Author Topic: setting up a soft floor in a van park  (Read 14668 times)

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Offline tonym

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #25 on: December 09, 2011, 11:57:43 AM »
Hi,

The park in question is Ocean Beach Holiday Park at Umina on the Central Coast and run by NRMA, who have a few other parks. Yes, we have stayed there and had a great time. Yes, it is expensive in relation to other parks. To put the cost into perspective it is a Resort Park with a resort style pool with a waterside and kids area, jumping pillows and lots of school holiday activities day and night of which quite a few are free. It is right on the beach and the camping area overlooks an adjacent creek. The park was spotlessly clean and very safe as it is at the end on a road.

So if you want a quiet place away from it all with no added extras, it is not the one. If you have kids and want a holiday with plenty of activities and do not want to do a resort hotel but want to use your camper trailer then it is good.

My 2 cents worth.

Tony.
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Offline D4D

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #26 on: December 09, 2011, 12:09:35 PM »
My 2 cents worth.

A very valuable 2 cents Tony, it is good to find these camper friendly resorts.
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Offline MDS69

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #27 on: December 09, 2011, 12:27:20 PM »
Ok my experience with the site we had at Treasure Island was the slab ran front to rear of the site. We parked the CT left to right of the site at 90 degrees to the slab with the rear of the trailer at the side edge of the slab. Folded the tent over to the rear of the site on the grass and the awning back over the slab so we had a concrete floor under our awning. 'Twas great. Sorry no pics but hope you get what I mean.

Offline JethroT

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #28 on: December 09, 2011, 01:05:23 PM »
I thought we hit the ridiculous mark this year, paying $1500 for 3 weeks at Caloundra, but we love the spot, so I suppose everyone has their favourite spot, which at the end of the day is only worth what people will pay for it. 
Regards, Geoff and Michele

Offline Pete_R

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #29 on: December 09, 2011, 01:13:49 PM »
Reol950,
Just make sure you also know the size of your setup as sometimes the slab sites are smaller than grass sites. We had that issue at one park where we had to put the trailer on the slab & when open, we had 2 inches left between us & the next site (didn't help that they told us the wrong size of the site)
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Offline Pete_R

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #30 on: December 09, 2011, 01:18:18 PM »
Most caravan parks make you park the camper with the towhitch facing the road so in case of an emergency you can hitch up faster! making the choice of setting up limited.

Ironic considering it does take a bit longer to pull down the awning & pack up the trailer etc than to pack up a caravan. If it was a full on emergency, I'd be leaving the trailer & getting out quick - the trailer is insured
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Offline Pipeliner

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #31 on: December 09, 2011, 01:23:55 PM »
If you want a site next to the beach, with swimming pools, kids playgrounds and bouncy pillows, and great facilities then try Adelaide Shores Caravan park in West Beach, Adelaide - but don't try and get in after Christmas Day as it is booked solid with regulars who come back year after year.  We go down there for Christmas each year but have to be off our site on the 27th as someone else has a permanent booking on it from then on.  Our site is all grass so no problems with the camper.

Oh, and its only $44 per night!
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Offline JethroT

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #32 on: December 09, 2011, 01:26:57 PM »
Not the ideal situation, but be placed our soft floor camper beside the slab with the drawbar facing the rear, this allowed us to put the awning facing the ocean view.

It took a minute or two to move the trailer into position, but we had a great view for a week.

There are any number of ways to position the camper around the slab just pick the one that best suits the situation.

 
Regards, Geoff and Michele

Offline Bird

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #33 on: December 09, 2011, 01:27:19 PM »
Apparently it wouldn't be ridiculous if it was $125 a night.
yea, I'd be moving on if I got quoted that.
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Offline D4D

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #35 on: December 09, 2011, 07:07:28 PM »
So you wouldn't consider this then  ;D ;D

Old news :)
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Manjimike

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #36 on: December 09, 2011, 07:10:32 PM »
I know but when you consider what you get for the $125/night, $125 isn't so bad

:cheers:

Offline Bird

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #37 on: January 12, 2012, 09:42:06 PM »
I know but when you consider what you get for the $125/night, $125 isn't so bad

:cheers:
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Offline Teabag

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #38 on: January 12, 2012, 09:50:38 PM »
What we choose to pay for a campsite is up to the individual. Now let's get back to the real Q and back on track.....

When I had a soft floor I would simply put the trailer on the slab and have the soft floor on the grass. I knew the camper was level....hehehe

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Offline cewilson

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #39 on: January 12, 2012, 10:06:55 PM »
I park the Trak Shak on the slab.  I have had to drop the tyre pressures substantially a couple of times to get it all lined up however that was a quick easy fix when we left.

A way to practice is to use your driveway/front lawn at home and try different combinations over a quiet beer or two.  That way if you end up at a site with that situation, you'll already have a fair idea what you are going to do.


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Offline Camel Tow

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #40 on: January 13, 2012, 07:13:08 PM »
Interesting thread...funny ho we all tackle similar problems in different ways.

I have only been struck with a slab site once...our first outing and I didn't know better when booking the site.

Thankfully the slab was quite small and I was able to set up the camper so that the slab was in the annex. I was worried about damaging the soft floor on the concrete (see drawing)

Some of the solutions offered are fine when the slab is level with the grass, but in many cases they are a few inches above grass level.

I have a 10' tent on my Camel and in one particular park it only JUST fits on their sites as you can see from the pictures below. If going somewhere new I always check how wide the sites are.

I have never worried about having the hitch to the road...unless it is a waterfront site of course.

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Offline cancan

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #41 on: January 13, 2012, 08:50:25 PM »
I park the ct at right angle to the slab and have sleeping area on the slab and annex on the grass.
Also more than happy to pay a lot of money to stay at caravan parks that are clean and have great chold facilities and good location.
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Offline Muso

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #42 on: January 14, 2012, 06:01:59 AM »
Funny, I thought towhitches had to face the roadway (in case of emergency), but then we avoid CP's like the plague so what would I know!!.
Makes me glad we have a CUB fliplid :laugh:
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Offline JohnT

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #43 on: January 14, 2012, 08:15:06 AM »
Off topic kind of.

We paid around $1600 for four nights in Phillip Island for a powered site. Was about $80pp/pn (% Adults).

Actually cheaper than the year before, that was $100pp/pn for a powered site. Although that site had its own undersite water feature.

On topic, I have set my camper up on the slab with Annex on the grass. We had to raise the ladder a little to get in to bed, but it wasn't to bad.

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #44 on: January 14, 2012, 09:09:54 AM »
One park was a powered grass site,and the one pictured($125 a night) was a powered one with shadecloth on the ground.

Did you tell them you only wanted to rent the site not buy it???

Offline Paul and Bern

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #45 on: January 14, 2012, 09:36:00 PM »
 :D Bit like MDS, try and get soft floor on grass and annex on slab.  Ours is a 12 foot and in a lot of cases this is the only way it fits, mind you we do ask for large sites... unhook and stick the hitch in the garden  >:D
Mission Bch, the slab was nearly a foot high at the back

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Offline Boxhead 71

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Re: setting up a soft floor in a van park
« Reply #46 on: January 15, 2012, 10:38:16 PM »
When we had the soft floor i'd always put the trailer beside the slab and fold the tent onto the slab, although i kept the old floor that we'd replaced and used to put this underneath. We'd sweep it off first though, and we didn't hafta worry about puttin' pegs around the tent section with the kids in their swags holding it down!  ;D. I've also set up on the shade cloth jiggers at Merriden. They have a section 'specially for CT's. We didn't really know what was expected of us so we swung ours around 90 deg. so the tent was on the shade mat [ ???] and grass under the awning.

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