Creating a new Campsite

I was sitting reading this thinking TerryL what is he on about. I like ehu, use my own facilities apart from that. Then I remembered my old vw camper, we went away 4 of us a calor gas bottle a single electric light, gas fridge and coped quite well. No tv or phones to charge etc but there are clearly other things in life. Me and Mrs Westhamman could spend time making love in the afternoons. mrs westhamman says she cant do without ehu.
Back to original enquiry a simple basic site would suit most for night or two if you put your mind to it.
 
TerryL said:
But why do batteries, of any type, even have to be charged up every day or two? Especially lithium, which are supposed to be the real answer to off-grid motorhoming.
In our first couple of years we survived very happily on a single 100w lead acid battery which would (with careful use obviously) last us up to seven days before we had to think about going for a run to recharge.

Or can you really not do without a daily dose of soaps, hairdryer and coffee percolator? Once again I'll say it - you should perhasps be seriously thinking about how you use your motorhome. Sorry if I offend some peoples views, but to me it's not, and will never be, motorhoming in it's true form.

Go book a B&B or hotel.
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In case you missed this and whilst not a formal survey you can see the number of people who would like EHU particularly in the longer nights / shorter days
 
Coolcats said:
In case you missed this and whilst not a formal survey you can see the number of people who would like EHU particularly in the longer nights / shorter days
Click to expand...

I had missed that but a Christmas rally in England is a very different thing to a summer visit to a small Orkney island. I hope to visit Orkney again but it will not be in the winter. The OP specifically said a simple and affordable site, which is not what some people seem to talking about and I wonder how many of these people are actually planning to visit Orkney.
 
We are on an isolated CS site in West Wales. Fresh water tap, black waste, EHU for £11 per night. Well cut Grass pitches, but only just off a gravel track. Grey waste not MH accessible, but I was told I could empty it into the hedgerow. When I booked, the "caretaker" said she came over most days, but if we didn't see her to put the money in a box by the cottage when we left.
 
Pausim said:
I had missed that but a Christmas rally in England is a very different thing to a summer visit to a small Orkney island. I hope to visit Orkney again but it will not be in the winter. The OP specifically said a simple and affordable site, which is not what some people seem to talking about and I wonder how many of these people are actually planning to visit Orkney.
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Agreed. I doubt that I will ever go to the Orkney Islands, a distance of 770 miles which I prefer to make wandering down to the Pyrenees and into Spain.
However, I guess for the adventurous travelling from anywhere, who really want to spend a night or two on Rousay the lack of EHU is unlikely to stop them.

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VandM said:
We're creating a small, simple (and affordable) MoHo site on our island of Rousay, Orkney.
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We went to Orkney a few years ago and loved it. We had been wanting to see the archeology there for ages. It didn't disappoint. We didn't make it to any of the islands unfortunately, but this thread has reawakened my desire to go back! I hope the site is successful. :giggle:
 
Revolvor said:
We are on an isolated CS site in West Wales. Fresh water tap, black waste, EHU for £11 per night. Well cut Grass pitches, but only just off a gravel track. Grey waste not MH accessible, but I was told I could empty it into the hedgerow. When I booked, the "caretaker" said she came over most days, but if we didn't see her to put the money in a box by the cottage when we left.
Click to expand...
That's a cracking value pitch and sounds like a lovely location.
For us installation of EHU's will also involve a new pole mounted transformer and underground cabling so the cost will be rather onerous.
 
Are most modern MH's fitted with an under vehicle drain for the grey water discharge and does this always require a drive-over discharge point?
 
As stated earlier, been to orkneys earlier this yr. To get to rousay, you have to go via mainland (orkney). There are adequate facilities on that island (mainland), were you are likely to have to stay at least 1 night due to ferry connections. So for me a quiet, welcoming field, hard standing is more important than luxury of extra expensive (to install) facilities, and we will be coming back up in the future. Keep it clean and simple. Imo.
 
Spriddler said:
Agreed. I doubt that I will ever go to the Orkney Islands, a distance of 770 miles which I prefer to make wandering down to the Pyrenees and into Spain.
However, I guess for the adventurous travelling from anywhere, who really want to spend a night or two on Rousay the lack of EHU is unlikely to stop them.
Click to expand...
We're about to do our twice a year trip to visit our ageing father (95yo) in Suffolk, a direct trip of 600 miles each way with two ferry journeys. Usually split the journey into two or three with stopovers in interesting location en route. Very manageable but can see the attraction for someone in the south of England being drawn by a guarantee of warm and sunny weather.

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VandM said:
Are most modern MH's fitted with an under vehicle drain for the grey water discharge and does this always require a drive-over discharge point?
Click to expand...
Yes to the first and No to the second - our van does need a drive over drain for the simple reason the actual place where the contents of the grey tank come out of the tank is smack in the most inaccessible middle point of underneath the van thus making it virtually impossible for anyone to place a receptacle under it accurately to catch the waste water, retrieve receptacle and tip into hedge/around base of tree trunk/anywhere else.

Even when camping on grass/a farmer's field, the old countryside code did not like you 'watering the grass' and of course if you stop there for a fortnight and have washing up water that requires sieving/tip used coffee grounds/loose tea down your sink plughole or use eg bleach constantly all in the same 6" round space underneath your van - but the advice about waste 'grey' water has now completely disappeared from the 2021 version of said Code and is now limited to the disposal of 'black' waste anywhere near water - lake pond stream sea. We don't really want to be on tarmac or solid concrete all the way under the whole van for this reason.

However the outlet for an awful lot more vans is at the side and therefore much easier to collect the grey water and then water the hedge etc with it. All you can reasonably do is try and cater for the majority of your likely customers, I think.

Whilst I appreciate why some need EHU - the very first thing I thought of was that clearly not many on here will have seen the cost of getting their local elec board to dig a trench and run underground cable to wherever it happens to be needed even when the main supply runs under the road outside the site gate. Us two have - and even 30 years ago the price was eyewatering!
 
VandM said:
We're about to do our twice a year trip to visit our ageing father (95yo) in Suffolk, a direct trip of 600 miles each way with two ferry journeys. Usually split the journey into two or three with stopovers in interesting location en route. Very manageable but can see the attraction for someone in the south of England being drawn by a guarantee of warm and sunny weather.
Click to expand...
No hills, haha
 
Pausim said:
I had missed that but a Christmas rally in England is a very different thing to a summer visit to a small Orkney island. I hope to visit Orkney again but it will not be in the winter. The OP specifically said a simple and affordable site, which is not what some people seem to talking about and I wonder how many of these people are actually planning to visit Orkney.
Click to expand...
It is interesting and just a couple of thoughts this is a small self selecting group split in part by those who like 'pure' Motorhoming eg wild camping and those who prefer a site with facilities, facilities do not have to be overly complex and can be kept quite simple. Having said this the OP will know what it would cost them and possible return on investment over a given time which possibly rules out EHU provision which is more of a consideration when considering installing power.

For the Mo Ho user relying on Solar panels is also a consideration for time year and weather, here is a comparison between Orkney and Brighton


    • Records indicate hours of sunshine in Brighton, England range between 1:48 daily in December & 7:40 daily in June
    • The longest day of the year is 16:17 long and the shortest day is 7:42 long.
    • The longest day is 8:34 longer than the shortest day.
    • There is an average of 1766 hours of sunlight per year (of a possible 4383) with an average of 4:50 of sunlight per day.
    • It is sunny 40.3% of daylight hours. The remaining 59.7% of daylight hours are likely cloudy or with shade, haze or low sun intensity.
    • At midday the sun is on average 39.6° above the horizon at Brighton, England.
 
VandM said:
We're about to do our twice a year trip to visit our ageing father (95yo) in Suffolk, a direct trip of 600 miles each way with two ferry journeys. Usually split the journey into two or three with stopovers in interesting location en route. Very manageable but can see the attraction for someone in the south of England being drawn by a guarantee of warm and sunny weather.
Click to expand...
The remoteness, wildlife, rugged coast and archaeology of the Orkneys appeal to me very strongly and I would dearly like to visit but it's quite a hike to get there (770 miles = £240 in diesel), especially as I never want to use motorways, and France (i.e. the Newhaven ferry port) is only a 20 mile drive from home, nevertheless I'm quite sure you'll have plenty of visitors.
 
We used a campsite in Orkney a couple of years ago as a deviation fro the NC500- it is an utterly lovely place well worth a visit and I am desperate to go back. There were tent campers on site and it had interior facilities ie bunks and washing machines; but the idea of an Aire type of parking would IMO be much nicer; quieter and maybe even darker skies.
We don't have lithium batteries and have camped without EHU for 3 nights in low season without running engine and not needed any more power in the van. Solar phone chargers work well even in winter; we prefer to use own loo and shower so all we would need is clean water and waste disposal.
I would charge as much for day trippers using waste dump/water point as for ones staying overnight - people will IMO be glad to pay and enjoy a spot of wilding without worrying about waste disposal.
Sounds like a great venture [apart from the generator idea] and be sure to have lots of printed info about local attractions as internet connection needs power .

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sedge said:
Yes to the first and No to the second - our van does need a drive over drain for the simple reason the actual place where the contents of the grey tank come out of the tank is smack in the most inaccessible middle point of underneath the van thus making it virtually impossible for anyone to place a receptacle under it accurately to catch the waste water, retrieve receptacle and tip into hedge/around base of tree trunk/anywhere else.

Even when camping on grass/a farmer's field, the old countryside code did not like you 'watering the grass' and of course if you stop there for a fortnight and have washing up water that requires sieving/tip used coffee grounds/loose tea down your sink plughole or use eg bleach constantly all in the same 6" round space underneath your van - but the advice about waste 'grey' water has now completely disappeared from the 2021 version of said Code and is now limited to the disposal of 'black' waste anywhere near water - lake pond stream sea. We don't really want to be on tarmac or solid concrete all the way under the whole van for this reason.

However the outlet for an awful lot more vans is at the side and therefore much easier to collect the grey water and then water the hedge etc with it. All you can reasonably do is try and cater for the majority of your likely customers, I think.

Whilst I appreciate why some need EHU - the very first thing I thought of was that clearly not many on here will have seen the cost of getting their local elec board to dig a trench and run underground cable to wherever it happens to be needed even when the main supply runs under the road outside the site gate. Us two have - and even 30 years ago the price was eyewatering!
Click to expand...
You don't need to involve the elec board if you already have electric supply on site, when we put the bollards on a friends CS we dug the trenches, laid the cables and installed the bollards. A local electrician wired them up and signed the job off.

The expensive part for the OP would be the transformer change.
 
Coolcats said:
It is interesting and just a couple of thoughts this is a small self selecting group split in part by those who like 'pure' Motorhoming eg wild camping and those who prefer a site with facilities, facilities do not have to be overly complex and can be kept quite simple. Having said this the OP will know what it would cost them and possible return on investment over a given time which possibly rules out EHU provision which is more of a consideration when considering installing power.

For the Mo Ho user relying on Solar panels is also a consideration for time year and weather, here is a comparison between Orkney and Brighton

Click to expand...
That's an impressive array of information, thank you.
Do you have a favoured website/source for this data, it could be very useful to us.
 
Kirsten said:
We used a campsite in Orkney a couple of years ago as a deviation fro the NC500- it is an utterly lovely place well worth a visit and I am desperate to go back. There were tent campers on site and it had interior facilities ie bunks and washing machines; but the idea of an Aire type of parking would IMO be much nicer; quieter and maybe even darker skies.
We don't have lithium batteries and have camped without EHU for 3 nights in low season without running engine and not needed any more power in the van. Solar phone chargers work well even in winter; we prefer to use own loo and shower so all we would need is clean water and waste disposal.
I would charge as much for day trippers using waste dump/water point as for ones staying overnight - people will IMO be glad to pay and enjoy a spot of wilding without worrying about waste disposal.
Sounds like a great venture [apart from the generator idea] and be sure to have lots of printed info about local attractions as internet connection needs power .
Click to expand...
Thank you
This is entirely a style funded project, I guess most Aires and Stellplatz are municipally funded.
We hadn't considered the impact of people bringing and using their own generators (but will now).

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To start with I would just go for somewhere people could dispose of black waste and rubbish correctly plus top up with fresh water.

If you find people ask for other facilities (EHU etc) then you can think about that later.

The CL we use most has rubbish bins, black water disposal (a toilet set at ground level with a tap and hose beside it). Each pitch has a fresh water tap ~ (no hose) and EHU with meter. There is a soak away for grey water, most people use a bucket and empty as required. In the summer it is £18 a night including EHU, in winter £8 or £10 a night and the electric is charged by use. No showers or toilets so you have to have your own facilities.

If you do go ahead then please let us know so we can come and visit :)
 
VandM said:
That's a cracking value pitch and sounds like a lovely location.
For us installation of EHU's will also involve a new pole mounted transformer and underground cabling so the cost will be rather onerous.
Click to expand...
A friend in Dorset who is off grid has asked for a quote for an electrical supply.

50k + VAT was the asking price.

Even for 10k he could have a solar and battery system that will fulfil all his needs with no ongoing costs.

We hope to visit Orkney again, only went to the mainland and spent two nights. Was the most welcoming place we have ever been. :-)
 
TerryL said:
But why do batteries, of any type, even have to be charged up every day or two? Especially lithium, which are supposed to be the real answer to off-grid motorhoming.
In our first couple of years we survived very happily on a single 100w lead acid battery which would (with careful use obviously) last us up to seven days before we had to think about going for a run to recharge.

Or can you really not do without a daily dose of soaps, hairdryer and coffee percolator? Once again I'll say it - you should perhasps be seriously thinking about how you use your motorhome. Sorry if I offend some peoples views, but to me it's not, and will never be, motorhoming in it's true form.

Go book a B&B or hotel.
Click to expand...

We use medical equipment overnight and can manage for 3 nights on our 135 Ah battery (the largest that will fit into the space - no room for two) but we also carry a spare battery in a proper battery box in the garage as a spare. When we don't have a hook up we are really really careful with the electric, not charging phones etc once the sun is going down and often in bed from dusk until dawn. The fridge would work on gas.

We have a DVD player which runs from rechargeable batteries and wouldn't use the tv. We don't drink coffee and use the gas for cooking.

If there is EHU it is a bonus and we'd then use the tv (if there was reception) and I'd charge my laptop, phones etc.




Badknee said:
My thoughts are that by the time I would get to you my hab batteries would be fully charged, I’ve got 300watts of solar but up there the sun may be too low in the sky except in high summer to help much.
A battery charging system might be helpful but not essential.
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As you say helpful but not essential.

VandM with the costs involved don't bother with EHU. I'd just put in one or two pitches to start with and see how it goes before investing serious money.

Tidetables would be very very useful :) as would a weather forecast (especially wind direction and force).

We would be there like a shot with kayaks and bikes.
 
VandM said:
Thank you
This is entirely a style funded project, I guess most Aires and Stellplatz are municipally funded.
We hadn't considered the impact of people bringing and using their own generators (but will now).
Click to expand...
At one time you may have attracted funding from the EU but there are other sources as it would help the economy of the Orkneys. I don’t know what the set up in terms of eligibility would be but if it’s your land and it would help the local and broader local and community economy you may find grants or match funding.
 
VandM said:
Thank you
This is entirely a style funded project, I guess most Aires and Stellplatz are municipally funded.
We hadn't considered the impact of people bringing and using their own generators (but will now).
Click to expand...

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VandM you have to accept that you will never please everybody so just do what you are comfortable with, personally I would say water/grey waste disposal and black waste at ground level so you are catering for cassette or black tank users. Again personally I would neither want nor need hook up for my expensive Lithium batteries and I wouldn't want to hear and smell a generator either, but yes we are all different.
 
I’d certainly be up for a visit because I love isolated places. I was on Orkney 2 years ago and want to get back up there asap.

Firstly I’d need a nice level hard standing that can take a 9m tag axle van. Not all sites can take bigger units.
Second I’d want fresh water.
Third is a toilet waste disposal point.
Forth is an electric hook up. ( I do have a generator but don’t really like to use it in peaceful places ) I also like to stay places for 4/5 days.
Fifth is grey water disposal. Not essential for a drive over one though.
And final thing is a rubbish disposal point.
Then I’m a happy bunny! (y)
 
For those without solar or large battery banks, an option to charge LBs or use hookups would be appreciated by many.

We would look for potable water, rubbish, sewage and grey waste disposal and the option to top up LBs. We also appreciate information about local points of interest, suppliers and services.
 
Boris7 said:
So when can I come?

personally agree with others, don't need anything but access to water and black waste point and a view, as you could but I’d plan for 2 fully serviced pitches were I you.

Simply because I think the demographic of MotorHome owners is changing and you could charge premium.
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So when can I come?

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