NZ to ban vans without toilets

This is ridiculous - why should it have to be plumbed in? I prefer mine not to be plumbed in 'cos it's a darn sight cheaper and easier just to buy a new one if it packs in. I never had a plumbed in one in 4 of the campervans/motorhomes I've had, that doesn't mean I behaved in an anti-social manner.

Stupid sledgehammer cracking nuts again.
 
mark61 said:
Seeing as you like the use of force, how about we force people not to do DIY MH's or vans with windows, and leave it up to the big firms to certificate all vehicles.
How do you like those apples :p
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I also say all vans home made should have to pass a test to get a cert, then the DOE taxing dept could not turn down a van on a whim.
 
wildebus said:
A Toilet has never been a requirement for a Motor Caravan in the UK.

And I don't see why it should really as if someone uses campsites, they will often only use the camp facilities (there are a surprising large number of people with full on-board facilities who never ever use them).

Why anyone thinks legislating that a campervan must have a toilet will make any difference at all to those people who don't care I don't know? If it WERE a requirement AND campsite owners would only allow vans with toilets, it would be a joke as they provide facilities to those without toilets (e.g. tents) anyway, and there is nobody checking people who wildcamp have ANYTHING in their vans, let alone specific items.

You would end up with a situation where a camper WITHOUT toilet facilities would be forced to wildcamp even though they might want to specifically go to a campsite for those facilities, and then those who want to do the right thing might end up with no alternatives!! Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face!
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The problem is the ones with we Vw vans at the beach dropping there load and yellow water where ever they want, and yes we know lots do, we had some beach spots closed to campers because of the problem, hence day vans no motorcaravan cert.
 
trevskoda said:
The problem is the ones with we Vw vans at the beach dropping there load and yellow water where ever they want, and yes we know lots do, we had some beach spots closed to campers because of the problem, hence day vans no motorcaravan cert.
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I've had 3 VW Campers .... a T4, a T5 and a bigger LT (Sprinter sized) and never had the need to go outside. But I also never had any "fully plumbed in" toilets either. That is a nonsense requirement. a Portable Toilet aka "portapotti" are perfectly good and are no worse than any motorhome or campervan fitted loo.

And what about the people with composting loos? Nah, not allowed as they are not "plumbed in" to a waste system. Yes.... be careful what you wish for as if the regs say "plumbed in", then you need to "plumb in" a composting loo as well. How will that work?
 
wildebus said:
I've had 3 VW Campers .... a T4, a T5 and a bigger LT (Sprinter sized) and never had the need to go outside. But I also never had any "fully plumbed in" toilets either. That is a nonsense requirement. a Portable Toilet aka "portapotti" are perfectly good and are no worse than any motorhome or campervan fitted loo.

And what about the people with composting loos? Nah, not allowed as they are not "plumbed in" to a waste system. Yes.... be careful what you wish for as if the regs say "plumbed in", then you need to "plumb in" a composting loo as well. How will that work?
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Yes no bother with a porta pot, but you and I know many dont have any loo and when in the night sneak out and go, im up about 2/3 times a night.
 
Fisherman said:
As mark rightly pointed out on the other thread on freedom camping in New Zealand what about tents. I can guarantee that the amount of dog waste will be at least one hundred times greater than human waste. Yet to date I have not seen signs forbidding dogs in such locations. And if the government or a local authority tried to implement such a law, there would be a public outcry. We used to WC on the banks of loch Leven at Kinross until they erected their no overnight parking signs. The grass was full of dogs £$%^, even the kiddies playground had some. But they stopped us from spending a night there, job done. o_O :unsure:
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Many areas in NZ, including some camps are supposedly dog banned. Even one side of a street is banned for dogs yet the other side isn't. Just one of many quirks that is NZ.

One thing for sure, the market for campervans in NZ will plummet, whilst the price of MH's will soar. They are ridiculously expensive now, it makes it all the more attractive to import one into the country then sell on, although I have yet to read about any extraneous costs involved.

I almost scared to admit this but some of the caravans over here are becoming more of an attraction. There are types built for off roading having good ground clearance, more ruggedly built and some collapse to half height making them more streamlined.
You may flog me at dawn with a wet kipper for the above but they are a consideration.
 
Moped said:
Does New Zealand have a large network of motorhome service aires France style?

Or is it more U.K. like?

I’m guessing the public loos in more isolated parts of NZ are sceptic tank based so green tank additives would need to be used. After all, on board loo or not, black waste ultimately has to be disposed of.

I’m never going there but clearly this could give the U.K. government ideas.

A network of service points or a law permitting free access or a maximum fee access of say £3 to campsite service points would be a very good start.

After all the Spanish have a law by which all bars have to give unhindered access to their loos for all so why not give motorhome and camper van users free access to campsite service points as part of the licensing conditions?
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There are many long drop toilets in rural areas and on freedom camps, there are also many dump stations, both are clearly signed.
We are in Greymouth on the west coast last week, the dump station and potable water was in the middle of New World supermarket car park. We have also found them in garages, street sides, refuse centres, outside public loossports clubs and more.
The UK has a very long way to go to match the above.

There is simply no need to abuse "the system" when all it takes is a little responsibility, respect and cooperation.
 
Ok saying the above, but what can you do when the tortuous head is out at 2 am and no loo. :eek:
 
New Zealand has national legislation regarding Freedom Camping and the certification of Self Contained campervans. Local authorities then decide how and whether they provide Freedom Camping sites. The problem with legislation is that some people look for loopholes to get around it and eventually spoil it for the majority.

What I like about the UK is that there is no national legislation regarding where we can park and stay in our vans overnight so we can stay anywhere unless there are restrictions - there are thousands of places where we can stay. If there were more public dump stations / service points, as in NZ, travelling in a van would be close to perfect.

I prefer no or minimal legislation with local problems being caused by anyone be they in a van, car, truck on on foot being dealt with appropriately as opposed to knee-jerk blanket bans.

In the UK although there are a minority of anti-social van owners we don't have the problem that NZ has with backpackers in vans.

Some hire companies in NZ charge people extra if they return the van and the toilet has been used. With many of the basic conversions people have no experience of travelling in a van until they arrive in NZ and don't want a smelly toilet in their van or don’t have the stomach for emptying. Absolutely no excuse as there are plenty of public dump stations. On our recent South Island trip, and the one before in the North Island, we were emptying at least every two days.
 
The NZ problem is with the thousands of backpackers in ‘converted’ cars/vans. I have seen their antics on many occasions- dumping waste (of all types), no real respect for the environment- washing pots, pans, plates etc by the water taps - the list goes on. This is not a small minority - it’s a large one, they are from many different countries and doing things on the cheap. Most of the vehicles are passed on via social media and are in various states of repair, most have a ‘self contained’ sticker and obviously shouldn’t, a lot are also self produced.
NZ is a beautiful country with a freedom camping culture, unfortunately it is being spoilt by actions of those who do not respect it. The resulting legislation punishes everyone by being poorly implemented, the same applies in the UK, so called ‘travellers’ cut off areas for us. What is needed is properly thought out, clear and implemented laws/rules.
 
Quite honestly I am surprised that on a wild camping forum, that some seem to reckon that this measure is fair and proportionate.
I was at the Scottish caravan and camping exhibition recently, and there were plenty of small campers most with no fixed toilets. Are we actually saying that these vans should not be allowed to wild camp. If so what is this forum all about.

Yet again a sledgehammer has been used to crack a nut, yet again the actions of a few results in many who have done everything right being punished. And what about all those expensive campers what will they be worth if this was ever considered here. Those in New Zealand with small campers are not only having their rights removed if this happens, but are being financially punished also. From what I hear things are different there. But its a shame if they reckon punishing well behaved people due to the actions of others is fair.
 
trevskoda said:
I also say all vans home made should have to pass a test to get a cert, then the DOE taxing dept could not turn down a van on a whim.
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And then have a registration number displayed on the drivers door so they are easily recognised as having a fitted toilet even day vans should have to comply as toilets arn't just used at night
 
Fisherman said:
Quite honestly I am surprised that on a wild camping forum, that some seem to reckon that this measure is fair and proportionate.
I was at the Scottish caravan and camping exhibition recently, and there were plenty of small campers most with no fixed toilets. Are we actually saying that these vans should not be allowed to wild camp. If so what is this forum all about.

Yet again a sledgehammer has been used to crack a nut, yet again the actions of a few results in many who have done everything right being punished. And what about all those expensive campers what will they be worth if this was ever considered here. Those in New Zealand with small campers are not only having their rights removed if this happens, but are being financially punished also. From what I hear things are different there. But its a shame if they reckon punishing well behaved people due to the actions of others is fair.
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I'm not surprised at all. 😂
 
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