What ever happened to a nice slab to put the van on and then having a nice grass area to put the annex up on instead of busted up concrete or pavers that you cant drive pegs in (or even concrete nails. So how does every body peg the annex down cheers blaze
Vic said
02:17 AM Feb 22, 2011
Or like one park I know of that has bitumen......do know of one RV owner that carries a portable battery drill and just drills his holes for the pegs when nobody is looking......not that I am recommending that........
jimricho said
07:33 AM Feb 22, 2011
I think most caravanners like to have a concrete floor for their annex/awning. (I do) I just run my guy ropes and pegs beyond the concrete.
My peeve is that the slabs are rarely reinforced (the real reason for the breaking up) and the owners whinge about caravan/RV wheels running over the slab when backing onto a site. I can only recall one instance where the slab was chamfered on the front corner to prevent this happening.
I've seen the battery drill trick in WA on the compacted coral/shell ground that's common there. I think one needs a long shank masonry drill for this.
NeilandRaine said
08:25 AM Feb 22, 2011
I like a slab if I'm staying for a while: The nice grassy spot gets all dead under the floor matting if you use it or the grass grows and raine hates it when it gets walked into the van.
Also you can bet if we are on grass it will rain and I don't care how well the walls are pegged down the ground will get wet in the annex.
I always try to park with one end of the awning at the front or back of slab so one end can be pegged down, usually slabs are only an awning wide so you can peg down outer walls. Always put guy ropes out well pegged down.
From an old park managers point of view, a slab site is so much easier to maintain.
If we are only in for a day or two I don't care. I do carry a battery drill with a long masonary bit, it comes in handy in lots of bush spots.
Cupie said
09:26 AM Feb 22, 2011
NeilandRaine wrote:
I like a slab if I'm staying for a while: The nice grassy spot gets all dead under the floor matting if you use it or the grass grows and raine hates it when it gets walked into the van. Also you can bet if we are on grass it will rain and I don't care how well the walls are pegged down the ground will get wet in the annex. I always try to park with one end of the awning at the front or back of slab so one end can be pegged down, usually slabs are only an awning wide so you can peg down outer walls. Always put guy ropes out well pegged down. From an old park managers point of view, a slab site is so much easier to maintain. If we are only in for a day or two I don't care. I do carry a battery drill with a long masonary bit, it comes in handy in lots of bush spots.
Ditto to the above.
I align the rear end of the annex to the rear edge of the slab.
Where the slab is longer than the annex, I use one of the two long ridge poles that I carry (the extendable tent poles with a hole in each end) to extend across the slab in line with the front end of the annex.
Long steel pegs thru the eyes into the ground hold the ridge pole in place.
It is a simple matter then to hold down the annex wall to the ridge pole with cable ties.
If rain is about then I put a couple of folded up old towels on the slab under the ridge pole. This blocks any rain falling on the slab from seeping thru into the annex area. (If I was organised I suppose that I could use pool noodles or similar threaded over the ridge pole to do the same thing)
I often erect a lean to roof out from the awning roof over the exposed slab area. This blocks the rain from falling on the slab & also is a great spot to put the BBQ for outdoor cookling & a shady place to set up my camp chair.
ps.
Why do I carry 2 ridge poles ???? .... I can install one across the slab at each end if I want.
jimricho said
10:11 AM Feb 22, 2011
I have found that if the corner poles of the awning (a Fiamma "wind-out" in my case) are sitting on the slab and therefore can't be pegged to the ground, that the use of a small piece of non-slip rubber matting under the base holds them in place.
I have had mine up in some serious winds without any problems doing this, provided the awning is well guyed. Those little jar-opening rubber thingies available at the supermarket work well.
-- Edited by jimricho on Tuesday 22nd of February 2011 10:12:20 AM
Ma said
11:34 AM Feb 22, 2011
Have stayed in the Corindi Beach van park a couple of times now (north coast NSW) and they have permanent eco matting on their annex part of the sites.
Makes things a whole lot easier.
blaze said
12:02 PM Feb 22, 2011
Some good tips here but I would still rather a grass pad for my annex, being from tassie we get used to damp ground but put a annex floor down and deal with it. Like the idea of extendable tent poles, I carry 2 of those (use one for my ariel mount
cheers
blaze
Gerty Dancer said
01:55 PM Feb 22, 2011
Concrete slabs seem better to park on, prefer to have grass underfoot. Best surface when it rained a lot was a blue-metal gravel one... shoes stayed dry, tent-pegs went in, just looks a bit ordinary.
petengail said
02:11 PM Feb 22, 2011
Personal opinion, I would rather camp on grass anytime. For one thing you dont have to be so precise when you back up to the slab...
Onedodger said
04:29 PM Feb 22, 2011
I really have no preference as we are set up for both, however we DO like a level site so that wheel risers are not required.
justcruisin01 said
07:20 PM Feb 22, 2011
I hate the slabs that are 100/150 mm above the ground level. Have to be so carefull not to damage side walls of tyres when backing in.
Hylda&Jon said
02:25 AM Feb 23, 2011
Concrete slabs or grass, all the same for me, I just roll out the Camec matting on any surface that I'm not happy with or, if i feel like grass I just use 3 of those interlocking rubber mats, one for the caravan door step & one for our feet below each chair.
Cheers Jon
jimricho said
07:56 AM Feb 23, 2011
justcruisin01 wrote:
I hate the slabs that are 100/150 mm above the ground level. Have to be so carefull not to damage side walls of tyres when backing in.
Me too! Especially as a solo traveller when I'm backing onto the site without guidance. I actually prefer to back onto a slab site from the left ("blind") side and use my mirrors to see the slab.
jimricho said
08:00 AM Feb 23, 2011
Vic wrote:
Or like one park I know of that has bitumen......do know of one RV owner that carries a portable battery drill and just drills his holes for the pegs when nobody is looking......not that I am recommending that........
What brand drill do you use Vic?
blaze said
10:00 AM Feb 23, 2011
When at ocean grove park they had bitimun base for annex and I asked about driving pegs, they said drill drive them how ever you like, never put the annex up in the end
cheers
blaze
Cruising Granny said
12:45 PM Feb 23, 2011
I prefer a slab for the annexe, and parking on concrete is certainly better for levels.
In Broome the park I lived in had double slabs with chain in the pad for tying down in case of cyclones.
In Cairns the slabs are a bit shabby and broken, but I was lucky to have a reasonable, stable site.
I used a rope threaded through the eyelets of my annexe walls and tied down with pegs into the ground at the ends. It stayed there for more than 2 years.
When it rains in either Broome or Cairns it's very hard to keep that water out. My van sunk about 6cms in just over 2 years, despite being propped up on the stands.
In Adelaide slabs seem to be replaced by gravel. I haven't seen any slabs in SA yet. The site I'm on is just dirt and grass. After a while the grass under the van and annexe floor dies anyway. The van is on stands, and I use shade cloth for the annexe "floor". The soil goes a bit boggy when it rains, but if I don't drive on it when it's wet it's ok. I have grass either end of the drive-through site and I've prepared and planted garden in the 3 months I've been here.
Parks sites like this one have been set up by the long-term tenants over the years. Some are nice, others not so nice.
Bent Axle Bob said
07:08 PM Feb 23, 2011
Mine is a hard floor side tip camper trailer , makes no difference to me. Time I pull in to the time I'm sitting in the shade with a coldie in my hand is five minutes, all set up for the night
Pam said
07:32 PM Feb 23, 2011
with a tent style camper trailer we do not like slabs at all.
Cruising Granny said
08:06 PM Feb 23, 2011
Some parks don't like the floors flattening and killing their grass.
We can't please them all, and they can't please us all.
I've seen people park the van on the slab and put the annexe over the grass. It doesn't go down very well.
It's different if you're free camping of course. No slabs or marked sites out there.
In one park the manager was directing me as I reversed in and he went absolutely apesh!t when I turned the wheel while not moving. It "screwed" up his grass. It was in the semi-tropics and there was no sign of dead grass.
Very squeazy park and it's one I won't go back to.
jimricho said
07:45 AM Feb 24, 2011
Park owners complaining about campers flattening the grass is a bit like store owners complaining that customers coming through the front door are wearing out the floor!
Pam said
09:36 AM Feb 24, 2011
we have good quality matting that does less damage than cheaper stuff. its good non slip and is warm under your feet too
ibbo said
09:44 AM Feb 24, 2011
I always understood that the caravan was parked next to the concrete pad.Awnings etc were then erected over the slab.Most pads are not built to take the weight of a heavy van.
Gerty Dancer said
10:05 AM Feb 24, 2011
Yes thats what we thought too Ibbo, but a few parks we've been to lately asked us to park on the slab. For example Mittagong, where the sites were very sloping, you never would have got the van level. Our site was really awful, couldnt even sit under the awning comfortably. They'd had a lot of rain which caused wash-aways, hopefully its better now.
Happywanderer said
10:19 AM Feb 24, 2011
Well thats interesting. I always thought the slab was for the van. After reading right through this thread which is the right way now.
If there is a lot of wet around and probably mud the slab is to park on to keep up out of it , I thought.
Cruising Granny said
11:56 AM Feb 24, 2011
It seems there are no rules until you get into each park.
One park in Carnarvon sweeps the slab as you arrive so it's nice a clean. Other parks couldn't give a rat's, as long as they have your money.
This is then reflected in the amenities I find.
Some park managers shouldn't be in the industry at all, but unfortunately they are out there. Obviously word gets out and they lose business.
It's only fair. We pay good money to stay in a park and use the facilities.
In return we deserve pleasant surroundings, clean sites and amenities.
It's up to us what we're prepared to "put up with".
jimricho said
06:04 PM Feb 24, 2011
The Top Tourist in Gunnedah has slabs set up for parking the van rather than the annexe. Even the owners don't know why it was set up that way as it was done before their time. Inverell CP has double width slabs as does Fraser Lodge (from memory) at Hervey Bay. This arrangement is very easy to set up on and the rig can be positioned to suit awning guy ropes etc. The one down side is that in heavy rain the run off from the van roof sometimes pools on the slab. The grass surrounding the slab can be kept in tip-top condition as neither the van or annexe are on it.
-- Edited by jimricho on Thursday 24th of February 2011 06:04:53 PM
NeilandRaine said
09:18 PM Feb 26, 2011
I always thought the slab is for the awning, I know in the park I managed they are. Lots of slabs are up to 100 mil above ground no way you would back your van on them.
Some parks I have stopped at, Big 4 Rocky and one in yamba come to mind have small leveled out concrete slabs just the right size for wheels.
Wirroff said
05:35 PM Feb 17, 2014
Ordinarily, the slab is for the awning unless told otherwise by the CP (We have just been advised by the CP to park on the slab in Mittagong also)
Gerty Dancer said
08:14 PM Feb 17, 2014
The Big4 at Wye River is really posh, its powered sites have a concrete driveway and a double-width slab for van and awning.
Interestingly there have been so many campers here over summer with tents, a large proportion of their grass has squares dead grass .
cheers
blaze
I align the rear end of the annex to the rear edge of the slab.
Where the slab is longer than the annex, I use one of the two long ridge poles that I carry (the extendable tent poles with a hole in each end) to extend across the slab in line with the front end of the annex.
Long steel pegs thru the eyes into the ground hold the ridge pole in place.
It is a simple matter then to hold down the annex wall to the ridge pole with cable ties.
If rain is about then I put a couple of folded up old towels on the slab under the ridge pole. This blocks any rain falling on the slab from seeping thru into the annex area. (If I was organised I suppose that I could use pool noodles or similar threaded over the ridge pole to do the same thing)
I often erect a lean to roof out from the awning roof over the exposed slab area. This blocks the rain from falling on the slab & also is a great spot to put the BBQ for outdoor cookling & a shady place to set up my camp chair.
ps.
Why do I carry 2 ridge poles ???? .... I can install one across the slab at each end if I want.
I have had mine up in some serious winds without any problems doing this, provided the awning is well guyed. Those little jar-opening rubber thingies available at the supermarket work well.
-- Edited by jimricho on Tuesday 22nd of February 2011 10:12:20 AM
Makes things a whole lot easier.
Cheers
Jon
-- Edited by jimricho on Thursday 24th of February 2011 06:04:53 PM
Ordinarily, the slab is for the awning unless told otherwise by the CP (We have just been advised by the CP to park on the slab in Mittagong also)
Interestingly there have been so many campers here over summer with tents, a large proportion of their grass has squares dead grass .