In terms of Motorhoming how do YOU define freeloading (1 Viewer)

[DuxDeluxe]

Must be Italy best ice cream in the world.

Nope...... Speyer in Germany.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

many of us make a point of not spending much here in uk as well. but if abroad do buy diesel . buy in supermarkets . that gives jobs . buy gasbottles etc . might not use bars or restaurants . but dont use them here either . i really cant remember the last time i went in a uk pub or restaurant.
i try my best to use solar at home and away . use rainwater for many things . but do pay meter charges etc . so far this summer i know i have only spent 120 pounds on leccy . and possibly another 40 will be all. water just got the bill for last quarter have used 3cubic mtr of water.
i thought it was sensible to be careful what you use or spend money on . mind i do use petrol in my m,bikes when here . dont use the truck much.
havent had my gas tank filled for 3 years . still pay a charge . but being careful does seem to be a crime . or have i got it wrong .
i do pay rates here so maybe that makes it right .

There is a difference between "not spending much" and not spending at all, which was the point trying to be made. Nothing wrong at all with being careful, most of us are.

 

[markh]

Unlike most of you, we live in a location which is freeload Central, for both Uk and European motorhomes, our wee coast is on every wild camping forum in Europe, not surprisingly very few of the campers patronise local businesses, they are like seagulls fly in, shit and fly out again, I'd happily ban the lot of them, and they dump their Shite on our beaches too, I like a lot of locals here have videoed these pigs

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[DuxDeluxe]

Jesus! We have a class issue on Fun. If somebody stops somewhere where there is no charge for stopping there, so what ! IMO this is more to do with I'm hacked off because 'I pay to stay in a campsite so why should you be able to stay nearby or elsewhere for free.

Where precisely does it become a class issue, except perhaps in your own eyes?

it has been stated many times that there is nothing at all wrong with staying for free. Please read or re-read previous posts. Thanks.

 

[vwalan]

There is a difference between "not spending much" and not spending at all, which was the point trying to be made. Nothing wrong at all with being careful, most of us are.

i can say last winter including ferry,diesel beer food etc i only spent 1694 pounds total in spain for 51/2 months .
i admit i did come back with full diesel tanks . and enough beer and wine to last me till i go again . and some other things cheaper in spain . but they are perks . not a cost in my holiday.
i did include some tinned food i took from uk to spain in that costs .
my mate and me were playing a game of how little did we have to spend and not miss out . we documented it all . i ndid win he spent 100 quid more . but he does eat more .
we will be doing it again this winter ,hopefully with the pound a bit higher it will be cheaper .
last winter was based on 1.22 euro to the pound . this winter 1.39 euro . so could be a good one.

 

[DuxDeluxe]

i can say last winter including ferry,diesel beer food etc i only spent 1694 pounds total in spain for 51/2 months .
i admit i did come back with full diesel tanks . and enough beer and wine to last me till i go again . and some other things cheaper in spain . but they are perks . not a cost in my holiday.
i did include some tinned food i took from uk to spain in that costs .
my mate and me were playing a game of how little did we have to spend and not miss out . we documented it all . i ndid win he spent 100 quid more . but he does eat more .
we will be doing it again this winter ,hopefully with the pound a bit higher it will be cheaper .
last winter was based on 1.22 euro to the pound . this winter 1.39 euro . so could be a good one.

So you didn't have the ubiquitous Dutch caravan loaded with potatoes, then.....

Did you spend money in the local economy? Yes
Did you leave waste lying around? No

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[vwalan]

we dont really spend very much when away . dont spend much here either.
we dont leave waste laying around . but in spain bins are every where .
but i know lots do.
having been traveling around since a kid i can say there teally is too many now .
it seems to just get worse every winter.
although i havent been to maroc for 4 winters my friends that keep going say its still getting worse there . even last winter was worse than the year before .
but every one enjoy yourselves .
life can be too short to worry too much.
mind i,m loading up with more things i think are cheaper here than abroad . i say food is cheaper here than there for certain.

 

[Eve]

vwalan

It does depend on what you eat,!! If you adjust your diet to a continental one,!!i found it cheaper,but must admit to love going to Gib,and buying English food. I Find France is far more expensive for meat these days,but the quality of there fish is better.

I think in general people who wild camp often leave the place they have stayed cleaner than when they came,I know I do????

Sorry Mark H if you have had a bad experience with free campers,but don,t tar anybody with the same brush,live and let live.

I have a dog,and the amount of people who don,t pick up after there animal!!!!!! I often say would you like a bag???? That that is against the law.!!!

 

[MitchandJenny]

We "did" the whole of the Peloponnese earlier this year and only stayed on two campsites.
The rest of the time we tried to find the most "out of the way" places to park (wild camp) possible and were often out of sight of the locals, so that we didn't block their idyllic views as we enjoyed our own. We didn't eat out often, but always went for a beer in the nearest bar and mixed with the locals. We woke on several occasions to find a "present" on the front of our van !!
It varied, from a bag of huge lemons, half a dozen eggs or half a kilo of home made feta cheese !! Sometimes we knew the donor, but many times we did not, despite asking at the same bar we had been in the night before..
We had "agonised" prior to the holiday about "flaunting" our relatively luxurious van before the Greek people with their lack of wealth and economic stability... As opposed to taking our tourist money to aid their problems.. We obviously did the latter and were received in the same spirit we went with.. And NOT, I hope, for money !!
I'm "rambling on" I know, but there are more ways to "give" than with money !!
Even when a young "squaddie" abroad, I always felt I was an "ambassador" for this country,
and maybe the only (Cornish) Englishman they may ever meet and went out of my way to be as nice as people would let me be.. We still do that wherever we go !!
The point I am TRYING to make, is that "freeloading" as stated in many ways, in many posts, is a mental attitude that some people take with them through their life !!
We love wild camping and as Yodeli said we like the peace and quiet, but we take only photographs and leave only footprints and hopefully,, goodwill....

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[haganap]

Do you know what I don't give a monkeys what anyone thinks if I choose to stay on a site which I often do that's my choice and if I choose to wildcamp/freeload somewhere and that feels right that's what I'll do. Can never understand why people get worked up about what other people do.

Bloody here here..I use sites..CLS- parking lots.fields aires .ive used friends drives for me is no one's business to judge me....unless it's causing disturbance to others

 

[vwalan]

vwalan

It does depend on what you eat,!! If you adjust your diet to a continental one,!!i found it cheaper,but must admit to love going to Gib,and buying English food. I Find France is far more expensive for meat these days,but the quality of there fish is better.

I think in general people who wild camp often leave the place they have stayed cleaner than when they came,I know I do????

Sorry Mark H if you have had a bad experience with free campers,but don,t tar anybody with the same brush,live and let live.

I have a dog,and the amount of people who don,t pick up after there animal!!!!!! I often say would you like a bag???? That that is against the law.!!!

i am spoilt living in cornwall . fish around here is very good priced . mind my neighbour works on a mussel farm so a line goes out almost every day. mackeral. get hooked on my door in carrier bags frequently.
i do cook continental but very often find uk is cheaper for ingrediants .
i was in the catering corps so cook alsorts .
flour seems much cheaper in uk. but maybe this year as the pound as got better hopefully abroad will seem cheaper. it was years ago just .got dearer as the pound fell. lets hope it gets back to 165 euro to the pound .

 

[Jim]

IMO being a Freeloader is a bit of a disingenuous name for someone who likes to park up 'off grid' now and then. But in this context I'll accept it and admit I can be a bit of a freeloader. You probably won't see me arrive and I'll be gone before you are up, but I rarely pay. I am a freeloader.

I'm not a Freeloading Tosser though. IMO They are the motorhome owners who freeload to the detriment of others, those who selfishly exploit, for a example, a nice sea view car park for weeks on end whether they are breaking the law or not. Those who's actions reflect badly upon all of us and result in more and more nice little sea-view car parks becoming illegal to over night in.

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[DuxDeluxe]

IMO being a Freeloader is a bit of a disingenuous name for someone who likes to park up 'off grid' now and then. But in this context I'll accept it and admit I can be a bit of a freeloader. You probably won't see me arrive and I'll be gone before you are up, but I rarely pay. I am a freeloader.

I'm not a Freeloading Tosser though. IMO They are the motorhome owners who freeload to the detriment of others, those that selfishly exploit, for a example, a nice sea view car park for weeks on end whether they are breaking the law or not. Those who's actions reflect badly upon all of us and result in more and more nice little sea-view car parks becoming illegal to over night in.

Precisely...........

 

[tonyidle]

Precisely...........

.................. and another Precisely.

 

[Jabberwocky]

People who refuse to pay a couple of quid to park at a tourist attraction but instead park on the access roads blocking the whole place up, happy to use the place for their enjoyment( of course it's a free tourist attraction)but refuse to contribute, usually driving £30-40 grands worth of car.

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[Jabberwocky]

Instigating or signing a petition on the gov website demanding the taxpayer pays for you to camp for free instead of using a campsite or lay by.

 

[buttons]

The term is often bandied about what do you consider freeloading and why.

The addition to this fair sign sort of says it all really...problem with overnight stayers is that they hog the prim location during the day too. Others dont have a chance.

 

[Wildman]

Since 1967 apart from a rally I don't think I have parked up for 48hours more than half a dozen times. I cannot walk far I see the countryside from my cab so generally move on every day always have done. No one who pays to keep a motorhome on the road is a freeloader. Having spent their cash on a posh or otherwise motorhome who is to say they can afford a site, not for anyone else to make that judgement. Personally I like to park away from other people in the countryside, or by a beach if I'm fishing or kayaking, space to do so is becoming very rare. There is a breed of travelers who are neither gypsies or Irish who live in their vehicles fulltime, they are the ones who generally plot up for a length of time, however the general public do not differentiate and just see motorhomes or van conversions. Nothing can be done about that we have to accept we are ALL seen as Gypsies by the non motorhoming fraternity but one motorhomer calling (rather than just thinking which you are entitled to do however wrong you are) another a freeloader is an insult I do not take easily, my hackles well and truely rise up. Obviously the answer is to stop reading forums.

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[Bridget]

Obviously the answer is to stop reading forums.

Or, with all due respect and not wishing to upset you Roger, maybe to not start a thread asking for people's definition of a term if it is something you feel particularly sensitive about? I don't like to give anyone labels- live and let live as far as I am concerned, so long as you are not hurting anyone or anything

 

[Wildman]

no offence taken Bridget, it is because I get fed up with people bandying the term around that I started the thread. Why on earth can we not live our lives without trying to denigrate others. I gave a stupid example with non posters to show just how daft the term is and had other things read into it other people got their backs up so it is not just me. We each do what is right for us; and as long as it causes no problem to others then that is how it should be. Live an let live,regretfully there are some narrow-minded people around who cannot see that. It is easy to upset people and not realise you are doing it I guess anyway I have said all I have to say on the subject. It is interesting mind you that the thread has stayed on topic all the way through so it does show it is in the thoughts of a lot of people.

 

[scotjimland]

There is a breed of travelers who are neither gypsies or Irish who live in their vehicles fulltime, they are the ones who generally plot up for a length of time,

the same ones who don't pay council tax, water and sewage rates.. ? Proper freeloaders..

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[PhilandMena]

Agree, an interesting thread. You asked for members views on 'In terms of Motorhoming how do you define freeloading and that's exactly what you received.
A good un !

 

[MitchandJenny]

the same ones who don't pay council tax, water and sewage rates.. ? Proper freeloaders..

They stop where they damn well please and the law does very little to stop them..
Go to Ireland and you will see large mansion type houses set on Plots of land, that is what a lot of them do with the money they don't pay to live/rob and FREELOAD over here in Blighty. !!
OOOOH, me dander is reet up......

 

[ShiftZZ]

@dabhand
I said that once, and was advised that in some cases its fraud

No, Fraud is a specific offence, what was described is THEFT."Intentionally using, or obtaining money, goods or services with the intention of not paying for them,"

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[Eve]

 

[PhilandMena]

View attachment 76488

Saw that on Doc Martin last night, a classic!

 

[DuxDeluxe]

View attachment 76488

Saw that on Doc Martin last night, a classic!

Looks like it escaped from a CL in Portugal........

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[Dazzlin]

View attachment 76488

Where did you get that rare pic of us before the red respray?

 

[jtp890]

That was my line

 

[Eve]

It's mt previous M/H,
Loved her to bits!!! Lol

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