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Quote: Originally posted by johnks on 06/2/2010

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We don't stop on motorway service areas ever. Won't pay the prices and I hate eating in a slum which is what most of them are. We pull off and find a layby somewhere and use the caravan facilities. That's what it is for.

If vans are stolen then the owner only has themselves to blame.

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I don't see how you can say that johnks, if the security stuff they have is in place & it gets nicked, how can the owner be to blame? Ours was stolen off the drive from under our open bedroon window, parked with all security devices in place. The problem IMO, is the quality of some of the security devices. The so called insurance approved stuff on ours turned out to be easy removed rubbish.

You say you prefer to pul off the motorway & find a nice quiet layby to have a rest & to eat. Considering some of the places the thieving scum have vans away from, they'd not think twice before tapping you on the nut case & having your van away if they wanted it. You'd probably be safer sitting in your caravan having a meal parked in the services. There's plenty of people around.

It's crazy how they'll pinch something in full view of other people, they must be watching for a party running on their own to park up & leave the outfit. They must have a gang member walking in behind them to make sure they have time to unhitch the van & away they go.

When they took ours, it was around 0445am, they must have been watching this house & know I leave at 0515. They tried to get one away a couple of miles from here, it's hitched to an RSJ concreted in the ground & they couldn't get it. They came here & had ours, found it empty because we leave not one thing in it & the scum returned to the other Provence & stole their cushions to go in our van.

Needless to say, our new one is also hitched to an RSJ concreted in the ground, the nuts holding the hitch to the RSJ are welded & it has an Al-Ko hitchlock with the jockey wheel removed. Add to this an Al-ko wheel lock & leglocks. If they get this one, I give up.

BB

Quote: Originally posted by Basilbrush on 07/2/2010

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I don't see how you can say that johnks,

Post last edited on 07/02/2010 16:04:07

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The topic was on leaving your van at a motorway service area. My coment was on that and not leaving it on your drive!!!!!!

There may be more people about but the thieves know that in service areas are they certain to find an unattended caravan. Laybys are not so easy paricularly if you're in the van and it is locked onto the car.

Having your van at home is a completely different subject!

Quote: Originally posted by johnks on 07/2/2010

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Quote: Originally posted by Basilbrush on 07/2/2010

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I don't see how you can say that johnks,

Post last edited on 07/02/2010 16:04:07

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The topic was on leaving your van at a motorway service area. My coment was on that and not leaving it on your drive!!!!!!

There may be more people about but the thieves know that in service areas are they certain to find an unattended caravan. Laybys are not so easy paricularly if you're in the van and it is locked onto the car.

Having your van at home is a completely different subject!

Post last edited on 07/02/2010 17:42:10

Post last edited on 07/02/2010 17:43:25

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I'm well aware the topic is about leaving the caravan on a motorway service area thanks. My reply was supporting the topic when I said as long as all the security stuff they have is in place (it's in the first line of my reply) I disagree that it's the owners fault. Obviously if anyone is daft enought to leave anything insecure, they & it gets taken, they've asked for it, but I did put in my responce that as long as security is on place, the owner can't be blamed.

The fact that mine was on the drive was merely to point out that even with every effort made to secure something, the scumbags will have it if they can. They know the ones to target, if a couple of outfits are running together, they'll probably be left alone. When a lone caravanner runs into the parking area, they're a target straight away & the filth will follow them to make sure they've time to whip off a wheel clamp & a hitchlock & be away.

You claim a layby is not an easy harvest for them, believe me you're not altogther right. My mate was sitting in his lory in a layby on the outskirts of Oxford, he was having his break sat there reading his paper. He had a visit from mr van man trying to get his fuel out of his tank. Broad daylight on the side of a main road.

It makes my skin crawl to think they're watching us, just waiting to have what they want away.

BB

Lets get back to the subject at hand here please.

Cheers  Ratty

Quote: Originally posted by doit on 07/2/2010

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Our favorite journey lunch is either cheese on toast or a tasty salad ... BUT - eating in the service station gives a bigger chioce of meals (can you be bothered to cook lasagne in the van at the roadside, for example),

Must admit though - Little Chef can show the big mway stations a thing or 2 about freshly cooked grub at a reasonable price in a relaxed restaraunt - they are almost always good for value and quality - or at least this is true if you are travelling as a family

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1: If you're eating cheese on toast or lasagne, are you using gas? It's generally frowned upon for safety reasons to be sparking up on a carpark.

2: Little Chef has had its problems, and I wouldn't dare pull into their car park with a van on the back. They usually aren't built to take caravans or trucks.

3: Let's cut the m-way services companies some slack. You can't on the one hand complain about their prices and then on the other hand merrily boast about using and abusing their facilities for free. I want someone to provide good quality facilities on the m-ways, and I for one don't mind buying the occasional cup of overpriced coffee to help pay for them.

Hi arkaig - yes, wind down steadies and jockey wheel, otherwise (especially if you sit in the nose of the 'van) you'll be putting a lot of excess weight on the car tow hitch (and the van will be a-rockin'!). No need to unhitch or level, though. In fact, don't unhitch.

Good idea to put the van's handbrake on, too, for added stability.

And don't forget to wind everything up again before you leave! It's easily done...

Viggo (not starting an argument - just my own light hearted opinion on this topic hehe)

1: If you're eating cheese on toast or lasagne, are you using gas? It's generally frowned upon for safety reasons to be sparking up on a carpark.

2: Little Chef has had its problems, and I wouldn't dare pull into their car park with a van on the back. They usually aren't built to take caravans or trucks.

3: Let's cut the m-way services companies some slack. You can't on the one hand complain about their prices and then on the other hand merrily boast about using and abusing their facilities for free. I want someone to provide good quality facilities on the m-ways, and I for one don't mind buying the occasional cup of overpriced coffee to help pay for them.

1. We use the grill on gas in the service station to make cheese on toast. It may be frowned apon but is it illegal or irresponsible or dangerous? We see loads of people smoking in car parks (for example). Naked flame in a filling station is an obvious risk but my car is next to my caravan on site and i use gas, people smoke in and around cars too so why should that be frowned apon in a spacious car park and be ok on a camp site? If we want a 'proper' meal, eg lasagne, pie 'n' chips or whatever we do use the mway 'restaraunt'.

2. Any roadside cafe including Little Chef are fine to use with a trailer/caravan as long as you use a bit of common sence. If you check your route on google maps and look at the view of car parks at roadside cafes you can see the suitable and the unsuitable for us van towers! Just use the ones with big parking areas. Even some service stations provide poor/no parking for caravans (A23 pease pottage services spring to mind lol). If it looks too hard to manouvre in the car park in question, carry on till you find another - we have found city centre car parks where you can safely park your outfit before now (Salisbury city centre -and the car park attendant promised to keep an eye on our outfit - very re-assuring). Point i tried to make was you do not need to restrict yourself to only service stations - there are other options available. Perhaps try a transport cafe, just for fun. Some are awful, but many of them are great!

3. Cut m-way services some slack. Fair comment. Family of 4 need 4 meals and 4 drinks. Ouch - small change from £50!! Plus the governmernt only allow these stations to trade if they provide some basic free facilities. These include somewhere to park and somewhere to pee (or poo lol) for all, be you a motorcycle rider, a caravanner or a long distance articulated truck driver. Alot of these stations even allow overnight 'parking' (camping is another term) for a nominal fee. Using the facilities required to be provided by government legislation is not really abusing the facilities for free. Its just using the facilities you need. It just happens our laws say they must be free.

Anyways - i have now stepped off my soap box lol!! 2 different views on 1 subject - but my experience of m-way services is generally poor parking facilities a long walk from the (usually) smelly toilets to be treated to an expensive mediocre meal served by an uninterested member of staff. Pay your money and make your choice. But i bet the theives do not steal a caravan with people in it (topic of this thread 'Stopping at MWay service station? ') I do not see parking/resting/eating in my van as abusing the facilities, just using them!

BTW i respect your view too. If nobody used the restaraunt at the services it would not be there. So i agree - an occasional overpriced coffee is fine. I just feel i have a duty to my family to not pay fortunes for lower than i like quality food etc when i am towing my lovely caravan with all the facilities we need for no extra cost.££s saved = nights away!

personally i reckon that the services should employ security staff armed with tazers, if they see anyone unhitching a van they get a shock, if legit owner then apology and free meal, if theif it gets followed up by a stronger shock then a nicking

or am i talking sense (unusual i know  )

I don't think Jax365 will be allowed to eat his dog anywhere: services/roadside/..anywhere.

Why would he want to eat his dog??

8-)

Quote: Originally posted by strax on 10/2/2010

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I don't think Jax365 will be allowed to eat his dog anywhere: services/roadside/..anywhere.

Why would he want to eat his dog??

 

8-)

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I think he would if we were in Korea. Bet he's glad we're not. Bet the dog is too!

Quote: Originally posted by doit on 09/2/2010

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Viggo (not starting an argument - just my own light hearted opinion on this topic hehe)

Absolutely!

1. We use the grill on gas in the service station to make cheese on toast. It may be frowned apon but is it illegal or irresponsible or dangerous? We see loads of people smoking in car parks (for example). Naked flame in a filling station is an obvious risk but my car is next to my caravan on site and i use gas, people smoke in and around cars too so why should that be frowned apon in a spacious car park and be ok on a camp site? If we want a 'proper' meal, eg lasagne, pie 'n' chips or whatever we do use the mway 'restaraunt'.

I believe it is illegal, although I'm not sure what legislation covers it. According to the Caravan Club info on services: "In accordance with fire regulations, no gas may be used in the 'van' because of the risk from fire and/or explosion."

2. Any roadside cafe including Little Chef are fine to use with a trailer/caravan as long as you use a bit of common sence. If you check your route on google maps and look at the view of car parks at roadside cafes you can see the suitable and the unsuitable for us van towers! Just use the ones with big parking areas. Even some service stations provide poor/no parking for caravans (A23 pease pottage services spring to mind lol). If it looks too hard to manouvre in the car park in question, carry on till you find another - we have found city centre car parks where you can safely park your outfit before now (Salisbury city centre -and the car park attendant promised to keep an eye on our outfit - very re-assuring). Point i tried to make was you do not need to restrict yourself to only service stations - there are other options available. Perhaps try a transport cafe, just for fun. Some are awful, but many of them are great!

Oh, I agree - but while motorway services are (supposedly) designed to cater for all kinds of vehicles, many cafes off the motorway deliberately set out to exclude trucks and other larger vehicles by the use of height barriers, tight corner and tiny parking slots. If you know where you want to stop you can pre-plan, but it's not easy unless you know the area well.

3. Cut m-way services some slack. Fair comment. Family of 4 need 4 meals and 4 drinks. Ouch - small change from £50!! Plus the governmernt only allow these stations to trade if they provide some basic free facilities. These include somewhere to park and somewhere to pee (or poo lol) for all, be you a motorcycle rider, a caravanner or a long distance articulated truck driver. Alot of these stations even allow overnight 'parking' (camping is another term) for a nominal fee. Using the facilities required to be provided by government legislation is not really abusing the facilities for free. Its just using the facilities you need. It just happens our laws say they must be free.

I agree - but someone has to pay for those "free" 24-hour facilities, and the services companies are, in some cases, struggling to make them pay. If they aren't profitable, they will be shut down. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the government to step in and provide the facilities that the law demands.

Anyways - i have now stepped off my soap box lol!! 2 different views on 1 subject - but my experience of m-way services is generally poor parking facilities a long walk from the (usually) smelly toilets to be treated to an expensive mediocre meal served by an uninterested member of staff. Pay your money and make your choice. But i bet the theives do not steal a caravan with people in it (topic of this thread 'Stopping at MWay service station? ') I do not see parking/resting/eating in my van as abusing the facilities, just using them!

BTW i respect your view too. If nobody used the restaraunt at the services it would not be there. So i agree - an occasional overpriced coffee is fine. I just feel i have a duty to my family to not pay fortunes for lower than i like quality food etc when i am towing my lovely caravan with all the facilities we need for no extra cost.££s saved = nights away!

You know what? I never buy food at the services - we take our own - because not only is it very expensive it's usually very poor. I do buy a drink, though, and use the shops.