Car or lorry ?

[firebird123]

When driving on a motorway and you want to park in the "Services"... are you a car or a lorry, when driving a Motorhome ?

 

[WynandJean]

I tend to go for whichever is most practical. As a 3500k it's classed as a car but sometimes the larger bays make more sense. I try to be considerate and park accordingly. Don't know of any legal requirement.


Wyn

 

[chaser]

If there is plenty room among the trucks , I usually go there, to be with a like minded group, but if it looks as if they havnt much room I grin and bear the car drivers

 

[motorhomer]

When driving on a motorway and you want to park in the "Services"... are you a car or a lorry, when driving a Motorhome ?

I think strictly you are neither, and the fact that this dilemma occurs so frequently in this country shows how poorly we are catered for!

In practice as others have said you just have to consider the circumstances at the time. If poss I try the car parking, if the van fits which often it doesn't. I will go in the HGV park if I have to, but I don't like doing this. It takes an HGV place up which can be an issue. I also feel it is unfair to take an HGV place if it is busy as HGV drivers legally have to stop periodically.
The better services at least have caravan parking which I use if available and there is no motorhome spot. (and under some legislation - the caravan act - a motorhome IS a caravan!)

I never seem to have these problems on the continent!

 

[Puddleduck]

If there is no caravan parking I tend to leave and drive on. If I HAVE to stop I'll pull off at the next junction and park in a layby and use the on-board facilities

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[Linda and Steph]

Taken from Motorway Services Online http://motorwayservicesonline.co.uk/Parking

Where do caravans, motorhomes and towing vehicles park? All new services are required to have a designated area for caravans and motorhomes. At older, smaller services, this might not be available, in which case it is usually advised that you use the HGV parking areas. Towing vehicles should always use these spaces.

 

[staging lady]

We try to find a caravan spot but sometimes the direction arrows are really confusing and go for a lorry spot or move on. In spring we were on the M65 going to West Yorkshire and stopped at the services. Tiny car park caravan spaces in with the cars --- and filled with you've guessed it - cars. Found the manager complained but he said he had told head office but they were not interested in changing it. Told us to park in the coach bay . Shucks, filled with coaches and trucks. Parked beside the entrance and hoped we were not on camera!
Not always better abroad, cars and trucks in caravan and MH spaces and in Italy the services are often tiny.

 

[Soozywoozy]

If there is no designated caravan park we try and park at the back of the car parking out of the way. As earlier posted, doesn't help if really busy and all the cars are also in the caravan spaces
Often car spaces are just too small

 

[RS_rob]

Neither
It's is a MH so goes in the caravan park if that is full I go in the car park.
I drive a lorry for work & there is nothing worse than pulling into the services for a break I legally have to have & do not have the option to go elsewhere only to find it full of cars, vans, motor homes & caravans, it's bad enough coach bays are taking over & truck bays are poorly positioned.
If I'm in the car I go in the car park away from the main building.

 

[TheCaller]

The problem is made worse by the one way system in many (but not all) service areas. In quite a few service areas, once you have gone past one area, you can't come back if the next is full, or just doesn't exist.

I never know where to go. With a 6.4m panel van conversion, it's too long for a car space, but is stupidly small in a caravan or HGV space. I don't like to occupy a space that would be better used by a vehicle that really needs it. The small print on the officious parking sign usually says cars only in the car park. Just where a normal 5m commercial van is supposed to go is anybody's guess.

Where I can, I try to chose a car park space where I can hang the back over a grass verge. That way, I more or less fit a space.

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[cruiser]

if the space is big enough ,and empty then its mine.

 

[GJH]

Advice from the Highways Agency and MSAs Here. The one thing to definitely avoid is parking in a coach space.

If you see a vehicle other than a caravan or motorhome parked in a caravan bay then report it. If it is a commercial vehicle photograph it and report it to the company.

 

[chaser]

Advice from the Highways Agency and MSAs Here. The one thing to definitely avoid is parking in a coach space.

If you see a vehicle other than a caravan or motorhome parked in a caravan bay then report it. If it is a commercial vehicle photograph it and report it to the company.

Sorry but would you really do this, I would have thought there is enough wardens and little hitlers without reporting someone for just parking in a wrong bay, it's all Tarmac , nothing in this world would get me to do that, might b......k them(if they were smaller than me) but report someone , never.

 

[Andy]

I use caravan spaces first, then, Hgv if I really need to stay there for a while..........simply for the length.
use to tow a voltswagen based off road racer - with a landrover,..overall length same as Hymer.

 

[GJH]

Sorry but would you really do this, I would have thought there is enough wardens and little hitlers without reporting someone for just parking in a wrong bay, it's all Tarmac , nothing in this world would get me to do that, might b......k them(if they were smaller than me) but report someone , never.

Yes - and I have, once. Caravan spaces are few enough as it is. On the one occasion two Chubb vehicles were using caravan spaces back to back just so they could transfer stuff from one vehicle to another, even though there were plenty of car spaces (some of which were used by similar vehicles) where they could have parked side by side to do the job. They forced at least 3 caravans to park in the HGV area, potentially causing problems for HGV drivers (as RS_rob mentioned) as well. All through their sheer selfishness and laziness.

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[icantremember]

Snip

If you see a vehicle other than a caravan or motorhome parked in a caravan bay then report it. If it is a commercial vehicle photograph it and report it to the company.

Google maps view of Birchhanger Services (J8 M11) caravan area ....... 9 allocated places - 1 caravan & 5 HGV's ....

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.8721539,0.1957645,82m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en
​

Looking at shadows would apear to be late morning .....
we tried to stop here one evening about 10pm with the m/h and car in tow only to find the whole area and the HGV park totally packed with HGV's so we were unable to stop..... very tired & not happy

 

[cruiser]

there is not enough spaces for the trucks.they are shutting down all the truck stops.the councils just don't want them.they say the local people complain.about the noise.but they wont let new ones be built.even out of towns.so we finish up in laybys.or taking up the wrong bays.well that's my moan for the day.

 

[RS_rob]

I'm I. One right now Pease Pottage on the M23 & as I've got a 10 metre trailer I'm going n a smaller bay. But this is a poorly marked small services they extended the coach bay a few years ago & the caravans, MH & trucks have to share as the rest is car park.
Its poorly laid out & sometimes impossible to park if you have a trailer of any sort sometimes, its also one of those where if your in a bay your stuck till someone else moves.

 

[Puddleduck]

Truck drivers, chuggers, tuggers and coach drivers are all complaining so it sounds like just not enough spaces for large vehicles. Are the car spaces all full as well?

 

[1_man_and_his_dob(lo)]

Sorry.....I don't understand...

What are these "lorry parking spaces" that you all speak of?

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[Andy]

I'm I. One right now Pease Pottage on the M23 & as I've got a 10 metre trailer I'm going n a smaller bay. But this is a poorly marked small services they extended the coach bay a few years ago & the caravans, MH & trucks have to share as the rest is car park.
Its poorly laid out & sometimes impossible to park if you have a trailer of any sort sometimes, its also one of those where if your in a bay your stuck till someone else moves.

Know this services well,.........and totally agree, poxy car/lorry/parking. (poxy services all round, TBH )