Motorhome/camper van parking debate

[Nickcatt]

Living in the Southwest and listening to the local news there is a debate going on about post lockdown and whether motor homes and campers should be allowed or banned from sleeping in car parks and parking on the seafront etc
So if your V5 says motorhome you may not be able to park and sleep in your vehicle, but a van with windows or indeed any van will technically be allowed. I don’t think the people who are advocating the ban have thought it through

 

[Ads_Essex]

Living in the Southwest and listening to the local news there is a debate going on about post lockdown and whether motor homes and campers should be allowed or banned from sleeping in car parks and parking on the seafront etc
So if your V5 says motorhome you may not be able to park and sleep in your vehicle, but a van with windows or indeed any van will technically be allowed.
I don’t think the people who are advocating the ban have thought it through

I imagine they’d go with vague signs such as ‘No overnight sleeping in vehicles’ to cover all bases, as who carries their logbook with them?

 

[swooperstar]

When wild/stealth camping, the trick has always been to make it impossible for anyone to know you're in the van.

I've slept all over, from the middle of highstreets, to residential roads, pub carparks and on the beach. The more public it is, the more discrete you need to be. I've never been woken up or moved on. Just don't make a nuisance of yourself really.

 

[DXX]

When wild/stealth camping, the trick has always been to make it impossible for anyone to know you're in the van.

I've slept all over, from the middle of highstreets, to residential roads, pub carparks and on the beach. The more public it is, the more discrete you need to be. I've never been woken up or moved on. Just don't make a nuisance of yourself really.

Same here, it’s all about being invisible, parking under street lighting makes it very hard to detect lights inside the van.
I stayed for days in central Lisbon, often right in the middle of Guarda dog units doing searches of cruise liner passengers.

 

[JoshB_]

Posts 5-15 moved here from a closed thread.
Ads_Essex 12/11/24

Hello,

Just looking for peoples opinions on parking when "No Motorhomes Allowed". I'm not planning on going the full campervan route with mine but will probably look like one eventually (pop top and some cabinets etc). I'm having a look at some routes around some of our favourite holiday destinations next year and note that a couple of the car parks say no motorhomes. I know the DVLA recently changed the requirements so it will never officially be one in the eyes of the authorities, but I'm sure parking attendants have different ideas...
I mean, would they allow a Shuttle to park for instance?!

Cheers all!

 

[EAN]

In relation to just parking in car parks whilst visiting an area and not overnighting:

I had a long email exchange with Dorset Council, before a recent trip, which went backwards and forwards, but it ended up that our campervan would be classed as a Motorhome under 6m. They had a category for vans over 4.8m (so that covers SWB Transporters) and they were more expensive to park than a Motorhome under 6m. Many of the car parks excluded both anyway. I did also try cheekily that “ours is registered as a car as M1 on the V5”, but that didn’t wash either.
Edited for clarity:
We ended up parking in National Trust car parks as we are members and they are most welcoming unlike Dorset Council who don’t seem to want you if you are van shaped (or see you as a cash cow).

Many Councils create their own Traffic Regulation Orders and make their own definitions to suit who they do and don’t want parking in particular car parks.

(Edited for further clarity as posts moved to another thread which takes my post out of context)

 

[TallPaul_S]

Hello,

Just looking for peoples opinions on parking when "No Motorhomes Allowed". I'm not planning on going the full campervan route with mine but will probably look like one eventually (pop top and some cabinets etc). I'm having a look at some routes around some of our favourite holiday destinations next year and note that a couple of the car parks say no motorhomes. I know the DVLA recently changed the requirements so it will never officially be one in the eyes of PC Plod, but I'm sure parking attendants have different ideas...
I mean, would they allow a Shuttle to park for instance?!

Cheers all!

Are you looking for places to park during the day, or overnight stays?

For the former, you might get away with parking, but for the latter if there's any sign saying 'no motorhomes/no overnight camping' or any words to that effect then you can expect to get moved on.

Generally a 'no motorhomes' sign also means no campervans. It's just a size difference. No one will care that your campervan is 'technically' a van with windows, or a car. If it's got a bed, pop top etc then it's a campervan.

 

[Linoleum Bonypart]

Has National Trust clamped down ..??

 

[z1ts]

We ended up parking in National Trust car parks as we are members. Not welcoming at all.

Who isn't welcoming in this sentence? NT or Dorset Council?

As a long-term member of NT (and parker in their carparks!) I've found them very welcoming so far.

 

[EAN]

Who isn't welcoming in this sentence? NT or Dorset Council?

As a long-term member of NT (and parker in their carparks!) I've found them very welcoming so far.

Dorset Council.
NT are very welcoming. Too welcoming in fact; when a 10m Motorhome / Bus is allowed to park sideways across about 7 parking bays and you can’t get a space!!!

 

[EAN]

Has National Trust clamped down ..??

No, I’ve edited my post to save further confusion.

 

[JoshB_]

Are you looking for places to park during the day, or overnight stays?

For the former, you might get away with parking, but for the latter if there's any sign saying 'no motorhomes/no overnight camping' or any words to that effect then you can expect to get moved on.

Generally a 'no motorhomes' sign also means no campervans. It's just a size difference. No one will care that your campervan is 'technically' a van with windows, or a car. If it's got a bed, pop top etc then it's a campervan.

Thanks, in terms of parking up for the afternoon and using the "facilities". If it's a generic car park that disallows motorhomes, have people been challenged/fined for having a van with windows? Is the opinion I was trying to gather.
I'll probably look to laybys etc if I want to stop over, but only in an emergency. If I'm planning a trip I'll book a site.

I'm also a NT member, so it's good to know they are somewhat friendly to campers.

 

[Paynewright]

Beware the M6 toll road too - £16 because Google maps re-routed me!

 

[DaveD]

Beware the M6 toll road too - £16 because Google maps re-routed me!

I use it once a month and I don't enjoy paying, but if there's one thing worse than paying it's spending ages in deliberately created traffic chaos. The constantly changing gantry speed limits on the M6 through Birmingham achieve nothing except causing problems, which I suspect is the intention.

 

[JumpShip]

I just avoid going anywhere near Birmingham if at all possible, they seem to have the worst drivers in england.

Anyway back to the question - i think.' No sleeping in vehicles' is how it should be termed and think its bang on .
'Wild camping' is technically illegal in most of england anyway.
Parking is a different thing and if spaces are big enough then i dont see it makes any difference whether its a car, van , camper or boat on a trailer.

 

[Kind of Blue]

Sheer popularity of vehicles being used for camping, regardless of their being registered for camping or not, is very likely cause for concern from the public in general and other interested bodies. Also because we are experiencing a recession, due to Brexit, COVID miss management and so on with a degradation of quality of life and resources, authorities will always on the look out to raise taxes or revenue in anyway they can. They look for a likely culprit then exploit all possibilities at their disposal to publicise and maximise any irritation, to validate any like imposition of penalty. This has been going on for many years but the art has been very finely honed. Any tax or penalty from then on will appear highly reasonable. Just like the 20 mph limit that has already been imposed on Wales and is spreading to other areas. It is purely being used to exploit the general public for cash.

It is a case of if it moves TAX it! If it stands still TAX it!

 

[z1ts]

It is a case of if it moves TAX it! If it stands still TAX it!

The 2 certainties in life being death and oh what was it? oh yeah TAXES

Inescapable I'm afraid...

 

[Linoleum Bonypart]

We ended up parking in National Trust car parks as we are members. Not welcoming at all.

Are you sure NT are welcoming overnight ..??

 

[EAN]

Are you sure NT are welcoming overnight ..??

If that was a question to me, then I would expect not.
Threads have been merged after I commented on another post and in my opinion it’s just got confusing.
My comments were in relation to proper paid for parking in car parks during the day that have restrictions on motorhomes parking in general.

 

[Ads_Essex]

Are you sure NT are welcoming overnight ..??

Posts 5-15 moved here from a closed thread. Cheers