when is a campervan not a motorhome? (1 Viewer)

[g4jnw]

I am going down to Cornwall next week and one of the parking places i use is in St ives called the island as i go fishing near there, my son told me that this year i can't park there as "motorhomes" are forbidden.
Have emailed the council and they have said i can park as a campervan is treated as a van, i did inform them that its a lwb and 15ft in length and they said that if it goes over 2 spaces i have to pay for 2 bays.

Is this common that a campervan is not a motorhome with other councils

Note: reason for editing, just to say this isn't just parking overnight its parking in general for motorhomes, it relates to
http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=18452 not private sites this is the specific one i wanted to park at
http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=19499 and it states (scroll down the page) motorhomes NO and not suitable for touring caravans or trailers.

Here is the email I got as reply:

I see your confusion. You will be OK parking during the day as long as
this can be achieved safely and you purchase the appropriate number of
tickets should you occupy more than one bay.

 

[scotjimland]

First of all, The DVLA do not have a classification, campervan or motorhome..

On the V5c .. they are all classed as Motor Caravans... irrespective of weight or length.. my 36ft RV was classed as a motor caravan and taxed as such.

To you question .. our council have a sign in the car park that says no motor caravans allowed unless they can fit in a single bay with no overhang.

 

[g4jnw]

First of all, The DVLA do not have a classification, campervan or motorhome..

On the V5c .. they are all classed as Motor Caravans... irrespective of weight or length.. my 36ft RV was classed as a motor caravan and taxed as such.

To you question .. our council have a sign in the car park that says no motor caravans allowed unless they can fit in a single bay with no overhang.

I think thats what they really meant, have updated my info and the email the car parking people sent sort of points out that, maybe they should change the parking signs to say that as i have a friend that has one of those extended limo's thats longer than my van - got me to thinking how long the parking bays are in general - would look a bit odd carrying a tape measure with me

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[scotjimland]

I think thats what they really meant, have updated my info and the email the car parking people sent sort of points out that, maybe they should change the parking signs to say that as i have a friend that has one of those extended limo's thats longer than my van - [HI]got me to thinking how long the parking bays are in general[/HI] - would look a bit odd carrying a tape measure with me

Interesting point...

in a former life, I was given the task to plan line markings for delivery van parking at our new warehouse. This involved measuring the available parking space and making best use of it.

Having never done this before I searched on line for a 'standard' bay size.. to no avail.. there is no such thing.. so I measured our vans and then allowed space to access them.

All went well, the line painters arrived and I gave them the layout with the bay size..
until we tried them out.. I forgot to allow space for an upward opening side open window of the van .. it was too close to allow it to open fully.. oh:

anyways.. I digress.. there is no standard bay size, it's down to the company or council to decide size.

 

[g4jnw]

Interesting point...

in a former life, I was given the task to plan line markings for delivery van parking at our new warehouse. This involved measuring the available parking space and making best use of it.

Having never done this before I searched on line for a 'standard' bay size.. to no avail.. there is no such thing.. so I measured our vans and then allowed space to access them.

All went well, the line painters arrived and I gave them the layout with the bay size..
until we tried them out.. I forgot to allow space for an upward opening side open window of the van .. it was too close to allow it to open fully.. oh:

anyways.. I digress.. there is no standard bay size, it's down to the company or council to decide size.

Just looked at the owners manual for my van and its 5.5 meters, never parked it in any bay but bet my bottom dollar that its longer and have to pay for 2 bays. Like the story you told me about, years ago when i was in the ambulance service we got some highline transits and a new hospital opened and they built a overhang so that we could reverse and let patients stay dry. I got my very own new transit, backed into the said bay and took off the rear blue light, they had measured the height from the old vehicles :Blush:

 

[vwalan]

a motor home is a category m1 vehicle .thats a passenger carrying vehicle and comprisingno more than eight seats in addition to the driver. with a special body .
this really equates to a car with a special body.
eu law doesnt allow discrimination between the two so a m,home cant be not allowed.
in europe now new signs banning all vehicles are being put up as the eu courts have been making an issue of the m,home restricting signs.

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[GJH]

On the page http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=19499, the wording isn't "motorhomes NO" but "Motorhome facilities or spaces No", i.e. no special bays hence the advice to pay for all bays occupied.

As Jim says, bay sizes are not standard. In some car parks I know bay widths vary purely depending on the space available (rather than leave bits at the end of a row).

Whilst the V5c and national legislation definitions of motor caravans are constant, different councils sometimes have different definitions of what they consider to be a campervan/motorhome &c in their TROs and it is those definitions which matter.

The only way to be sure of where you can and can not park (and any associated conditions) is to ask each individual council.

 

[camocam1]

First of all, The DVLA do not have a classification, campervan or motorhome..

On the V5c .. they are all classed as Motor Caravans... irrespective of weight or length.. my 36ft RV was classed as a motor caravan and taxed as such.

To you question .. our council have a sign in the car park that says no motor caravans allowed unless they can fit in a single bay with no overhang.

sure my V5c states "Private Light Goods" is there something wrong here should it be "Motor Caravan"

cheers

 

[GJH]

sure my V5c states "Private Light Goods" is there something wrong here should it be "Motor Caravan"

cheers

Ours shows:
Body type - Motor Caravan
Taxation Class - Private/Light Goods (PLG)

You should make sure the Body Type is correct as otherwise it could have implications for speed limits &c.

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[camocam1]

Thanks Graham

will check it out when I get home

cheers Ron

 

[cmcardle75]

sure my V5c states "Private Light Goods" is there something wrong here should it be "Motor Caravan"

cheers

Taxation class should be Private Light Goods or Private Heavy Goods, depending on its size. (3500kg cutoff). Bizarrely, heavy is cheaper.

Motor Caravan appears as the body type and is not related to taxation class. However, you do want it (not Panel Van), as it gives several useful exemptions, such as higher speed limits (in some cases) and easier to find MOTs.

Sometimes you see car based CO2 taxation classes. As these are generally much more expensive, this can often be appealed provided the vehicle is not an aftermarket conversion, where the authorities prefer to keep the more expensive original taxation class for some reason.

 

[mikebeaches]

I agree that the size of standard car parking spaces vary, both in length and width.

However, in very general terms, 5 metres seems to be the maximum length of normal car parking spaces. And of course very few motor caravans are less than that.

Our van is 6 metres, and we often look for spaces around the perimeter of a car park which overhang a grass border, so that we can reverse the back end over the grass.

Sometimes you can find such spaces, other times not - win some lose some. And with a coachbuilt the width can be a challenge too.

In fact my car, which isn't particularly wide by modern standards, can also prove awkward to get into some Council parking spaces here in Bristol.

Mike

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