Picked up our new M/H

[TWS]

Just picked up our first M/H
Hi Just been to pick up our new M/H Roller Team 700, this is our first M/H and we very excited to take it out at the weekend for our first outing, Im sure we will have many questions etc and will be looking for some advice etc, Looking forward to some wild camping in the future too, just want to get on a CC site at first to get used to the van etc, If anyone has any advice etc for our first weekend I would love to hear it. Just wondering if anyone has any info about keeping a 7.3 metre van at home on our drive, is this ok ? has anyone had any hassle from neighbours etc, Im just concerned that it may make the busy bodies complain etc as we live in a small rural village !!

Thanks Tom

 

[theresa]

Just picked up our first M/H
Hi Just been to pick up our new M/H Roller Team 700, this is our first M/H and we very excited to take it out at the weekend for our first outing, Im sure we will have many questions etc and will be looking for some advice etc, Looking forward to some wild camping in the future too, just want to get on a CC site at first to get used to the van etc, If anyone has any advice etc for our first weekend I would love to hear it. Just wondering if anyone has any info about keeping a 7.3 metre van at home on our drive, is this ok ? has anyone had any hassle from neighbours etc, Im just concerned that it may make the busy bodies complain etc as we live in a small rural village !!

Thanks Tom

good luck with your new van , enjoy it. we have our van parked on the front drive and never had any probs in fact we had her in the road for a while before we made the drive bigger, you will have so many good times in your van and will wonder why you waited till now to get it. good luck :thumb:

 

[camcondor]

Welcome to the site and to motorhoming - hope you have many happy years in this and other vans to come!!

I'm sure others will be along soon to share their experiences with you, everyone has a different experience with keeping motorhomes at home depending on the locality. Basically, if there are no restrctive covenants on your property, there should be no problem unless your motorhome causes a nuisance about which others can complain to the council. Some new estates have these restrictions in place to "keep the place tidy" like no satellite dishes / no white vans etc, but once the developer has sold all the units they are unlikely to be interested in taking legal action against people who do. The other possible problem is in conservation areas, where there may be restrictions as to parking etc. If you have a good rapport with neighbours it may help to stop any animosity, but even if you have the worst neighbours in the world, as we do, provided the motorhome is on your property and not causing an obstruction, or is parked in a legal space on a public road, there isn't a whole lot they can do about it. Where space is difficult, as it can be with motorhomes of over 7m, storage may need to be considered.

Have a great first outing - buy one of Jim's checklists so you don't forget anything!! Fill your fuel tank when setting out this first time and then again just before you park up at home at the end of your journey - if you keep to that schedule, then the van will always be "ready to go" and you won't need to make unforseen fuel stops at expensive motorway services. Basics are ensure you have an electric hook up cable, a water hose, and that your gas bottles are checked and full!!! Don't fill your water tank up chock-full before travelling as it just adds weight to your payload and wastes fuel - travel with a little water and fill up when you arrive onsite. Remember to level out your van when you arrive onsite after filling up water on the way to the pitch, then you can hook up, and make a nice cuppa while tuning in your telly and making sure the heating is set to snug temperature!!!

Most of all, enjoy yourselves and your new van, join us at a meet / rally sometime!!!

:thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb:

Laurie

 

[Kon tiki]

Me to, just picked up our new van a Adria Izola. Not our first though & somehow it wasn't as exciting as your very first van. It is our first automatic motorhome though, had some cars with auto but never liked them too much but this is totally different in being a 6 speed with a manual option.
Handover went very well :thumb: we got it from Timberland :thumb: & was happy with the service we got. There were a few problems but these were all sorted out & except for a couple outstanding jobs to be done (I am getting them done locally & Timberland are paying under the warranty) everything is sorted.
Van drives well & seems to have loads of power, it is on a Renault Master 2.5 DCi 150 with the Quickshift 6 gearbox. Found it difficult keeping the speed down even staying below the recomended 2500 revs running in period. Found we needed to be doing over 55mph for it to change up into 6th gear.
We will probaly have a few weekends away but we usually wild camp but might go on some of the MCC local rallies. Need to start packing the van to get away early next year to find a bit of sunshine. We will book our ferry or tunnel then decide where we are going when we get over there (this is what we like about motorhoming not having to plan too much)

 

[Jim]

Hi Tom, enjoy the new motorhome, hopefully you will be out in it so much your neighbours will not see it to complain.

I have read about problems with parking caravans and breaking covenants, but my opinion, which of course is not professional, is that vehicles that have road tax are not included in most of the restrictive covenants.

Hope everything works out, welcome to motorhome fun:thumb:

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[dave newell]

Welcome on board, we used to keep our van on the drive before we had the workshop, and our first few Bedford conversions we actually did on the drive in full view of the neighbours, and never had any problem from them, even though two of them worked for the local council. I think its all down to the area you are in, even our coachbuilt has never been a problem, and friends have camped on our drive as well, maybe we just have very good neighbours!!

 

[colonel]

Sorry to disagree Jim but motorhomes are classed as caravans as far as restrictive covenants are concerned so beware.

I think you just have to be considerate on this matter. How would you feel if every time you looked out of your window, you were confronted with your neighbours Chip Van parked on his drive. Never mind about the queues of people lined up getting their fish and chip suppers, but it would spoil the view from your window as well

 

[camcondor]

Sorry to disagree Jim but motorhomes are classed as caravans as far as restrictive covenants are concerned so beware.

I think you just have to be considerate on this matter. How would you feel if every time you looked out of your window, you were confronted with your neighbours Chip Van parked on his drive. Never mind about the queues of people lined up getting their fish and chip suppers, but it would spoil the view from your window as well

Parking a motorhome on a driveway isn't quite the same as the Chip Van variant though - a lot more pedestrian traffic and noise (and smell!) with the Chip Van added to which the council probably has by laws restricting running a business from a residential site so the comparison isn't like for like.

A lot of it is about tolerance, of course - neigbours don't have the automatic right to a wonderful view whether they happen to like your van or not, but it helps if you remain on cordial terms with them. Having said that, we have the neighbours from hell but still keep our 7.1m van on our drive and there is absolutely sod all they can do about it except seeth with jealousy.... We made a parking area for it and had a hookup point installed to keep it on charge, and the only problem it causes anyone is their own attitudinal one if they are so inclined! Just check carefully about any restrictive covenants and whether or not they are likely to be enforced - there is something a tad selfish about blocking acres of public / visitor parking in a tight area, but I cannot see why a van of any size should not be accommodated on a private drive where no-one else is directly affected, whether the neighbours like it or not - helps if things remain friendly though!!

 

[colonel]

A lot of it is about tolerance, of course - neigbours don't have the automatic right to a wonderful view whether they happen to like your van or not, but it helps if you remain on cordial terms with them.

Couldn't agree more Camcondor. As long as it doesn't really interfere with the neighbours it's OK. I know from experience that sometimes a big van on next doors drive is an imposition if it overshadows your lounge windows and although it's not illegal, it pays to discuss with the neighbours first. In many cases you would find they wonder what all the fuss is about when you ask them if they'd mind. But I do reccommend you ask them or at least warn them so there's no surprises.

To give another example we moved into a brand new house on a development where we had neighbours on both sides of us who erected a garden sheds in their back gardens.

One neighbour said nothing, put it up and it and it was about 2 feet higher than the fence, completely blocking the light into our kitchen.

The other told us he wanted to put one in his garden but explained that he was sinking the footings for it down about 3 feet so that it wouldn't even be visible from our side. He didn't need to do that, he was just considerate and you would not get a prize for guessing which neighbour we became good friends with.

 

[pappajohn]

hi Tom,

the best thing to do is check the deeds to your house, (may cost a few quid to view them though)...the builders may have included a clause in the deeds prohibiting caravans ect to be parked on your property.

if they have, try contacting them and ask permission (and get it in writing)or you could be breaking the law.

personally i'd wait and see if any neighbours complain first then if they do, try the above.

if you ask first, and it turns out no-one has a problem, but the builders say no then you've put your foot well and truly in it as they will probably check.

my bro got planning permission for a garage extension but had to get permission from the builders as well.
john.

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[sideways]

If you break the terms of a covenant any body else thats doing it will have to be enforced against also. you cannot be singled out it one law for all. usually the builder are long gone, and you can apply for the terms of the covenant to be relaxed on the basis of changing needs over time.

 

[camcondor]

If you break the terms of a covenant any body else thats doing it will have to be enforced against also. you cannot be singled out it one law for all. usually the builder are long gone, and you can apply for the terms of the covenant to be relaxed on the basis of changing needs over time.

Exactly. In practice, once a developer has sold up the units on a development they will not have the interest or inclination to pursue anyone in matters of this nature as their interest in the development was to sell it as quickly as possible for maximum profit, not act as a mutual litigation society in neighbourhood vendettas years down the line.

Where problems MAY arise is where a development is new or only partly sold, and the developer has an interest in enforcing covenants as lots of vans / caravans / satellite dishes etc may make the development appear untidy or scrappy, and put off potential buyers.

Generally, the developers are long gone and have no interest in pursuing expensive litigation for no gain whatsoever except to please an unhappy neighbour of someone who has parked a caravan / motorhome / boat on their drive.

Its always worth checking up carefully beforehand what the situation is re restrictive covenants and, if you are friendly with your neighbours, discussing it with them.

Sometimes, in conservation areas particularly, the local council may become involved but generally the issue is a civil issue between resident and developer(meaning LOADS OF MONEY required to enforce a convenant!!!) Why would most developers do this once they have sold up and left the area? Answer is they wouldn't - those restrictions were there to serve the selfish purpose of the developer, once they have their profits and are gone, that is usually the end of it unless an unhappy resident is able to track them down and persuade them otherwise!!!

(thinks)

Why can't life be a whole lot simpler without busybodies interfering wherever possible??? Tolerance seems to have vanished!!! Maybe more people should WORK fulltime rather than have nothing else to do but dream up nasty scenarios with which to attack neighbours!!