep easy. (Lots of my neighbours sleep with a shotgun under the bed, but I won't do this.)

Plus, Maglites are cool, work extremely well, and are a jewel of technology and a pleasure to own!
 
When I was a policeman in the Met 40 years ago, the days when you saw a copper onthe street walking his beat and all he had was a whistle and truncheon, we were told that if we drew our truncheon the looped lanyard must be tightly wound round the wrist to prevent the other person being able to take it off you. Never had to do it myself as usually in those days the uniform and helmet calmed things down. Football matches were volentered for the overtime payment and free view of the match sitting on a box.
 
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