While most grey nomads find life on the open road to be largely relaxed and carefree, it can certainly have its stressful moments … like when you are trying to reverse the van into a tight camping spot!
Even the most accomplished reverser can crumble under the pressure when the first attempt doesn’t go according to plan.
In an effort to keep customers in full holiday mode, some caravan parks are offering a ‘reverse-your-van-into-its-spot’ service, and it’s going down a storm.
The Tasman Holiday Parks – North Star in Hastings Point in northern NSW is one such park, and it says its tractor-assisted caravan reversing service has become something of an institution with visitors over the years.
A tractor positions the van in the perfect spot ... with no reversing issues in sight
“The service originally started as a customer service initiative designed to take the stress out of arriving and setting up after a long day on the road,” said the caravan park’s marketing manager, Jessica Cruickshank. “Around the park, it’s affectionately known as the ‘Marriage Saver’ because it removes the pressure of reversing a caravan onto site — often with a crowd of seasoned caravanners watching on with a drink in hand!”
The park says it’s proved a winner with guests.
“Many caravanners arrive at the resort and are relieved to simply unhitch in the driveway and let our team take care of positioning the van,” said Ms Cruickshank. “It’s particularly appreciated by guests who are new to caravanning or travelling with larger rigs … they love the convenience, and our grounds team are highly skilled at manoeuvring vans efficiently and safely into position.”
The park says grey nomads certainly appreciate the service, but it’s used by a very broad range of guests as it’s often quicker and easier than them attempting the manoeuvre themselves.
“Our team often assists with jockey wheels, hitching, unhitching and wheel chocks, which can be especially helpful for travellers who have spent long hours on the road,” said Ms Cruickshank.
The complimentary service is generally offered directly to caravanning guests during the booking process or at check-in … and it’s likely to become ever more popular.
“Modern caravan set-ups have become significantly larger over the years,” said Ms Cruickshank “Longer vans combined with larger tow vehicles – particularly American-style pick-up trucks such as Rams and Silverados – mean reversing lengths are much greater than they once were, and the tractor service helps eliminate that challenge and allows guests to begin their holiday in a relaxed way.”
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Just a thought maybe the nomads can just get it out there and let people know what caravan parks offer tractor parking service it’s not that easy for some people but it’s a good idea to get help because everybody is wanting to have a holiday in their van sometimes the parks are really bad with narrow roads and so many other cars parked in the way, I just thought it might help travelers
Try fitting a tow ball on your front bumper and use your tow vehicle facing the van.
Yes I know what you mean but I myself don’t have any problems with backing up my caravan but some people have a problem with that and absolutely no discrimination against them because they are out there having a great time on the road but if they had knowledge of which caravan parks offer tractor parking those parks would have a lot more interest in visiting them as I have discovered when travelling the amount of vans coming in was extremely busy
What a great service. At times been to places that sites are so small you cannot fully extend the awning and others where cars are parked either directly opposite or only leaving a small gap. On other occasions, due to roadworks or unfortunately road accidents, have arrived late and in the dark where other persons had spread onto our booked site thinking no one was coming that evening. Of course, there had been some happy hour drinking that turned to grumbles and aggression when asked to clear our site. How much easier it would be when one is tired or driver fatigued to have the caravan positioned without having to request cars being moved or recreational toys being placed on owners site. As members of Discovery and Big 4 we will be enquiring if this service is available.