Aire etiquette

chesterfield hooligan

chesterfield hooligan

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What do fellow Funsters think 🤔
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Free Aire near Dax today, plus a car he's just nipped out in.
 
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The "camping" behaviour on the Mon Village sites is available to tents, caravans, motorhomes only in laid out times of year which normally correspond to the weeks that the site would have been open when it was still a municipal campsite and the original facilities will also be available.
The rest of the year only for motorhomes with own facilities (but still with normal fill, dump and electricity) and I believe so long as you stay withing your designated pitch you are allowed awnings and tables chairs etc.
 
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Littlewheels said:
It’s a quandary and should be made clear really, it’s okay saying,plenty of space so what’s the problem but the problem can come later say toward a weekend when the Aire fills.
Those that are users of CCP will be aware that you get emails promoting a particular region or new Aire and so on, the following image came the same way and yet it clearly shows an Awning when we understand they are not allowed.

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That show a camp site i think not Aire, camping mon village?
 
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Ditcha said:
Bet you the car is towed with A frame as well 😂
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An A Frame best way to tow a car. Their is a French company (( Systemebleu)) now making and fitting A frames for all comer, as they say it is totally legal in Europe.

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Lenny HB said:
If it has marked pitches and he is within a marked space (which was not made clear) then I wouldn't complane but he is still taking the p a bit.
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If there are marked out pitches, I wonder if I could un-hitch my caravan and sleep in it overnight
 
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Jonny1953 said:
If there are marked out pitches, I wonder if I could un-hitch my caravan and sleep in it overnight
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Yes you can IF it's a Camping de mon Village site, and it's a period when the toilets/showers etc are open. I'm not sure when these periods are, you'd need to check their website.
 
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Because French! I might out a chair outside but not a complete awning.
Just keep a copy of the photo on hand in case you are questionnes about anything next time you visit an Aire. Was he also jammed up against the toilet bloc? Not good.
 
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I’m guessing this is Free Aire?
The free aires we’ve visited over the last year seem to have quite a lot of locals who are permanently hooked up and live in their Motorhome. Best just to avoid the free Aires and spend a few Euros.
 
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We use the Aires in France a lot and just go with the flow, mostly we don’t put the wind-out awning out, but if the sun is hot and on that side the awning goes out a short way to shade that side of the van, the legs are on the van, not on the ground unless there is loads of space.
Chairs we will sometimes put out but not the table. It all depends on the Aire and the time of year, if it’s high season we don’t put anything out unless there is green space nearby For the chairs.

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It seems to me it's only Brits that worry about all these rules, the french have probably never heard of them.
If there is plenty room what's the harm in putting out whatever you like, probably taking up less room than these massive RVs, or someone with a trailer or car on the back.
Just go with the flow,you are on holiday don't get bogged down with worrying about stuff that is harming no one.
 
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minesapint said:
An A Frame best way to tow a car. Their is a French company (( Systemebleu)) now making and fitting A frames for all comer, as they say it is totally legal in Europe.
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1. No it isn't, certainly for not for all cars. We towed our Suzuki Ignis on an A Frame and blew a hole in the engine block, despite the fitter telling us not to worry. Four grand later and never again. We used a small car trailer for a couple of years and for us, that was the best way to tow a car.
2. I would be very interested in where it says A Frames are 'totally legal in Europe'. Not least because different countries have different rules. And for the avoidance of doubt, A Frame towing is NOT legal in UK. It is simply not illegal. There is a huge difference, especially when applying the Vienna convention rules.

Anyway, back on topic. I don't use aires very often. A couple of times only. We also tow a small 500kg trailer that adds 2m to our length. I think trailers are frowned on, but I am not sure. I would never put our awning out, or even roll out the Omnistor. The whole thing about aires for me is the lack of permanency. It's a stopover, not a campsite.
 
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emjaiuk said:
There’s a difference between CCP Aires and CCP camping sur mon village. These are, as has been said ex municipal campsites, and I believe not only allow awnings, but caravans and tents. People do struggle at times to find something to moan about.
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A lot of ccp aires allow caravans but only certain times of the year
 
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chaser said:
It seems to me it's only Brits that worry about all these rules, the french have probably never heard of them.
If there is plenty room what's the harm in putting out whatever you like, probably taking up less room than these massive RVs, or someone with a trailer or car on the back.
Just go with the flow,you are on holiday don't get bogged down with worrying about stuff that is harming no one.
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Quite agree, And if they can afford a huge motorhome or tow a car surely they can afford to stay in a campsite.
 
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pelican said:
Quite agree, And if they can afford a huge motorhome or tow a car surely they can afford to stay in a campsite.
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Not necessarily, all they own might have gone in the purchase of the van.

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pelican said:
Quite agree, And if they can afford a huge motorhome or tow a car surely they can afford to stay in a campsite.
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Here we go again with this tired old "argument"...

Almost all the people I know don't avoid campsites because of the cost.

They prefer the freedom from petty rules and regulations (and more convenient locations) of the off-site places they use.

JJ :cool:
 
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pelican said:
Quite agree, And if they can afford a huge motorhome or tow a car surely they can afford to stay in a campsite.
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I can afford a nice motorhome and I have a very expensive car together with a substantial property but I use aires and cl/cs because I prefer them to campsites, I don't enjoy looking outside to gaze at a sea of caravans and motorhomes and I don't particularly enjoy the wardens, sorry site mamagers, riding around on their little tractors emptying bins and cutting there grass.
 
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I don’t think it’s a question of the French ignoring the rules, more a question of what the rules are. Although I think it’s generally accepted that the concept of Aires is a motorhome parking space, there are many where individual rules vary. CCP La Barre de Monts for example allows awnings tables chairs etc, although most are unmarked pitches, as does the municipal aire at Gruissan Les Chalets. I believe CCP Camping de mon Village, are exclusively ex municipal campsites which still have their toilets/showers etc., which are only open in the high season. When they are open the sites operate with campsite rule. When they are closed in the low season they revert to basic Aires.
I really don’t know why so many people are getting worked up over this. If it really bothers you just treat everywhere as a basic camper stop, or take the trouble to find out what the local rules/customs are.
 
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minesapint said:
An A Frame best way to tow a car. Their is a French company (( Systemebleu)) now making and fitting A frames for all comer, as they say it is totally legal in Europe.
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All a-frame suppliers say their a-frame is fully legal! It’s called marketing…. Sadly, they don’t tell you the actual legislation… 😡
 
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TonyEmm said:
All a-frame suppliers say their a-frame is fully legal! It’s called marketing…. Sadly, they don’t tell you the actual legislation… 😡
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Yeah someone needs to report them under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. I was lied to as well, but my fault for believing their sales BS.

Ask any lawyer. "Legal" and "Not illegal" are different things. For UK A Frames to be legal in Europe (under Vienna), they need to be legal in UK. They are not. No ruling has ever been made in UK, which means that they are simply 'not illegal' and therefore do not qualify under Vienna.
 
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DDJC said:
Yeah someone needs to report them under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. I was lied to as well, but my fault for believing their sales BS.

Ask any lawyer. "Legal" and "Not illegal" are different things. For UK A Frames to be legal in Europe (under Vienna), they need to be legal in UK. They are not. No ruling has ever been made in UK, which means that they are simply 'not illegal' and therefore do not qualify under Vienna.
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Belgium van with his Toad, which is his advert for his A Frame system as well.
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minesapint said:
Belgium van with his Toad, which is his advert for his A Frame system as well.
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This is a Belgian company that buys and sells motorhomes. He is using the French ’Système Bleu 4’ a-frame.
Sadly, he is either ignorant of, or doesn’t give a hoot, about UNECE regs, neither does he know how to set up his breakaway cable!🙄

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