Your thoughts on campervans on the road

peasant

In another thread I got some fairly strong reactions to the fact that I *dared* to admit that I do occasionally drive a campervan on public Irish roads.

Not the most popular kind of vehicle, methinks.

Now ...here's your chance ...spill your guts ...vent your frustration


I'll try and answer some points from a campervan-drivers' perspective later in the thread

Anan1

Provided they are driven with consideration for other road users, I have no problem with them. I have long ago been forced to concede that the roads are not for my use alone.

Vegeta

I would love to be able to afford one.

Drove across america in one last summer and they are the best holiday idea ever!!

As far as pissing me off, usually the people who drive them are aware of their size and as a result show a lot of respect to other road users. Sure it can be annoying when they are doing under the limit in front of me but then i just put on a good radio station and relax.

No point in getting upset or taking risks overtaking just because i am doing 80-90km/h instead of 100.

prospect

peasant wrote:

In another thread I got some fairly strong reactions to the fact that I *dared* to admit that I do occasionally drive a campervan on public Irish roads.

Not the most popular kind of vehicle, methinks.

Now ...here's your chance ...spill your guts ...vent your frustration


I'll try and answer some points from a campervan-drivers' perspective later in the thread

Don't mind them peasant.
I laugh at the hypocrisy of some people. They were defending the cyclist and his right to hold everyone up, and at the same time telling you to get your larger than normal vehicle off the road... who ohas contributed more to the roads, the cyclist or the camper van owner?
idiots

Drax

I would love to have one of those things! I usually find that people who drive em are considerate to other drivers.

Unless you are that guy who in the States was driving a Winnebago, stuck it on cruise control and went in the back to make a cup of tea. Needless to say the vehicle left the road and crashed. The fecker sued the Winnebago and won! (coz it didnt say in the manual that you cant do that).

Sorry to stray off-topic but reading your other post though, I do think the cyclist was entitled to cycle where he was, however I can understand your frustration and common sense would say he would have been better cycling inside the cones.

franksm

Dunno what the problem is - campervan drivers tend to be very careful and attentive (in my experience), and they don't take up that much more space (especially compared to a truck or a white-van).

I love seeing the old VW buses on the road but I guess you're referring to the big conversion-type campers

el tel

Campers are ok and, like franksm, I like seeing VW buses on the roads. Sometimes I find towed caravans a little annoying when I'm held up by them for a overlong periods but I appreciate the fact that they are as entitled to be on the roads as much as I am. I personally think annoyance should only be conveyed towards inconsiderate drivers and not the vehicle type per se.

Anan1

prospect wrote:

Don't mind them peasant.
I laugh at the hypocrisy of some people. They were defending the cyclist and his right to hold everyone up, and at the same time telling you to get your larger than normal vehicle off the road... who ohas contributed more to the roads, the cyclist or the camper van owner?
idiots

Without wanting to get into the whole cyclist thing again, I don't think that who has contributed more to the roads has anything to do with rights on the road. Should smaller cars yield to me because I pay €1,000+ in road tax? The roads belong to all of us, and we all have an equal right to use them. This includes cyclists, camper vans, motorbikes, cars and yes, even shepherds and their flocks.;)

peasant

Anan1 wrote:

Without wanting to get into the whole cyclist thing again, I don't think that who has contributed more to the roads has anything to do with rights on the road. Should smaller cars yield to me because I pay €1,000+ in road tax? The roads belong to all of us, and we all have an equal right to use them. This includes cyclists, camper vans, motorbikes, cars and yes, even shepherds and their flocks.;)

You wouldn't buy much "entitlement" for 78 euro anyway

(that's all a "motorcaravan" costs in roadtax ...regardless of engine size or dimensions)

Anan1

peasant wrote:

You wouldn't buy much "entitlement" for 78 euro anyway

(that's all a "motorcaravan" costs in roadtax ...regardless of engine size or dimensions)

Are you sure you're not trying to wind people up?:)

prospect

Anan1 wrote:

Without wanting to get into the whole cyclist thing again, I don't think that who has contributed more to the roads has anything to do with rights on the road. Should smaller cars yield to me because I pay €1,000+ in road tax? The roads belong to all of us, and we all have an equal right to use them. This includes cyclists, camper vans, motorbikes, cars and yes, even shepherds and their flocks.;)

I agree with you. Everyone is equally entitled to use the roads.
However, I was laughing at the people telling him to get off the road and sticking up for the cyclists rights.
Anyhow, the mods saw fit to close the last thread, so they might not like us re-kindling it.

As said already, most camper drivers, (and cyclists) are corteous enough to give way to other road users where possible. this makes life more pleasent for everyone.

peasant

One thing I have noticed though, when I'm driving my "shed" about is that everybody simply HAS TO overtake it.

Even when I'm travelling on good roads (and therefore driving at the speed limit of 100 km/h) nobody seems to want to be behind a motorhome.

The amount of silly and scary overtaking maneuvres I see in a single trip is astonishing.

The funny thing about it is, most of the time I'm driving behind a column of cars (also doing 100) anyway ...so there is absolutely nothing to be gained by overtaking me, but it seems to be a matter of principle.

BrianD3

Anyhow, the mods saw fit to close the last thread, so they might not like us re-kindling it.

If anyone does want to discuss peasant's cyclist incident some more there is a thread going in the Cycling forum
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055003667

Vegeta

peasant wrote:

The funny thing about it is, most of the time I'm driving behind a column of cars (also doing 100) anyway ...so there is absolutely nothing to be gained by overtaking me, but it seems to be a matter of principle.

yup have noticed this aswell. Is there a word for that kind of mindset???

There have been times myself where i have come to a truck on a dual carriageway and thought "A truck, i'd better overtake" then it hits me why would i bother, the truck is doing the limit or very close to it. Is there some sort of ingrained thought process that we must overtake large vehicles

prospect

peasant wrote:

One thing I have noticed though, when I'm driving my "shed" about is that everybody simply HAS TO overtake it........................, but it seems to be a matter of principle.

To be fair, and I am on your side, it is annoying to be behind a large campervan, van, truck, trailer etc. It vastly reduces your vision of the road infront. Although, dangerous overtaking to aleviate this is a bit counter-productive!

BrianD3

Vegeta wrote:

yup have noticed this aswell. Is there a word for that kind of mindset???

There have been times myself where i have come to a truck on a dual carriageway and thought "A truck, i'd better overtake" then it hits me why would i bother, the truck is doing the limit or very close to it. Is there some sort of ingrained thought process that we must overtake large vehicles

One reason why people will often overtake large vehicles ASAP is - even though they may be fairly happy at the speed the large vehicle is driving at if the large vehicle comes across a slower vehicle it may find it much harder to overtake than a car would. Eg if an artic gets stuck behind a JCB on a twisty road it's going to find it very difficult to get by and any traffic behind the artic is also stuck. Whereas if a car is behind the JCB without an artic in between the car may be able to blast safely by on a short straight.

el tel

BrianD3 wrote:

One reason why people will often overtake large vehicles ASAP is - even though they may be fairly happy at the speed the large vehicle is driving at if the large vehicle comes across a slower vehicle it may find it much harder to overtake than a car would. Eg if an artic gets stuck behind a JCB on a twisty road it's going to find it very difficult to get by and any traffic behind the artic is also stuck. Whereas if a car is behind the JCB without an artic in between the car may be able to blast safely by on a short straight.

Agreed ^^ and the fact that it's good to to get past a HGV, Caravan etc. in case the gradient increases.

Seth Brundle

I think it may also be because many drivers want to see the road ahead as far as is possible. With a truck or campervan in front their range is reduced.

Vegeta

el tel wrote:

Agreed ^^ and the fact that it's good to to get past a HGV, Caravan etc. in case the gradient increases.

i agree gradient may be an issue but even on motorway and dual carriageways the average person will nearly always pass a truck at the first opportunity despite there being nothing but miles of motorway or dual carriageway ahead

R.O.R

Tuck in behind and draft the larger vehicle to save on fuel costs

ianobrien

There is a camper at home, and the major problem with them is that people expect them to be slow. I have loads of examples of stupid overtaking simply because people expect them to be slow.

Also people get most upset when they are overtaken by campers for some reason!

Most modern ones are built on turbo diesel vans, and we had one up to 85mph on a motorway, no problem to it! At that stage, we reached the limit of the tyres, but the camper had more grunt left!

peasant

Well, one area where you have little choice but to be slow is the "scenic routes" along the coast. And I don't mean single lane roads.
Lots of the dual lane roads are just too narrow for two trucks or a truck and a motorhome to pass each other safely. So you have to reduce your speed when you can't see far (which usually is most of the time).

Also on a lot of roads the camber falls away towards the edge. With a high sided vehicle this means that sometimes your top edge actually leans over the road and into hedges, trees and/or ESB poles etc. You also have to adjust your speed to that

Add really nasty potholes and the fact that you don't necessarily wish to shake the china out of the cupboard every time and this might explain why a campervan does not always drive up to the allowed speed limit.