We are getting annoyed with this free camp obsession. Having just returned from 5 nights at a caravan park in Gippsland and paying only $20 a night we were more than happy to pay to keep this park in business. What we were not happy about was giant expensive vans and the expensive tow vehicles looking at free camps in the same area we were staying in while the caravan park was almost empty. We are aged pensioners and some of these very well off caravanners can't afford to help the park owners.
Goldfinger said
10:55 AM Mar 7, 2017
If there is an upside to the well heeled helping business...go to any of the fancy boutique restaurants or even fancy craft shops in these Country Towns and its the well heeled that frequent/support/splurge in them rather than us average Grey Nomads......I'm more likely to be in the $20 park when I need to be, and have my usual outside Bar B Q with sausages and piece of steak...."they" tend to leave much more cash in a Town...go to a place like Daylesford any day/night, see the Mercs/BMW's/Jags/Land Rover 'Sports',even Maseratis all outside the fancy/expensive/exclusive Restaurants.....'they' invariably spend more in one nights eating/drinking than I would cumulative in a week...
If they have it I guess its their way of life...many probably have 'it' because they took all the short cuts most of us don't/can't in our working lives....like Tax ""minimisation""..
I don't envy them one iota.....when they start living longer than the rest of the herd...I will then create a 'stink'.....most of us GN's have outlived Kerry Packer....my case rests.... To each his/her own....I free camp when I can and support country towns when I can.........Hoo Roo
-- Edited by Goldfinger on Tuesday 7th of March 2017 10:58:59 AM
-- Edited by Goldfinger on Tuesday 7th of March 2017 11:00:28 AM
brickies said
11:07 AM Mar 7, 2017
You make a very good point Bfirth ,But watch out for the back lash from the forum ,There a lots on this forum that bad mouth Caravan park .
meetoo said
11:21 AM Mar 7, 2017
It is not my job to 'help the park'. Caravan parks are a service of which I will avail myself of when I wish, and paying the fee that is charged for. I still need to drop money in these towns to buy food and fuel etc, whether I free camp or stay in a park. Caravan parks are just another business as is the butcher and a baker etc. Are you going to grizzle if I don't buy a steak in that town because I don't need to on any given day? Not bad mouthing caravan parks, (or butchers)
Cheers, John
-- Edited by meetoo on Tuesday 7th of March 2017 11:22:58 AM
msg said
11:40 AM Mar 7, 2017
Agree with Meetoo. All businesses rely on supplying goods and services that the customer requires.
Nobody spends money to help other business out. Why should Caravan parks be any different.
They are a luxury and I only use them when I have to.
I still buy fuel, groceries and anything else I might need in towns.
Knightrider said
11:43 AM Mar 7, 2017
Bfirth Comment - I agree with your comments totally. There appears to be an obsession by many Grey Nomads about "getting something for free". The only free camps I did was in WA because it was sometimes too far to get to the next town. Don't forget, the Caravan Park Bashers are usually the same people as the Bank Bashers, Large Supermarket Bashers, Telco Bashers, Centrelink Bashers, National Park Fee Bashers and the list goes on. Unfortunately you will find a lot of them on these types of sites. Sit back with me a wait for the screams!!!
JocknNik said
11:54 AM Mar 7, 2017
On our recent first ever 3 month trip, we chose to use cara parks all the time, only because we had the lucre saved up and wanted to do it easy. We'd done a lot of wilderness camping and park tenting over the years so thought an easy trip would be nice (getting a bit slack in our 'dotage' I suppose). But some free camping is definitely in our future. We'd still use caravan parks a lot for the sheer convenience of having the facilities - no built-in bathroom in our van. It's horses for courses isn't it?
Two sides to the story.. some parks, especially the group-members, charge like wounded bulls according to their star ratings particularly in the high season. But if too many vanners stop using parks all that'll be left for us in many places might be nothing but free camping, if we're lucky. We may find local authorities getting sick of free campers, some of whom leave a lot to be desired in their habits. Then the only free camping available might be in remote spots where only the hardiest and best equipped would go. Perhaps we need to try to give a little more business back to the parks. We may well only hurt ourselves in the long run otherwise.
Goldfinger said
11:55 AM Mar 7, 2017
Brickies..does "bad mouthing" equal members having an opinion and expressing them on this Forum?....it all depends on one's ATTITUDE/Fairness.......Hoo Roo
brickies said
12:06 PM Mar 7, 2017
I both free camp and caravan parks , I would not like to see caravan park disappear we need both .
Santa said
12:09 PM Mar 7, 2017
bfirth wrote:
We are getting annoyed with this free camp obsession. Having just returned from 5 nights at a caravan park in Gippsland and paying only $20 a night we were more than happy to pay to keep this park in business. What we were not happy about was giant expensive vans and the expensive tow vehicles looking at free camps in the same area we were staying in while the caravan park was almost empty. We are aged pensioners and some of these very well off caravanners can't afford to help the park owners.
Get annoyed as you feel necessary, your quite entitled to spend your money when and wherever you choose, as am I.
If there are free camp options available that suit us we will utilise the facility.
Nope! we ain't broke, however staying in cp's whenever we traveled certainly wouldn't improve the bank balance.
We use caravan parks only when necessary or have no alternative.
No screams from this direction, simply don't like being preached to.
I suspect this thread calls for some of the following.
TheHeaths said
12:25 PM Mar 7, 2017
It's not that some wish to free camp that bothers me. That is fine, and we do free camp as we travel between major locations. We also use caravan parks when in major locations, as they are also part of the town business community. PS we are not overly "well heeled" either.
What I find disappointing is the way that those places that do not provide a free camp are often vilified for not doing so on forums. It is the calling for "black balling' those locations that I find to be unfortunate. Fine, don't stay at those places, but please don't make disparaging comments about the place, as most, if not all, are still very RV friendly to travellers. They just choose to support all of their business owners, not all excluding the local caravan park.
As I often think, look at your local authority to see if they provide free camping (especially those that live in capital cities) and if not, direct your efforts to getting them on board for travellers.
I suspect that this argument will continue to rage for years to come, at least until all the parks close, or all the free camps are closed.
brickies said
12:41 PM Mar 7, 2017
Good post Ian
hako said
12:46 PM Mar 7, 2017
We haven't see a $20 caravan park since the last century and plan on spending $35-40 per night off season and that's not in tourist areas. It's all simply about choice - your choice.
Good Luck.
rockylizard said
12:57 PM Mar 7, 2017
hako wrote:
We haven't see a $20 caravan park since the last century and plan on spending $35-40 per night off season and that's not in tourist areas. It's all simply about choice - your choice.
Good Luck.
Gday...
Interesting observation Hako.
I guess it really must depend completely on where one travels.
I camp away from towns predominantly, but do stay often in van parks - in small inland towns particularly - that are $20/night .... often there are some that were less than $20.
Unfortunately, some of those I have stayed in previously, below $20, are now upto $20 ... occasionally $22-23/night.
In addition, I have noticed (heard?) that over the past 12 months or so showgrounds in many areas are creeping up toward $25+ per night.
I guess I had better not get too close to that east coast of Straya too often then.
Cheers - John
the rocket said
01:26 PM Mar 7, 2017
bfirth wrote:
We are getting annoyed with this free camp obsession. Having just returned from 5 nights at a caravan park in Gippsland and paying only $20 a night we were more than happy to pay to keep this park in business. What we were not happy about was giant expensive vans and the expensive tow vehicles looking at free camps in the same area we were staying in while the caravan park was almost empty. We are aged pensioners and some of these very well off caravanners can't afford to help the park owners.
Hello bfirth, some people may well off. No argument there. I do not care. But u do not know their circumstances. Some , it may b there home. if u own a home, i bet your home is worth more than there van. think about that. Lots of people go away for 5 days while lots of people live permanently in their van. Everyone is different. No one is right or wrong. Australia is a free country n if people want to free camp or caravan park camp , well that is there choice n i try not to sit in judgement of others choices.
-- Edited by the rocket on Tuesday 7th of March 2017 01:30:49 PM
Santa said
01:40 PM Mar 7, 2017
the rocket wrote:
bfirth wrote:
We are getting annoyed with this free camp obsession. Having just returned from 5 nights at a caravan park in Gippsland and paying only $20 a night we were more than happy to pay to keep this park in business. What we were not happy about was giant expensive vans and the expensive tow vehicles looking at free camps in the same area we were staying in while the caravan park was almost empty. We are aged pensioners and some of these very well off caravanners can't afford to help the park owners.
Hello bfirth, some people may well off. No argument there. I do not care. But u do not know their circumstances. Some , it may b there home. if u own a home, i bet your home is worth more than there van. think about that. Lots of people go away for 5 days while lots of people live permanently in their van. Everyone is different. No one is right or wrong. Australia is a free country n if people want to free camp or caravan park camp , well that is there choice n i try not to sit in judgement of others choices.
-- Edited by the rocket on Tuesday 7th of March 2017 01:30:49 PM
Well said The Rocket.
Desert Dweller said
01:47 PM Mar 7, 2017
There's room for both modes of camping. We do both of them.
Our only gripe is with people that ''expect everything to be laid on for free''.
We've spent many thousands of dollars in small country town IGA supermarkets, fuel outlets, local pubs, community caravan parks & hardware shops (gas refills).
We avoid large regional country towns like the plague.
People really are entitled to do ''whatever floats their boat''. Good on 'em!
Tony Bev said
01:51 PM Mar 7, 2017
bfirth wrote:
We are getting annoyed with this free camp obsession. Having just returned from 5 nights at a caravan park in Gippsland and paying only $20 a night we were more than happy to pay to keep this park in business. What we were not happy about was giant expensive vans and the expensive tow vehicles looking at free camps in the same area we were staying in while the caravan park was almost empty. We are aged pensioners and some of these very well off caravanners can't afford to help the park owners.
We are all different, and I hope that my opinion shows no disrespect, to any other opinions
I take a lot of pride in being self sufficient when I travel, and because I am self sufficient for my situation, I actually enjoy free, and low budget camping grounds, which have few to no facilities available
I also support the towns close to the camp I stay in I recently exchanged a 9 kg gas bottle in Bordertown SA for over $38, knowing that my next stop was going to be the Adelaide area, where Bunnings would have had the same item for just over $20
If you have found, what you believe is a good caravan park, then perhaps you should put it in the following section of the forum
Then others who like to use caravan parks, will know where it is, as Wikipedia says that Gippsland in Victoria, covers an area of 41,556 square kilometres
As a sidenote, I am sure that a lot of travellers who only use caravan parks, are members or lurkers of this forum
Dick0 said
02:34 PM Mar 7, 2017
Hi bfirth, welcome.
The maths speaks for itself. Many travel or stay at locations for 3-6 or more months throughout the year. Just 90 days at $20.00 per day is $1800.00 just to park the den in a confined c/park. I can stay at free camping sites with toilet and dump point facilities and million dollar views and spread the love of the dollar around many traders in local towns. Of course there will be times when staying at a c/park will be more convenient.
Now for those that like the full time c/park experience, good for you. Perhaps also try free camping and enjoy the experience and comaraderie.
Now to get the popcorn out.
meetoo said
02:46 PM Mar 7, 2017
Dick0 wrote:
Hi bfirth, welcome.
The maths speaks for itself. Many travel or stay at locations for 3-6 or more months throughout the year. Just 90 days at $20.00 per day is $1800.00 just to park the den in a confined c/park. I can stay at free camping sites with toilet and dump point facilities and million dollar views and spread the love of the dollar around many traders in local towns. Of course there will be times when staying at a c/park will be more convenient.
Now for those that like the full time c/park experience, good for you. Perhaps also try free camping and enjoy the experience and comaraderie.
Now to get the popcorn out.
Yep that adds up to an awful lot of extra money! $1800.00 per van times many tens of thousands of vans perhaps , every 90 van nights, is tens of millions of dollars, that is freed up to spend on all the other businesses out there, which some are doing it tough too. I am sure the free campers too make more than a huge difference to the local economies as well. Good on you all.
Cheers, John.
jbell6660 said
02:54 PM Mar 7, 2017
It's all about choice bfirth. Each to their own. Just because one has an expensive caravan and tug certainly does not mean they have to stay in caravan parks. But I am sure they do from time to time. Don't sweat the small stuff as they say!
-- Edited by jbell6660 on Tuesday 7th of March 2017 02:54:55 PM
the rocket said
02:58 PM Mar 7, 2017
Hello bfirth, welcome to the grey nomad playground. Nothin like starting an interesting topic to get us all tapping on our keyboards. Well done n welcome.
gooba53 said
03:17 PM Mar 7, 2017
You know sometimes it's about wanting a bit of space and not so many rules.
Izabarack said
04:03 PM Mar 7, 2017
bfirth wrote:
We are getting annoyed with this free camp obsession.
You are perfectly entitled to get annoyed about anything. I get annoyed when people take it upon themselves to tell me where I should park and how much I should pay for camping.
Iza
gwb said
04:05 PM Mar 7, 2017
Just sometimes the caravan park employs local people and uses local tradespeople so the money stays in the local area. We use both caravan parks and free camping so have no bias one way or the other.
Geoff and Bev
Mike Harding said
04:21 PM Mar 7, 2017
gooba53 wrote:
You know sometimes it's about wanting a bit of space and not so many rules.
For some reason I don't understand I suspect, when I come to use them, that most caravan parks will not permit me to sight in the scope on my rifle or do a bit of practice with the shotgun - miserable devils.
Also, I know - from talking to friends - many parks frown at we Amateur Radio operators erecting a 12m mast with 27m wire arms? Why, I have no idea?
In one to two years I'll be on the road permanently and will only use parks when I need to. Apart from anything else... I like my solitude.
Caravan parks are a business and like any business need to make it attractive to the customer to use them.
villatranquilla said
04:51 PM Mar 7, 2017
horses for courses. But please tell us where/ which park is $20/night as I'm sure they'll get plenty of business.
bfirth said
05:10 PM Mar 7, 2017
Woodside Beach caravan park $25 a night book 4 pay for 3,we spent 5 nights there so got 1 night free. Instead of $125 it was $100.
-- Edited by bfirth on Tuesday 7th of March 2017 05:15:09 PM
Bagmaker said
07:10 PM Mar 7, 2017
I think you should all go home so I can find somewhere to camp easily
(insert line full of ha ha's)
aussie_paul said
07:15 PM Mar 7, 2017
Bagmaker wrote:
I think you should all go home so I can find somewhere to camp easily (insert line full of ha ha's)
We are getting annoyed with this free camp obsession. Having just returned from 5 nights at a caravan park in Gippsland and paying only $20 a night we were more than happy to pay to keep this park in business. What we were not happy about was giant expensive vans and the expensive tow vehicles looking at free camps in the same area we were staying in while the caravan park was almost empty. We are aged pensioners and some of these very well off caravanners can't afford to help the park owners.
If there is an upside to the well heeled helping business...go to any of the fancy boutique restaurants or even fancy craft shops in these Country Towns and its the well heeled that frequent/support/splurge in them rather than us average Grey Nomads......I'm more likely to be in the $20 park when I need to be, and have my usual outside Bar B Q with sausages and piece of steak...."they" tend to leave much more cash in a Town...go to a place like Daylesford any day/night, see the Mercs/BMW's/Jags/Land Rover 'Sports',even Maseratis all outside the fancy/expensive/exclusive Restaurants.....'they' invariably spend more in one nights eating/drinking than I would cumulative in a week...
If they have it I guess its their way of life...many probably have 'it' because they took all the short cuts most of us don't/can't in our working lives....like Tax ""minimisation""..
I don't envy them one iota.....when they start living longer than the rest of the herd...I will then create a 'stink'.....most of us GN's have outlived Kerry Packer....my case rests....
To each his/her own....I free camp when I can and support country towns when I can.........Hoo Roo
-- Edited by Goldfinger on Tuesday 7th of March 2017 10:58:59 AM
-- Edited by Goldfinger on Tuesday 7th of March 2017 11:00:28 AM
It is not my job to 'help the park'. Caravan parks are a service of which I will avail myself of when I wish, and paying the fee that is charged for. I still need to drop money in these towns to buy food and fuel etc, whether I free camp or stay in a park. Caravan parks are just another business as is the butcher and a baker etc. Are you going to grizzle if I don't buy a steak in that town because I don't need to on any given day? Not bad mouthing caravan parks, (or butchers)
Cheers, John
-- Edited by meetoo on Tuesday 7th of March 2017 11:22:58 AM
Nobody spends money to help other business out. Why should Caravan parks be any different.
They are a luxury and I only use them when I have to.
I still buy fuel, groceries and anything else I might need in towns.
Bfirth Comment - I agree with your comments totally. There appears to be an obsession by many Grey Nomads about "getting something for free". The only free camps I did was in WA because it was sometimes too far to get to the next town. Don't forget, the Caravan Park Bashers are usually the same people as the Bank Bashers, Large Supermarket Bashers, Telco Bashers, Centrelink Bashers, National Park Fee Bashers and the list goes on. Unfortunately you will find a lot of them on these types of sites. Sit back with me a wait for the screams!!!
Two sides to the story.. some parks, especially the group-members, charge like wounded bulls according to their star ratings particularly in the high season. But if too many vanners stop using parks all that'll be left for us in many places might be nothing but free camping, if we're lucky. We may find local authorities getting sick of free campers, some of whom leave a lot to be desired in their habits. Then the only free camping available might be in remote spots where only the hardiest and best equipped would go. Perhaps we need to try to give a little more business back to the parks. We may well only hurt ourselves in the long run otherwise.
Get annoyed as you feel necessary, your quite entitled to spend your money when and wherever you choose, as am I.
If there are free camp options available that suit us we will utilise the facility.
Nope! we ain't broke, however staying in cp's whenever we traveled certainly wouldn't improve the bank balance.
We use caravan parks only when necessary or have no alternative.
No screams from this direction, simply don't like being preached to.
I suspect this thread calls for some of the following.
What I find disappointing is the way that those places that do not provide a free camp are often vilified for not doing so on forums. It is the calling for "black balling' those locations that I find to be unfortunate. Fine, don't stay at those places, but please don't make disparaging comments about the place, as most, if not all, are still very RV friendly to travellers. They just choose to support all of their business owners, not all excluding the local caravan park.
As I often think, look at your local authority to see if they provide free camping (especially those that live in capital cities) and if not, direct your efforts to getting them on board for travellers.
I suspect that this argument will continue to rage for years to come, at least until all the parks close, or all the free camps are closed.
Good Luck.
Gday...
I guess it really must depend completely on where one travels.
I camp away from towns predominantly, but do stay often in van parks - in small inland towns particularly - that are $20/night .... often there are some that were less than $20.
Unfortunately, some of those I have stayed in previously, below $20, are now upto $20 ... occasionally $22-23/night.
In addition, I have noticed (heard?) that over the past 12 months or so showgrounds in many areas are creeping up toward $25+ per night.
I guess I had better not get too close to that east coast of Straya too often then.
Cheers - John
Hello bfirth, some people may well off. No argument there. I do not care. But u do not know their circumstances. Some , it may b there home. if u own a home, i bet your home is worth more than there van. think about that. Lots of people go away for 5 days while lots of people live permanently in their van. Everyone is different. No one is right or wrong. Australia is a free country n if people want to free camp or caravan park camp , well that is there choice n i try not to sit in judgement of others choices.
-- Edited by the rocket on Tuesday 7th of March 2017 01:30:49 PM
Well said The Rocket.
Our only gripe is with people that ''expect everything to be laid on for free''.
We've spent many thousands of dollars in small country town IGA supermarkets, fuel outlets, local pubs, community caravan parks & hardware shops (gas refills).
We avoid large regional country towns like the plague.
People really are entitled to do ''whatever floats their boat''. Good on 'em!
We are all different, and I hope that my opinion shows no disrespect, to any other opinions
I take a lot of pride in being self sufficient when I travel, and because I am self sufficient for my situation, I actually enjoy free, and low budget camping grounds, which have few to no facilities available
I also support the towns close to the camp I stay in
I recently exchanged a 9 kg gas bottle in Bordertown SA for over $38, knowing that my next stop was going to be the Adelaide area, where Bunnings would have had the same item for just over $20
If you have found, what you believe is a good caravan park, then perhaps you should put it in the following section of the forum
Click here to go to the section where you recommend a caravan park you have stayed at
Then others who like to use caravan parks, will know where it is, as Wikipedia says that Gippsland in Victoria, covers an area of 41,556 square kilometres
As a sidenote, I am sure that a lot of travellers who only use caravan parks, are members or lurkers of this forum
Hi bfirth, welcome.
The maths speaks for itself. Many travel or stay at locations for 3-6 or more months throughout the year. Just 90 days at $20.00 per day is $1800.00 just to park the den in a confined c/park. I can stay at free camping sites with toilet and dump point facilities and million dollar views and spread the love of the dollar around many traders in local towns. Of course there will be times when staying at a c/park will be more convenient.
Now for those that like the full time c/park experience, good for you. Perhaps also try free camping and enjoy the experience and comaraderie.
Now to get the popcorn out.
Yep that adds up to an awful lot of extra money! $1800.00 per van times many tens of thousands of vans perhaps , every 90 van nights, is tens of millions of dollars, that is freed up to spend on all the other businesses out there, which some are doing it tough too. I am sure the free campers too make more than a huge difference to the local economies as well. Good on you all.
Cheers, John.
It's all about choice bfirth. Each to their own. Just because one has an expensive caravan and tug certainly does not mean they have to stay in caravan parks. But I am sure they do from time to time. Don't sweat the small stuff as they say!
-- Edited by jbell6660 on Tuesday 7th of March 2017 02:54:55 PM
Hello bfirth, welcome to the grey nomad playground. Nothin like starting an interesting topic to get us all tapping on our keyboards. Well done n welcome.
You know sometimes it's about wanting a bit of space and not so many rules.
You are perfectly entitled to get annoyed about anything. I get annoyed when people take it upon themselves to tell me where I should park and how much I should pay for camping.
Iza
Geoff and Bev
For some reason I don't understand I suspect, when I come to use them, that most caravan parks will not permit me to sight in the scope on my rifle or do a bit of practice with the shotgun - miserable devils.
Also, I know - from talking to friends - many parks frown at we Amateur Radio operators erecting a 12m mast with 27m wire arms? Why, I have no idea?
In one to two years I'll be on the road permanently and will only use parks when I need to. Apart from anything else... I like my solitude.
Caravan parks are a business and like any business need to make it attractive to the customer to use them.
Woodside Beach caravan park $25 a night book 4 pay for 3,we spent 5 nights there so got 1 night free. Instead of $125 it was $100.
-- Edited by bfirth on Tuesday 7th of March 2017 05:15:09 PM
(insert line full of ha ha's)
Aussie Paul.