Have your say on Motorway Service Areas

... but is only 20 ft or so long compared with a car & caravan that the signs obviously relate to which are more than twice as long. It's most frustrating to think you've found somewherb to park your car & caravan only to find a vehicle at the end of a car & caravan space that could easily have found somewhere to park on the main car park, whether its a van, motorhome or a marked police car.

On a recent outing we wanted to pull up enroute .... 1st services had a HGV & trailer parked/waiting across the caravan spaces and the next had every kind of vehicle bar car & caravans in the caravan spaces.

I appreciate that some Motorhomes are well above the size of a normal car, but going by the reponse I got from MOTO, it is preferable to for them to park in the car parking area, even though they take up 2 spaces (lengthwise). If they won't fit into 2 spaces, then they can use the Caravan Parking area, However, Motorhomes won't be penalised for parking in the Caravan Parking  Area even if they can easily for into a car parking space. So, basically they are saying that it's up to the driver to decide where to park their Motorhome,either in the caravan spaces or the general car parking area. MOTO have NOT stated that it is OK for a caravan to park in the general car parking if there are no spaces in the Carvan Parking Area.  but it was suggested that Caravans could park in the HGV Area in the event of limited spaces. 

Let's be sensible and not get picky about who parks where. as long as it's within the bounds of Safety and Common sense. and of course the rules of the particular MSA. The blatant misuse of the Caravan Parking Area by White Van Man (or Women, as the case may be) i.e Commercial vehicles, should be reported on site. 

I have noted one particualr MSA where there is specific areas for VANs (the Commercial kind). Whether or not Private VANs or converted vans can use these, I have no knowlege, and I don't intend to invesigate that area. 

Also worthy of note, is that cars with camping traliers/trailertents, can also use the Caravan Parking Area, similarly to Motorhomes. 

There are still a lot of issues to deal with re Caravan Parking areas, More importantly now, is the problem of charging for electric tow cars. I have yet to see charging points specificaly in caravan parking areas. 

From all the above, it seems the Caravan Parking Area is being used by so many others that Caravans are being squeezed out from the MSAs and are being moved into the HGV areas.  

Originally, the rules to provide Caravan Parking Areas  on Motorway Service Areas was indeed 'literal'. and was made LAW, as it was a very popular pastime when Motoroways were built. Over time the use of those has had to change with the advetnt of Motorhomes, traliers, and other vehicle types that don't fit into the other categories.

Whether you can easily park a motorhome in the normal parking bays, even if you take up two bays often depends on the design of the parking area and how busy it is. If its rammed with cars the likelihood of finding two bays is unlikely and getting into them safely almost impossible. I would almost prefer to park in with the lorries. During an earlier trip we stopped at Norton Canes Services and I used the "Caravan" parking as did several other motorhomes. Margaret went off to buy the coffee from the Services I seemed to spend the time watching caravans trying to find somewhere to park. So when Margaret returned with the coffee We drove round to the overflow car park where there was plenty of room but whether the space I vacated went to a caravan or another motorhome I don't know. Now I know where this extra park is I will probably use it in the future. Only trouble is that it's a long walk from the facilities.

David

Our MH isn’t particularly wide, but the width of car parking spaces so stingy on most service areas, that although it fits within the bays, it is just about impossible for a car parked alongside to open its doors. Of course if you get cars parked both sides, you could have severe difficulty in turning out as the access roads are also stingy on width. The alternative to this is to park across 4 bays, not sure  MOTO would approve of that.

We utilise the caravan bays, unless the car park is unusually empty. As most are drive through, it is often possible to fit two medium length MH’s in the same space, as it is easy for the back one to reverse out, or if a front half  is free reverse in.

I won't quote the whole of Busyself's last post again, but I must refute his conclusions. As I posted on the previous page, I have been motorhoming since 1987 and never once has anything I have read, anything anyone has said to me, or indeed anything indicated to me in any form whatsoever, ever suggested to me that a motorhome (which, by the way, and emphasising Obbernockle, above, was, in the days when I started, always called a motorcaravan) could not, or should not, park in the parking areas designated for caravans. In my view the idea is palpable nonsense. Any notion that caravan parking areas should not, or might be better not to be, used by motorhomes strikes me as counter intuitive and contrary to common sense; some might say it smacks of the return of motorhome prejudice. 

The notion that it was once "literal" in the sense that the area for caravans applied only to a combined outfit of cars and caravans is frankly ridiculous. In all my years, I surely would have come across some indication of that - if not from others or from workers at the service area, perhaps from magazines or other industry publicity.  

Indeed, again, as I stated above, I quite honestly did not even know, until an earlier post on this thread, that it was allowable to park a motorhome in the car parking area. My instinctive behaviour, from the first time I drove a motorcaravan into a service area, was that I should not park in the car parking areas. I think most people would conclude that. Now that I know you can, I would consider it, but only if there was lots of space. But so many car parking areas in motorway services are cramped and access is not always straightforward. I would not care to try it at Chieveley or Sandbach to quote just two examples of many services that I know well.

"Originally, the rules to provide Caravan Parking Areas  on Motorway Service Areas was indeed 'literal'. and was made LAW, as it was a very popular pastime when Motoroways were built. Over time the use of those has had to change with the advetnt of Motorhomes, traliers, and other vehicle types that don't fit into the other categories".

 I believe it is now time to revise the rules, While still providing for caravans, other facilities for the more modern vehicles should be introduced for Motorway Service Areas. and made more enforceable. 

MOTO have gone some way to providing for the newer vehicles, but the enforcement of their policies remains to be seen.

As with most things, Education of the users seems to be the hardest thing to accomplish,as most have done things that way for many years. and as the saying goes, You can't teach an old dog, new tricks.  

For the time being, All I ask is that, where possible, could Motorhomers, cars with Trailers/Trailertents. consider using the general car park as a first choice, and leave Caravanners the free use of their designated parking spaces, as required by LAW, to be useable?  

I am not, nor ever will be predjudiced against motorhomers, it is just that with the options avaialble to where they can park, and the limited options for towed Caravans, it just seems appropriate at this time. 

Wetherby services is MOTO and the operative in charge of the parking certainly doesn’t have any problems with MH’s parking in the long drive through bays. Although he does get two per bay where possible. He certainly hasn’t advised that we should be in the car park.

We called in a week ago in our car and we were hard pressed to find a space in the car park, let alone a MH. As it is a very busy services, this is the case more often than not. The HGV area clearly says HGV’s only, so the only option is the “Caravan Bays”.  I can’t think of many services where I would be happy using the car park unless very quiet. Apart from the fact some have signs saying vehicles must be parked within a bay. Nothing about fit in two.

I think that generally if it is quiet  enough to use the car park, there is unlikely to be any issue using the “caravan bays”

We have both towed and used a MH. Always used either the long HGV bays (a la Taunton Deane) or designated caravan bays. Only services where we don’t is at Scotch Corner, they don’t allow Caravans at all, and any MH/ campers need to be fairly small to get in and out the conventional bays.