Hard or Grass Pitch

[neil_5090481]

As we are new to caravaning, can someone please explain to me the attraction of a hard standing? and what advantages it has over a regular pitch.

 

[LRG]

Hard pitches tend to be level, they are cleaner in the wet and better drained.

Drawbacks: hard on bare feet, need rock pegs for awnings.

 

[joeby]

no body should explain there preference ,ask yourself what you prefer ,and go for it ,just bear in mind we live in a wet land

 

[David.O]

Neil

I have to partly agree with Joby but without wanting to bore you the soil type and location is the problem. Our CL is on a sandy soil and would need a considrale amount of rain to make it wet and alot of traffic to be muddy. One of the joys of caravaning is to get out into the country,its open spaceses , and the way of life it offers. and that means walking on grass.

just enjoy it.

David from suffolk

 

[LMH]

Personally, I prefer grass. However last year on a site in Cumbria (June) it rained every day for almost a week and we were pitched at the bottom of a slight slope. Wet squidgy eco groundsheet underfoot.

As I have a Mondeo which loves to wheelspin at every available opportunity, if I went away in Autumn or over the serious winter months, I'd have to go for hard standing.

Lisa

 

[RogerL]

It's personal choice, just like choosing a grass lawn or paved patio at home.

Try both sorts, see which you prefer.

 

[ericcaravanning4u]

A hard standing is better for a caravan because they are level .Things that can be affby the caravan not being level are fridges , they tend not to work if there's a tilt on the caravan.

 

[Dave_5040181]

Grass pitches can be level too !

Some hardstanding pitches, particularly in woodland sites are frequently on pretty steeply sloped pitches.

 

[ericcaravanning4u]

no one said grass couldn't be level but what I am trying to say is a man made concrete slab will be level, and sometimes a gras pitch will be uneven or on a slope.Another reason I prefer a hard standing although even then you can have problems where people have had awnings and the groundsheets have killed the grass , we recently went to martin mere and got a muddy section where a awning had been.

 

[Yvonne_5110351]

We had to be towed off a grass pitch after some wet weather, there was no way my car could do it, had to knock the site owner up at 8 because we wanted to get away early to avoid traffic build up, now I think I would go for hardstanding in the earlier months to avoid that same situation.

 

[GillW]

LRG

Still new to this game and though it sounds a very silly question I will ask anyway

When you say you will need rock pegs for an awning with a hard standing pitch do you mean you actually push the pegs into the concrete

We have only used grass pitches so far or where there has been grass for the awning I cant think how the hard standing will last if everybody is putting pegs in at different places

I must be missing the plot somewhere along the line

Gill

 

[Jo-AnneFairway5402010]

hi, we have been on both and we prefer hardstanding.when we went to our first caravan club site in broadway it tell you in the info to have steel awning pegs.we have got steel awniing pegs but not the ones you need for a cc site hardstanding.we have now bought some oooohhhhh and they glow in the dark.we will be trying them out this weekend as we are off to moreton-in-the-marsh cc site

 

[neil_5090481]

Thanks all for the great advice.

It has been a great help.

 

[Carol2]

Hard standing every time, because i don't like wet and muddy UK and we do go away at Xmas and New Year.

 

[Carol2]

Hi jo-anne

Where did you get the glowing steel pegs from, they sound really good, no tripping up on the way home. Let me know how you get on with them this coming weekend

 

[cris_408518]

A caravan means fields and grass to me!!. Acres of Concrete on some sites is just like Croydon to me ;-)

 

[Tapestry]

We use both hard standing and grass. We have had the awning groundsheet wet on both grass and hard standing on more than one occassion. Our kids loved the puddles of water in our awning earlier this season, we were on hard standing. The location of the pitch is more important to us than whether it is grass or hard standing. Enjoy your caravan trips. Annette

 

[simon_5071947]

LRG

Still new to this game and though it sounds a very silly question I will ask anyway

When you say you will need rock pegs for an awning with a hard standing pitch do you mean you actually push the pegs into the concrete

We have only used grass pitches so far or where there has been grass for the awning I cant think how the hard standing will last if everybody is putting pegs in at different places

I must be missing the plot somewhere along the line

Gill

Hi Gill

Hardstanding is usually a concrete base for the van and gravel where the awning goes.

Would be pretty mean expecting you to hammer a peg in concrete!!

Personally I would much rather have a grass pitch (can use plastic pegs, lighter etc and much softer underfoot!)

Early or late season though, hard pitch has many advantages ie no wheelspin to get off etc.

Try both make your own mind up but don't be afraid of either!

Happy Hols!!