Motorhome stopover

Last updated
A motorhome stopover in Alba, Italy Motorhome Stopover Italy Alba.jpg
A motorhome stopover in Alba, Italy
Sign indicating a motorhome stopover area with available services Motorhome Stopover sign 01.jpg
Sign indicating a motorhome stopover area with available services
A typical area for motorhome in Felletin, France Aire de felletin.JPG
A typical area for motorhome in Felletin, France

A motorhome stopover (German : Reisemobil-Stellplatz, Italian : Aree di Sosta, French : Aire de Service) is a place designated for the purpose of overnight stopping for recreational vehicles or motorhomes. Motorhome stopovers are usually operated by local authorities. These vehicles can stay overnight or longer depending on terms and conditions specified on a sign by each locality. Parking is in accordance with local building codes and road traffic law.

Contents

There are three main purposes of these stopping places: providing a place for a short-term overnight stay without paperwork involved or restrictions of checking-in and checking-out time constraints imposed by formal campsites, allowing for travellers who prefer to move frequently from one place to the next during a short period of vacation and allowing parking places that are generally within walking distance to tourist sights.

These stopovers differ from campsites in that they are usually intended for a very short-term usage—usually one or two days—thus they provide very limited space for parking and limited facilities or at times no service at all. Some stopovers may provide services like campsites but these places generally will not provide much space around the vehicles as most campsites do. In most cases these places are usually located at the center of or at the edge of a town or a village and are convenient for visiting such places and generally do not have a management facility like a campsite. In addition, the majority of these place are free of charge, in particular those that belong to smaller localities. Where fees are applied, they are usually very nominal. Motorhome stopovers are a very popular mean of travelling in Germany, France and Italy but are gradually gaining more popularity in Spain and some other countries in Europe.

A formal motorhome stopover in Europe is usually indicated by a sign post. Locations of these stopovers vary depending on the locality. Some stopovers are part of a town's public parking, a part of the town sports facility, or next to a church—some with designated parking bays and some without. Others are specifically created for such purposes.

Countries like Germany permit the staying in a vehicle as long as the driver can resume driving when necessary. [1] This rule applies to motorhome parking in public places as well. Therefore "camping-like behavior" such as setting out an awning or picnic table and chairs is not usually permitted in these motorhome stopovers.

Services

Basic services may include:

A campsite-like motorhome stopover may provide more services than those indicated above.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campsite</span> Place used for overnight stay in the outdoors

Campsite, campground, and camping pitch are all related terms regarding a place used for camping. The usage differs between British English and American English.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parking</span> Act of stopping and disengaging a vehicle and usually leaving it unoccupied

Parking is the act of stopping and disengaging a vehicle and leaving it unoccupied. Parking on one or both sides of a road is often permitted, though sometimes with restrictions. Some buildings have parking facilities for use of the buildings' users. Countries and local governments have rules for design and use of parking spaces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recreational vehicle</span> Types of vehicles

A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans, fifth-wheel trailers, popup campers, and truck campers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caravan (trailer)</span> Type of vehicle

A caravan, travel trailer, camper, tourer or camper trailer is a trailer towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent. It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places where none is available. However, in some countries campers are restricted to designated sites for which fees are payable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rest area</span> Public area, usually adjacent to limited-access highway, used for rest from travel

A rest area is a public facility located next to a large thoroughfare such as a motorway, expressway, or highway, at which drivers and passengers can rest, eat, or refuel without exiting onto secondary roads. Other names include motorway service area (UK), services (UK), travel plaza, rest stop, oasis (US), service area, rest and service area (RSA), resto, service plaza, lay-by, and service centre (Canada). Facilities may include park-like areas, fuel stations, public toilets, water fountains, restaurants, and dump and fill stations for caravans / motorhomes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom to roam</span> Right of public access to land or bodies of water

The freedom to roam, or "everyman's right", is the general public's right to access certain public or privately owned land, lakes, and rivers for recreation and exercise. The right is sometimes called the right of public access to the wilderness or the "right to roam".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campervan</span> Type of vehicle

A campervan, also referred to as a camper, caravanette, motorhome or RV in North America, is a self-propelled vehicle that provides both transport and sleeping accommodation. The term describes vans that have been fitted out, whereas a motorhome is one with a coachbuilt body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorhome</span> Type of vehicle

A motorhome is a type of self-propelled recreational vehicle (RV) which is a like a home on wheels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truck stop</span> Refuelling facility for truck drivers

A truck stop, known as a service station in the United Kingdom, and a travel center by major chains in the United States, is a commercial facility which provides refueling, rest (parking), and often ready-made food and other services to motorists and truck drivers. Truck stops are usually located on or near a busy road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RV park</span> Place where people with recreational vehicles can stay

A recreational vehicle park or caravan park is a place where people with recreational vehicles can stay overnight, or longer, in allotted spaces known as "sites" or "campsites". They are also referred to as campgrounds, though a true campground also provides facilities for tent camping; many facilities calling themselves "RV parks" also offer tent camping or cabins with limited facilities.

A snowbird is a person who migrates from the colder northern parts of North America to warmer southern locales, typically during the winter. The southern locales include the Sun Belt and Hawaii in the United States, as well as Mexico and the Caribbean. Snowbirds used to primarily be retired or older, but are increasingly of all ages.

The Caravan and Motorhome Club is an organisation representing caravan and motorhome users in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was founded in 1907 and now represents nearly one million members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maroon Bells</span> Two peaks in the Elk Mountains, USA

The Maroon Bells are two peaks in the Elk Mountains, Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak, separated by about half a kilometer. The mountains are on the border between Pitkin County and Gunnison County, Colorado, United States, about 19 kilometres (12 mi) southwest of Aspen. Both peaks are fourteeners. Maroon Peak, at 4,317 metres (14,163 ft), is the 27th highest peak in Colorado. North Maroon Peak, at 4,273 metres (14,019 ft), is the 50th highest. The view of the Maroon Bells to the southwest from the Maroon Creek valley is very heavily photographed. The peaks are located in the Maroon Bells–Snowmass Wilderness of White River National Forest. Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness was one of five areas in Colorado designated as wilderness in the original Wilderness Act of 1964. The Wilderness area surrounds the extremely popular Maroon Bells Scenic Area, which is a major access point for Wilderness travel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Ears Provincial Park</span> Provincial park in British Columbia, Canada

Golden Ears Provincial Park is a 555.9 square kilometres (214.6 sq mi) provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. It is named after the prominent twin peaks, which are commonly referred to as Golden Ears. The park was originally part of Garibaldi Provincial Park but was split off as a separate park in 1967. The area was logged extensively in the 1920s by the Lougheed and Abernathy Logging Company. Many recreational attractions are found within the park. Golden Ears Provincial Park is a protected area that contains many endangered species of flora and fauna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parking violation</span> Offence caused while a vehicle is parked

A parking violation is the act of parking a motor vehicle in a restricted place or in an unauthorized manner. It is against the law virtually everywhere to park a vehicle in the middle of a highway or road; parking on one or both sides of a road, however, is commonly permitted. However, restrictions apply to such parking, and may result in an offense being committed. Such offenses are usually cited by a police officer or other government official in the form of a traffic ticket.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Truck camper</span> Type of vehicle

In North America, the term truck camper and its abbreviation TC are generally used to refer to any recreational vehicle or RV that may be carried in the bed of a pickup truck. In North America, this RV type is sometimes known as a slide-in or cab-over.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roadhouse (premises)</span> Mixed-use premises typically built on or near a major road

A roadhouse or stopping house (Canada) is a small mixed-use premises typically built on or near a major road in a sparsely populated area or an isolated desert region that services the passing travellers, providing food, drinks, accommodation, fuel, and parking spaces to the guests and their vehicles. The premises generally consist of just a single dwelling, permanently occupied by a nuclear family, usually between two and five family members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Road signs in Switzerland and Liechtenstein</span> Overview of road signs in Switzerland and Liechtenstein

Road signs in Switzerland and Liechtenstein generally conform to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.

The term recreational vehicle (RV) is often used as a broad category of motor vehicles and trailers which include living quarters for designed temporary accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, caravans, fifth-wheel trailers, popup campers, truck campers and Park Model RVs.

References