The dark is coming more and more.

[Aspenshaw]

As my wife and I age, we find that in the dark, morning or evening, it is becoming a two-man job to navigate the van into/off to the drive. A task my wife does not like and so she ropes in our son.

I'm looking for the 'Fun' to come up with a solution we three (me, wife, son) can agree, and where only one is needed to drive in/out in the dark without hitting the pillars or driving into the bushes.

The van is 2.34m wide by 6m long and the gates 3m. On the right of the photo, the drive is curved to the left. On the left, is the shed and the three bins. The bins have to come out through the gates and the shed door needs to open without whacking the van. This means the van rests higher on the drive. The biggest challenge is to swing left to follow the curve without driving over the bushes and/or without whacking one of the brick pillars. We have some ideas of our own but the three (including a son) cannot agree.

 

[Aspenshaw]

Thanks for the responses. They've given us much to discuss and decide the best solution.

We live at the end of a thick bushy cul-de-sac which makes backing into the drive impossible to swing the van in backwards. Driving in also acts as security, especially reducing the risk of having miscreants throwing stones at the windscreen. The side wall is a shared wall. I kept these restrictions quiet to ensure we received a breadth of ideas. And it's worked!

My wife prefers the LEDs ideas, I prefer moving the shed & bins to increase space on the house side, and getting a new gate. We both wouldn't mind getting a PVC but our visit to the NEC Show put us off most of them (they are too 'samey' and bland inside).

 

[herald_400rl]

We like walkie-talkies, had some laying around and it saves shouting. We have about 2-3 inches at the back and side when reversing on so its done slowly.

 

[busbuddy]

Try it with a bright torch or other lights shining near where camera sees before you do anything...some cameras are rubbish when there is any light near them at night, just a great big bright blur so you may need a better camera

 

[pappajohn]

Move house!

I know, not very helpful.

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[Nanniemate]

Floor lights no chance of blinding similar to cats eyes

 

[MisterB]

Being able to clearly see the motorhome and knowing where it needs to go and has been is the answer.
how you achieve that is best known only to yourself as we dont know your circumstances or any restrictions there may be. Removing any unnecessary obstructions or restrictions would certainly make the manoeuvre a little easier as there would be less to negotiate,

have you considered marking out the actual path the wheels need to follow and making that a permanent addition somehow, perhaps a concrete 'track' that ensures the motorhome follows a designated route. that way you wouldnt actually need anyone to help as you're just following a designated known safe route? a bit like the cars on a fairground ride that are forced to stay in line by a rail typr system?