Service MH @ Campsites

 
 
 
 
 
 
RTV
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Service MH @ Campsites

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Posted: 12.06.2018  ·  #1
Hi folks,

We just got back from an amazing 10 days touring around Sligo and Mayo, incredible weather and some piece of scenery. Mayo is probably MH heaven in terms of parking capabilities, no height barriers, always very welcomed in every town.

Anyways, back to the topic in hand, I was very surprised at getting denied on using the facilities at a campsite in Achill island to service out MH. They told us that we were not allowed to use the facilities to service the cassette and top up water unless we stayed overnight. We were more than willing to pay a fee for the service but clearly not the full fare as we were spending the night for a 10' job.

I was very disappointing as I almost gave it for granted that this was an option... is this common practices across all campsites or did I just came across a bad one?

I'll make sense for a campsite to charge a small fee to allow servicing the MH and it could potentially bring customers in.


We're in desperate need of Aires throughout the Wild Atlantic Way, it'll be a game changer.


Cheers,
Rami


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Re: Service MH @ Campsites

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Posted: 12.06.2018  ·  #2
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Service MH @ Campsites

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Posted: 12.06.2018  ·  #3
Quote by RTV

Hi folks,

We just got back from an amazing 10 days touring around Sligo and Mayo, incredible weather and some piece of scenery. Mayo is probably MH heaven in terms of parking capabilities, no height barriers, always very welcomed in every town.

Anyways, back to the topic in hand, I was very surprised at getting denied on using the facilities at a campsite in Achill island to service out MH. They told us that we were not allowed to use the facilities to service the cassette and top up water unless we stayed overnight. We were more than willing to pay a fee for the service but clearly not the full fare as we were spending the night for a 10' job.

I was very disappointing as I almost gave it for granted that this was an option... is this common practices across all campsites or did I just came across a bad one?

I'll make sense for a campsite to charge a small fee to allow servicing the MH and it could potentially bring customers in.


We're in desperate need of Aires throughout the Wild Atlantic Way, it'll be a game changer.


Cheers,
Rami

Great to hear you had a good time at home in Ireland, unfortunately being denied on using the facilities at a campsite is not uncommon. Two of us pulled into a site in Dungloe and went to ask what the charge would be, only to be asked to leave that there were no facilities for the likes of us. Common sense and Campsites some time leave you scratching your head.
For reference did you stay over in Achaill and which campsite refused you ( Mark and Wendy are on their way there it might help them to know )


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Re: Service MH @ Campsites

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Posted: 12.06.2018  ·  #4
Quote by sprinter

Quote by RTV

Hi folks,

We just got back from an amazing 10 days touring around Sligo and Mayo, incredible weather and some piece of scenery. Mayo is probably MH heaven in terms of parking capabilities, no height barriers, always very welcomed in every town.

Anyways, back to the topic in hand, I was very surprised at getting denied on using the facilities at a campsite in Achill island to service out MH. They told us that we were not allowed to use the facilities to service the cassette and top up water unless we stayed overnight. We were more than willing to pay a fee for the service but clearly not the full fare as we were spending the night for a 10' job.

I was very disappointing as I almost gave it for granted that this was an option... is this common practices across all campsites or did I just came across a bad one?

I'll make sense for a campsite to charge a small fee to allow servicing the MH and it could potentially bring customers in.


We're in desperate need of Aires throughout the Wild Atlantic Way, it'll be a game changer.


Cheers,
Rami

Great to hear you had a good time at home in Ireland, unfortunately being denied on using the facilities at a campsite is not uncommon. Two of us pulled into a site in Dungloe and went to ask what the charge would be, only to be asked to leave that there were no facilities for the likes of us. Common sense and Campsites some time leave you scratching your head.
For reference did you stay over in Achaill and which campsite refused you ( Mark and Wendy are on their way there it might help them to know )


Very sad, only thing they're doing is pushing customers away. Needless to say that I'll never go to that campsite nor recommend it to anyone. Funny part is that there's a public toilet right next to them and plenty of space to park right beside it...

The site in question is: http://www.achillcamping.com/
Keel Sandybanks Campsite Caravan & Camping Park


Thanks Ally for that link, I'll actually send them an email and point them out to that, see what they say.

It really doesn't make any sense, not even commercially.


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Re: Service MH @ Campsites

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Posted: 12.06.2018  ·  #5
Firstly I do not know the campsite in question, their staffing levels or layout. So I will base my comments solely on my site.
My service point is at the entrance to the campsite just off the public road. The entrance can allow for one unit leaving as one enters but this gets more complicated if both want to service at the same time, this gets more ackward if one needs to manoeuvre a bit to get over the grey drain.
So I do not advertise a service only option, but I would always try to help a fellow MH user but if that was at the same time as several departing or arriving I would put the customers who stayed on site first and may have to advise the “visitor” to return after our peak.
Also there is a maximum of two staff/workers/owners/cleaners on site, one less if walking the dog or out shopping or doing other jobs and I have learnt that you cannot just say to visitors here is everything you need and let them get on with it for the following reasons;
Some have been known to,
Fill their water tank and numerous extra water containers, miss the drive over but empty anyways and to be blunt some of you guys really do need to flush your grey tanks more often as some stink which is ok if I can flush it down the drain but not nice on our gravel,
Not flush after emptying your cassette(S), using my loos when I have just cleaned them and dumping their rubbish in my bins without asking, others have then driven over my grass pitches instead of doing a 3 point turn.

So in short if we are quiet enough and I can supervise I would allow a service only.

I have also been asked many times if a I would allow people to use our showers against payment, my answer is always no as they are solely for full paying campers, as anyone who has stayed here knows I clean them often enough and for an extra 2/3 euros just isn’t worth my time.

Perhaps that’s what the campsite you went to thought? Was the extra 2/3 or even €5 worth it to them?
That’s the opinion from the “dark side”


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Re: Service MH @ Campsites

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Posted: 12.06.2018  ·  #6
Just arrived at the campsite in question. After picking a good site overlooking the beach, my next stop was the service area. Drive over drain, water hose, black dump and rubbish bins all beside each over. Great set up but sorry you were refused entry.


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Service facilities

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Posted: 12.06.2018  ·  #7
I belive that motorhome parking and campsites are two totally diferant entities. If I am going on extended tours I try to use both. I always carry a spare toilet cassette and when the time comes for service I book into a site to use the service facilities. Wash machine etc etc. On the continent both Aires or stellplatz all work in harmony with campsites, there is no reason why this cannot be the same here. The only reason being is that many people are too mean to pay for service facilities which camp sites provide. That said I would not be inclined to pay €35euro for campsite facilities as some are charging here so once again this is greed on behalf of campsite owners. Currently in beutiful Kilmore Quay enjoying the fantastic weather here.


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Re: Service MH @ Campsites

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Posted: 12.06.2018  ·  #8
Quote by StrandcampingDoonbeg

Firstly I do not know the campsite in question, their staffing levels or layout. So I will base my comments solely on my site.
My service point is at the entrance to the campsite just off the public road. The entrance can allow for one unit leaving as one enters but this gets more complicated if both want to service at the same time, this gets more ackward if one needs to manoeuvre a bit to get over the grey drain.
So I do not advertise a service only option, but I would always try to help a fellow MH user but if that was at the same time as several departing or arriving I would put the customers who stayed on site first and may have to advise the “visitor” to return after our peak.
Also there is a maximum of two staff/workers/owners/cleaners on site, one less if walking the dog or out shopping or doing other jobs and I have learnt that you cannot just say to visitors here is everything you need and let them get on with it for the following reasons;
Some have been known to,
Fill their water tank and numerous extra water containers, miss the drive over but empty anyways and to be blunt some of you guys really do need to flush your grey tanks more often as some stink which is ok if I can flush it down the drain but not nice on our gravel,
Not flush after emptying your cassette(S), using my loos when I have just cleaned them and dumping their rubbish in my bins without asking, others have then driven over my grass pitches instead of doing a 3 point turn.

So in short if we are quiet enough and I can supervise I would allow a service only.

I have also been asked many times if a I would allow people to use our showers against payment, my answer is always no as they are solely for full paying campers, as anyone who has stayed here knows I clean them often enough and for an extra 2/3 euros just isn’t worth my time.

Perhaps that’s what the campsite you went to thought? Was the extra 2/3 or even €5 worth it to them?
That’s the opinion from the “dark side”



That's fair enough, you have a small operation there and it's understandable but it does sound like you're willing to assist when possible.


This site in particular is massive, lots of room and looked like they were not short on staff. I get it that they don't offer this as a service, their business is for you to stay over night, but they should be flexible and leave the doors open for additional business. They could make some additional money from all the people staying on the beach or up on Keem bay, which I'm pretty sure they're emptying their cassettes on the public toilet up on the hill.

Just my two cents...


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Re: Service MH @ Campsites

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Posted: 12.06.2018  ·  #9
Quote by Mark&Wendy

Just arrived at the campsite in question. After picking a good site overlooking the beach, my next stop was the service area. Drive over drain, water hose, black dump and rubbish bins all beside each over. Great set up but sorry you were refused entry.


That's absolutely fine bud, enjoy it... not my intention to boycott the site nor anything like that, which is why I didn't call out the name on my initial post.

I was just surprised as I imagine all campsites would appreciate a few extra bobs for virtually doing nothing, seemed common sense to me but seems like it's not the case.


Quote by chalkey

I belive that motorhome parking and campsites are two totally diferant entities. If I am going on extended tours I try to use both. I always carry a spare toilet cassette and when the time comes for service I book into a site to use the service facilities. Wash machine etc etc. On the continent both Aires or stellplatz all work in harmony with campsites, there is no reason why this cannot be the same here. The only reason being is that many people are too mean to pay for service facilities which camp sites provide. That said I would not be inclined to pay €35euro for campsite facilities as some are charging here so once again this is greed on behalf of campsite owners. Currently in beutiful Kilmore Quay enjoying the fantastic weather here.


That's kind of my point... we would normally do a combination of wild camping and campsites estimating when we need to service our van since there's little to no Aires around the Wild Atlantic Way. But then again, being forced to pay a small fortune to then be waken up by kids screaming like they were being butchered at 8am might not be my kind of plan or enjoying my holidays... thus, we stick to wild camping as much as we can specially during the high season.


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Re: Service MH @ Campsites

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Posted: 12.06.2018  ·  #10
As one campsite operator put it to me, the servicing facilities are for staying or leaving customers not passing customers.
Unfortunately most campsites are in hotel type business while us motorhomers want a cafe style business.
But Jamie is quite right in pointing out, some mh drivers make a complete mess when emptying their tanks. Also to make folks aware that the blue toilet fluid that we use is toxic in a septic tank or a small sewerage treatment system. The blue fluid kills all of the bacteria including the good ones which break down the solids.
The green environment friendly fluid is a safer option, if your using public loos to cassette emptying.
Malcolm


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Re: Service MH @ Campsites

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Posted: 12.06.2018  ·  #11
Quote by Thorn123

As one campsite operator put it to me, the servicing facilities are for staying or leaving customers not passing customers.
Unfortunately most campsites are in hotel type business while us motorhomers want a cafe style business.
But Jamie is quite right in pointing out, some mh drivers make a complete mess when emptying their tanks. Also to make folks aware that the blue toilet fluid that we use is toxic in a septic tank or a small sewerage treatment system. The blue fluid kills all of the bacteria including the good ones which break down the solids.
The green environment friendly fluid is a safer option, if your using public loos to cassette emptying.
Malcolm


I agree with you about the Green Malcolm and have been using it with a while but found it wasn't up to the job in the recent warm weather, I had to revert to the Blue.


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Re: Service MH @ Campsites

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Posted: 12.06.2018  ·  #12
The green only lasts for 3 days before it breaks down and becomes useless.
We are going to try a dishwasher tablet for a night or 2 and see how they work.
Malcolm


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Re: Service MH @ Campsites

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Posted: 12.06.2018  ·  #13
Quote by Thorn123

The green only lasts for 3 days before it breaks down and becomes useless.
We are going to try a dishwasher tablet for a night or 2 and see how they work.
Malcolm


we are on a septic tank in our house in Wexford and only use Ecover products from ( biggreensmile.com ) for everything, so I use their cleaning products in the van also, as well as green toilet fluid, because I often empty it out at the house, but I must try the All–in–One Dishwasher Tablets see how do they work


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Re: Service MH @ Campsites

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Posted: 12.06.2018  ·  #14
This is just my tuppence worth, if you are wildcamping like I often do then getting rid of waste is your problem and as I have sometimes discovered can be difficult.
Those of us that want that freedom should not blame legitimate campsites for not cooperating as they are free to chose how they wish to frame their businesses.
We can only hope for more Aires and welcome parking areas and let those that choose to pay premium rates have the premium facilities.
In the present climate I will use them all when it suits.


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Re: Service MH @ Campsites

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Posted: 13.06.2018  ·  #15
Quote by sprinter

Quote by Thorn123

The green only lasts for 3 days before it breaks down and becomes useless.
We are going to try a dishwasher tablet for a night or 2 and see how they work.
Malcolm


we are on a septic tank in our house in Wexford and only use Ecover products from ( biggreensmile.com ) for everything, so I use their cleaning products in the van also, as well as green toilet fluid, because I often empty it out at the house, but I must try the All–in–One Dishwasher Tablets see how do they work

Fit a sog system lads, and you won’t need any chemicals. We have been in Spain for the last 2 weeks, where it has been hot and have had no issues with smells. A combination of Aires and campsites. Emptying every 3-4 days. Also you can empty in any toilet if you needed to as there are no chemicals inside


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Re: Service MH @ Campsites

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Posted: 13.06.2018  ·  #16
Quote by Thorn123

As one campsite operator put it to me, the servicing facilities are for staying or leaving customers not passing customers.
Unfortunately most campsites are in hotel type business while us motorhomers want a cafe style business.
But Jamie is quite right in pointing out, some mh drivers make a complete mess when emptying their tanks. Also to make folks aware that the blue toilet fluid that we use is toxic in a septic tank or a small sewerage treatment system. The blue fluid kills all of the bacteria including the good ones which break down the solids.
The green environment friendly fluid is a safer option, if your using public loos to cassette emptying.
Malcolm


Yes, we only use the green one. Never had an issue with it, I actually think it does the job just fine.

Quote by ntg

This is just my tuppence worth, if you are wildcamping like I often do then getting rid of waste is your problem and as I have sometimes discovered can be difficult.
Those of us that want that freedom should not blame legitimate campsites for not cooperating as they are free to chose how they wish to frame their businesses.
We can only hope for more Aires and welcome parking areas and let those that choose to pay premium rates have the premium facilities.
In the present climate I will use them all when it suits.


The idea of the original post was not to blame any sites, as I'm relatively new to this craft (it's been less than a year) I'm still finding out stuff and I was just disappointed on campsites rejecting what eventually is more business to them. For sure they can do whatever they want as private business, it just doesn't make any sense to me.
I fail to see an issue with making a few extra bobs by doing virtually nothing, and if they think that by forcing us to pay the full fare to service our MHs they're going to increase their business, it's just the wrong strategy.

But anyways, just found it a bit shocking to be honest. And again, I have nothing against campsites.. I do use them more during the off season when they're quiet...


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Service MH @ Campsites

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Posted: 13.06.2018  ·  #17
Rami. I think we all know where you are coming from, we will all, have a head scratching moment when we come across things like this,we should all post something if don't understand, it helps everyone,there will always be different opinion's and some explanations, thanks to Jami for giving his side, as someone on both sides of there fence.(not quite the dark side )
You will notice the lack of response from others. dialogue leads to understanding, even if we don't see the logic.


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Re: Service MH @ Campsites

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Posted: 13.06.2018  ·  #18
Quote by Daffysparks

Fit a sog system lads, and you won’t need any chemicals. We have been in Spain for the last 2 weeks, where it has been hot and have had no issues with smells. A combination of Aires and campsites. Emptying every 3-4 days. Also you can empty in any toilet if you needed to as there are no chemicals inside


A SOG toilet kit is the business. It's 100% chemical free, so the initial cost will be recouped. The cassette can be emptied into any toilet or connection to a septic tank system.
When installed it also eliminates the circulation of aromas within the MH during 'calls of nature' >_<


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