Pitch reservation signs.

[John NG5]

I have seen them advertised in MMM and also in pictures of articles carried in motorhomes. I assume all you do is stick the sign with reg. no. in the middle of your pitch/site if you take your MH off site for whatever reason. Is this a recognised method of "keeping your place"? Is the sign used as an International piece of equipment or would it be ignored and found over the hedge? I must make one anyway! Any views on the subject will be welcome. John 8-)

[enodreven]

Hi, I think it depends on the site you are on as to whether anyone will take any notice of it, we have one that was give free with one of the major mags ? if we are going to use it we normally leave our waste water tank or a bucket with the sign propped up against it, But I have seen some really well made ones ?

[Way2Go]

I'd be interested in this answer as well.

I presume that at somewhere like the CC or C&CC sites you'd expect to be treated in a grown up way but somewhere like an 'on the fly' type place you may well find it fuelling the BBQ upon your return ;-)

We've used the temporary camp site at RAF Fairford in the past (but only in a caravan).  When we take the motorhome there I might well mark out my territory with some "FBI Scene's of Crime - Do NOT Pass" blue and white taping!!!!

[peter lambert]

We got ours made at a local signmakers. It is Vynyl lettering on a Plastic fibre board, which I then mounted on a hinged A frame made of wood. We leave it in our pitch if we need to reserve it and haven't had any problems yet. We have also seen people leave their dustbins etc in a pitch to keep it.

[mom]

We have often used our Caravan Club one, on CC and non CC sites, with no problems.  If the pitches are numbered we usually cover the number on the stake with the sign.

[Brian Kirby]

As above, it will depend on where you are.  Club sites in UK, probably OK, continental sites, there is no such tradition, and other campers are just as likely to assume it is merely a numberplate that has fallen off.  More commonly a camping table and/or chairs are left on the pitch to indicate it is taken.  (Not desirable on aires, if you value the kit!)  Some leave a hook up cable as well, although leaving this connected at the pillar seems highly undesirable.  Kids will investigate, after all!

However, why bother?  Few pitches are so unique that using a different one on your return is a problem, indeed you may even end up better off.  Also, many sites allocate pitches (including Club sites) so the situation shouldn't arise on these, so long as the operator realises you're coming back.

[Hymer C 9.]

Hi John, a pitch marker works well, we've left ours on sites all over U.K. and in France, never had any trouble, a idea is to put your name on the sign and not van number then if you change your van sign still o.k. for you. Carol. *-)

[Bill Ord]

I had the opposite experience to most of the respondants. On the CC site Crossways in Dorset I returned from a day in Weymouth to see a notice at the entrance asking me to report to the office; thinking there was a family problem or some other personal issue I was relieved to find that it was just to tell me that someone else had put his caravan on my pitch. The CC always ask you to tell them which pitch you have selected before setting up so there was no excuse for this and I believe the caravanner should have been told to move as he'd taken an occupied pitch. In future if this happens I will insist that the offender re-locates and take it from there. I now have a pitch marker for the rare occasions when I use CC sites but it does illustrate the CC's attitude and particularly some wardens' attitude to motorhomes.

[howie]

Hi John. Most fellow campers will respect a simple marker that shows the pitch is taken, although you might come across the odd one that lacks the decency to take any notice and has already been said, will simply throw your marker into the nearest hedge. If this should happen then play holy pop at reception until they are moved, and remember if they are allowed to get away with it once, then they will do it again. Any old number plate fixed to a stake will do the job, and it does,nt have to relate to your van as only you will know the difference anyway, and iv,e even seen one camper set out four traffic cones they carried just for this purpose. Howard.

[John NG5]

Thankyou all for the replies and interesting points of view, "forewarned is forearmed"!!! John 8-)

[Mel B]

Bill The problem with not leaving a pitch is that, in our experience, the CC wardens tell you to have a wander around and find an empty pitch, some tell you which are available, other's don't, some wardens ask you to go back straight away and tell them which pitch you are then using and others don't, saying just to let them know later - this is what we usually get asked especially on some of the bigger sites where the pitches can be quite a distance from the reception block. So if you find an empty pitch, ie without a marker, deciding to get settled in first and then a while later go over to tell the warden where you are, you might not find out until it's too late that you've inadvertently taken someone else's pitch. This is what could've happened to the caravanner if your pitch didn't have a marker on. I can understand your frustration and annoyance but it might just have been a genuine mistake which simply leaving a marker on your pitch would've prevented. Ideally the caravanner would've been asked to move but if he'd by then got his rig set-up, awning etc out then it's not such a simple matter to move it all. :-( Best bet is to always leave a pitch marker of some sort, we've never had a problem with pitches being 'pinched', just don't leave anything as a marker that is 'desirable' to some others otherwise it might 'walk' ... someone once nicked a neighbour's 'pitch marking' bucket!!! *-)

[saruman]

[QUOTE]howardtcz - 2006-11-08 12:20 PM Hi John. Most fellow campers will respect a simple marker that shows the pitch is taken, although you might come across the odd one that lacks the decency to take any notice and has already been said, will simply throw your marker into the nearest hedge. If this should happen then play holy pop at reception until they are moved, and remember if they are allowed to get away with it once, then they will do it again. Any old number plate fixed to a stake will do the job, and it does,nt have to relate to your van as only you will know the difference anyway, and iv,e even seen one camper set out four traffic cones they carried just for this purpose. Howard.[/QUOTE] hi .. like above or one with 2 para >:-( or my dog is pitched here also (lol) (lol) (lol)

[chas]

I dont think it would happen much on club sites as the CCC nearly always takes you to your allotted pitch which usualy is numbered. We took advantage of MMM free pitch marker with our registration printed on it and so far , both pitch and marker have been left alone. On commercial sites we always leave the marker, which I have added the words , back soon, but some sites we have been on, we would not leave anythink because they looked like anything left , would get nicked. chas

[twooks]

we have never had a problem using our home made marker at any sites, but you should make it clear in various languages what it is intended to do. We almost parked on top of one because it just looked like a scrap of wood. We used to fasten the notice to the waste water container [full], but now just put it in a reasonably prominent spot. I find it particularly useful if we have had problems finding a level pitch. B-)

[Les Sykes]

I have seen them on pitches abroad, but they have always been home made. Just get a photo of the biggest, uglyest person in town next to your motor home and laminate it, nail it to a piece of wood and plant it when you go out for the day

[Double]

We always leave with our pitch marker another item, like an astroturf door mat. We are able to stick the sign through the middle of the mat. If anyone is sad enough to want to pinch the mat, worth £1, its no great loss but the mat does provide something a bit more substantial that the sign alone. John

[Dave Newell]

We have never found the need for pitch markers. Firstly we rarely leave our pitch until the end of our stay at the site, preferring to use local public transport or walk. Secondly If I had left the site and came back to find someone else on the pitch I had been using then I would simply find an alternative pitch. If there were none empty then yes I'd get a bit annoyed and would have words with the warden but otherwise life is too short to fret about whether or not you can get back on the same pitch. D.