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Caravanning News is registered with the National Library of Australia's PANDORA archive |
May 2011 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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'There seems to be more collisions involving caravans'
Former top cop slams driving standards By Dennis Amor
FORMER top cop Gary
Duncan is appalled at the driving standards of some caravanners. "None of them was caused
by inexperience, speed, poor loading, insufficient safety equipment like a WDH, inattentiveness or just plain old stupidity."
Shop owner stands accused as ... 'Fairy' village rest area debate still rages
By Dennis
Amor THE debate over
whether to site a free overnight rest area in the centre of a sleepy
Queensland village continues to rage. Chief executive
officer Lisa Desmond said the council valued the "positive economic
impact" visiting caravanners had to the region and wanted to encourage
them to spend more time exploring the area.
Grog sales to 'stars' land UFO park A STORE run by the owner of
Australia's famous UFO caravan park in a remote area of the Northern
Territory has run into trouble ... for selling grog to the 'stars'.
Jayco in
shock resignation from peak body
Three family members die in tent blaze horror RVMAA elects committee members Independent
study shatters fuel myths
Warning on illegal
imports
Stab victim's body returned to India BIG4 bonus for
loyal members
Grey nomad report tabled in parliament
Free guide has wealth of information Bonny Hills joins
national network of parks
Olé,
Locals battle plan for new
caravan park
Man accused of indecently
assaulting boy in toilet block
Caravanners wax lyrical over RVMAA song
Horror start to Easter break
Paltry $700 for man who lost
caravan home in floods
For stories from the last six editions of Caravanning News, click on the appropriate month:
Web pages designed and produced by Dennis Amor No
part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted without Copyright 2005
Dennis Amor |
Laying the blame on I LIVE in Bargara, Queensland, where the local council opposes "free campers". There can be no doubt that council attitude is designed to safeguard its investment in major caravan parks in the district and protect council income. Most claims by Bundaberg councillors relate to instances involving "whiz-bangs" that have been hired to visiting foreign tourists, who are conveniently described as caravan or motorhome freeloaders. I hardly ever see a caravan or motorhome parked in beachfront areas and certainly I have never seen their occupants in undies. I cannot say that about the "whiz-bangs" as many occupants do offend locals by showering on recreation areas, putting washing on lines under picnic sheds, thus preventing others using them for the purposes for which they were provided, and noisy conduct late into the evenings. These foreign tourists are the cause of much which is adversely said about responsible grey nomads. Barry Stick, Speaking out after village free-camp story IT IS a pity that some folk are so narrow minded they cannot see the bigger picture (see story here). Undies or budgie smugglers? Most of us walk around in the heat in our swimmers, some of us use boxer style shorts and some use the Speedo type and if you are at a distance who is to say you are not mistaken by their appearance. As for talking to school kids on their way to school, not sure that is a crime either. How many kids have been molested in this town by nomads, not many, if any. This type of thinking is obviously coming from somebody who has never stayed in a caravan park during the school periods. How many of us stop and chat to kids in the parks, a good majority I'd say and I cannot remember hearing about any such incidents. Pushing the nomads five minutes out of town will not improve the situation, it will only push us away and allow the other town down the road to gain our support and hard earned dollars. Des Paynting The trials and tribulations of trying to pay REFERRING to Ben Bailey's letter
about caravanners "sneaking" in and out of council caravan parks without
paying (see last month's edition here), sometimes
it could be because you can't find someone to pay. Some years ago, after a
long day's driving, we pulled into a council caravan park around 6.30pm.
We went straight to the office to pay, but it was closed. Oh well, not to
worry. We would pay in the morning. But in the morning it was the same
story. Not sure what time we got away, as my trip diary merely records
that with one thing and another it was a late start, so probably around
9am or later when we pulled out. There was nothing to indicate what the
camping fees were, and no honesty box where we could leave any money
anyway. We had another long day ahead of us and could not afford the time
to sit around, especially when we had no idea what time anyone might turn
up. So we had a free night's camping ... but not because we "sneaked" in
and out. We did our best to find someone to pay. Animal lovers make their point on new policy WE have been travelling around Oz
for more than two years and have never stayed in a BIG4 park. The reason
was the no-pets policy (see
story here). We don't even have a dog ... but are pet lovers. Responsible owners bring trouble-free stay I AM writing this from our fifth
night in a dog-friendly caravan park in Orange. In the five nights that we
have been here, I have seen dogs of all shapes and sizes, from Bichons to
Dobbermans and Shelties to our own German Shepherd. All dog owners
(including ourselves) have walked our dogs in the park at different times
of the day and night and never has there been any accident, thanks to
responsible owners. Perhaps the operators of the BIG4 parks may want to
speak with owners and managers of dog-friendly parks and realise the
revenue they are losing out on. They need to seriously ask themselves how
much revenue is walking out the door every single night from the 'unsold'
and empty sites by their decision not to accept dog-owning RVers … after
all, their sites are like hotel rooms and airplanes seats – once lost/not
booked, they are lost forever… dollars lost forever! In response to Colin
Toll's comment, it's not the size or the weight of the dog – it's the
responsibility of the owner and his/her consideration of other parks users
that matters. What rubbish limiting dogs to below 9kg in parks! Patsy rallies HAVING a pet has improved our
feeling of safety, and it's a good reason to do much more walking. At a
rally in Deniliquin, there were 1000 camper and motorhome owners ... and
518 dogs. Most people keep their pets very clean and pick up after them.
Most dogs that cause trouble are local and on the loose. There is a huge
debate about dogs, but how long is a piece of string. As far as BIG4 goes,
can it afford not to have dogs? The CMCA is growing at a rate of 800 new
members a month and will have 80,000 members in no time. |
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| MORE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Detecting a flaw in keeping us informed IT would have been nice had caravan owners been advised of
the new NSW smoke detector regulation (see
story here). I have just received my registration for my caravan ...
and not a mention of this new regulation. I haven't got a problem with the regulation, but would have
been upset had I been fined. A tiger wearing dentures? IF THE RVMAA is not a toothless tiger then it
certainly appears to be a tiger wearing dentures and not able to bite
real hard (see
story here). As a peak body representing Australian caravan
manufacturers, the truth is that such an organisation will never go the
hard yards with manufacturers when it appears real issues of survival of
the RVMAA is at stake. Long have the average caravan purchasers been
plagued with under-achieving limits on what can be carried in a 'van and
not exceed the maximum payload. I believe that it is at the hands of the
RVMAA and the manufacturers that the stated loading of a single axle
'van is 300kg of pay load and 400kg for a dual-axle 'van. There is
little doubt that this is a contrived out-of-date formula, designed to
allow manufacturers to create caravans that will, at least on paper,
appear to be able to be towed by the average vehicle. So what happens is
that a manufacturer, with the RVMAA’s blessing, builds a standard model, gets it passed through the road authorities and goes into production.
Then you install the awning and air conditioner. These are classed as
extras, so on a dual-axle 'van it comes off the allowable 400kg of
payload. But the purchaser is not told that. Also, when you get the 'van
home, being fitted with a shower, it will have at least two water tanks
to make it a viable concern. The weight of the water also comes off the
allowable payload; so does the LPG in your two 9kg bottles. If you
filled all these things at the sales yard and hitched up most purchasers
are already overweight without loading any camping gear, clothes,
filling the fridge, bedding or tools etc. Later they may add solar
panels as well. All this may surprise a newcomer to caravanning, but
these people are not new for long. Too soon they are on a weighbridge
and realising they may be overloaded and have to upgrade their vehicle
just to keep the family safe. This writer can only see the industry and
its regulatory bodies as responsible, and not keeping up with the times.
If this throws error at the feet of the RVMAA, so be it. An ineffectual
organisation is just that. If it cannot enforce proper etiquette and
allows this sort of thing go on, it too is to blame for the outcomes. It
must also be realised that personal attacks on individuals within the
RVMAA have been seen on forums and are out of line. One brave officer of
the organisation who is trying to sort through many issues cannot be
held responsible for all things in the industry. But there is sure
plenty of work to do. Camping comments 'un-Australian' THE comments by Caravanning Queensland's
Ron Chapman on Sunshine Coast ABC radio about people camping in vans are
obscene and un-Australian. If he doesn't like the Australian lifestyle
he should leave our country. I am a ratepayer and I live near the beach
and have not once in 25 years seen anyone camping ever being a problem.
Ron Chapman just hates people camping in vans because they are free, and
he has got it into his head that the world owes him a living. You can
give Ron my 'phone number because I'd like to have this out- with him
directly ... if he has the courage. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
THE
man who helped Geist caravans become popular in Australia has teamed
up with a Victorian company to import American-built caravans.
Former Geist national development manager Peter Treasure was flying
to
Indiana to advise on Australian requirements
for the new lightweight Euro-style Earthbound caravan
(pictured). He
said he would be reinforcing the need for compliance for the
Australia market. "Non-compliance of imported caravans is a scare
campaign that sales people use constantly when selling lesser
quality branded caravans. We are focused on compliance and customer
service totally," he added. It is planned to have an Earthbound
caravan ready for Australian caravan shows from June 1 and an east
coast road tour from mid-July.
Family
reflects on 27,000km sojourn
Jayco
plans to continue record-breaking production
Adria
names Australia's leading dealer
Police
warn on scam caravan adverts
Chain
honours couple for commitment
Leon
and Linda take over reins at Yamba
Expandas
still top choice for families
Apollo
moves into caravans
Safe bush driving DVD for
caravanners
Roadstar
unveils ultimate in luxury interior
