Parking the van to camp for the night!

[CaliforniaSteve]

We have just been on a longish trip to France- the first proper use of our T6 Ocean that we bought secondhand last year. We found it difficult to work out which way to point the van when camping especially as it is quite an effort to re-position it once set up.


The factors that affected us were

1) The position of the sun. Do we want shade in the morning or evening or ( when in the South of France ) all the time. Is it usual to have the side door facing South?

2. Privacy. We didn't want to be on top of neighbours sitting out in their sun loungers if we could help it.

3. The wind and rain. We had a couple of storms and I was worried about the raised roof. Thought it better to have the wind hitting the rear of the van / roof.

4. Sloping pitches . We didn't want the blood to rush to our heads all through the night so we tended to try to have the back of the van facing down hill if possible ( sleeping in the roof) . We find using ramps a bit of a pain- especially to rotate the drivers seat with the hand brake off.

Any advice other than to move in a circle? as the sun/weather changes.

 

[WelshGas]

We have just been on a longish trip to France- the first proper use of our T6 Ocean that we bought secondhand last year. We found it difficult to work out which way to point the van when camping especially as it is quite an effort to re-position it once set up.


The factors that affected us were

1) The position of the sun. Do we want shade in the morning or evening or ( when in the South of France ) all the time. Is it usual to have the side door facing South?

2. Privacy. We didn't want to be on top of neighbours sitting out in their sun loungers if we could help it.

3. The wind and rain. We had a couple of storms and I was worried about the raised roof. Thought it better to have the wind hitting the rear of the van / roof.

4. Sloping pitches . We didn't want the blood to rush to our heads all through the night so we tended to try to have the back of the van facing down hill if possible ( sleeping in the roof) . We find using ramps a bit of a pain- especially to rotate the drivers seat with the hand brake off.

Any advice other than to move in a circle? as the sun/weather changes.

Our personal preferences are:
1. Sun in the awning in the morning so that the awning provides shade from noon onwards.
2. Either looking outwards or looking towards the back of next doors camping setup.
3. Van rear to the wind.
4. This is really down to personal preference. I have a DSG box so it is a little easier to turn the Drivers Seat. But as there are only 2 of us, we normally just turn the passenger seat and slide the drivers seat right forward and use it as a clothes horse and storage.

 

[Bennybristol]

I agree with Welshgas about positioning of the van. I too have had issues with having to turn the driver seat around with the van positioned on the ramps. The only solution I can think of is using chocs. I now have some chocs but not been anywhere to try them yet. It should work, shouldn’t it?