All UK caravans are fitted with an ‘over-run’ brake system. The good news is that these systems are safe, effective and relatively easy to maintain. Here, we’ll take a closer look at the standard caravan braking system, highlighting how it works, how to keep it in good working order and how to adjust it where required.
Understanding how an over-run brake works
With an over-run braking system, the caravan is attached to the towing vehicle via a sprung drawbar and a breakaway cable. When you apply the brakes on your towing vehicle, inertia causes the towed caravan to continue travelling fo...
Even where a tent is described as fully waterproof, there’s still the risk of waking up to a damp groundsheet and wet possessions. From dealing with minor repairs through to ensuring your tent is properly sealed, here are the essentials for stopping the rain getting into places it shouldn’t.
How waterproof is your tent?
A tent billed merely as ‘weatherproof’ might be tough enough to deal with the odd shower, but may struggle to withstand a heavy downpour. For an indication of just how waterproof an individual tent is going to be, look closely at the Hydrostatic Head (HH) rating. This ind...
Caravanning is a wonderful way to tour the country, explore new places and enjoy the great outdoors, but for those who are disabled or elderly spontaneity is often stalled by the need for comprehensive planning.Making considered purchasing decisions, necessary alterations to your caravan interior and researching a list of campsites and attractions that are easily accessible for those with any level of impaired mobility will speed up the process and help you have a safe and enjoyable break.
1. Make access as easy as possible
The first hurdle faced by wheelchair users or those with limited...
Buying a secondhand caravan can be a smart way of making your budget stretch further - and of taking less of a hit on depreciation. But as with any big purchase, it’s important to go into the buying process with eyes wide open.If you’re new to caravanning, it can be useful to have a seasoned caravan owner on hand to help identify any potential red flags. Equally, you need to know the right questions to ask. So whether you’re considering buying from a dealer or private seller, here are 10 of the questions to put forward as you look at each of the units on your shortlist.
Government figures indicate that there are around 360 caravan fires each year in the UK. Be aware of the risks and follow these guidelines to keep you and your family safe when using your caravan or mobile home.
Choose your campsite with fire safety in mind
Fire safety mostly involves taking basic precautions to prevent the worst from happening. However, in the event of an incident, it’s reassuring to know that you’re in an environment where there are procedures in place to keep matters under control and minimise the risk of fire spreading. This is one of the many reasons why you should ...
Windscreen and glass damage contribute to a huge number of motorhome insurance claims each year. For motorists who’ve only ever encountered car window damage in the past, the repair bill for uninsured motorhome glass damage can come as a shock: around the £200 mark for fitting a new windscreen on a van conversion and well into the thousands for purpose-built motorhomes.If left unrepaired, seemingly minor chips can develop into more serious problems, requiring more expensive work and possible replacement. With this in mind, here are some practical ways to minimise the risk of windscreen chi...
Caravan historian and journalist, Andrew Jenkinson, tells the story of Sprite Caravans (one of the best-known caravan makes in caravanning history). The video contains rare photographs and expert commentary, that is sure to appeal to Shield caravan insurancecustomers. Andrew succinctly describes the 65 years of Sprite Caravans: from Sprite's creator (Sam Alper OBE) influence on caravan design and manufacture; the liquidation of Caravans International in the early 1980s; through to the present day with the Swift Group producing award-winning caravans such as the Sprite Major 4FB.
Buying a new caravan is a big decision. It is not uncommon to see “nearly new” caravans on dealers’ forecourts (traded-in within a few months of purchase), simply because the buyer didn’t take the time to weigh up the pros and cons of the particular caravan model to ensure it best suited their needs and intended use.
How do you go about choosing your ideal caravan?
UK caravan manufacturers’ new vans do offer a good choice of layouts, specification - and importantly, caravan construction methods (that aim to reduce the caravan’s weight and minimise the possibility of any “water ingress”)....
VW’s official camper – the California SE – is the UK’s top-selling campervan hitting sales of over 500 a year. Stuart Craig finds out why.
Unless you are very new to the world of motorhomes and campers, you’ll know that the California is Volkswagen’s original full factory-designed campervan and the only one made by VW themselves.
But what makes it such a desirable machine? Could it be VW’s unrivalled heritage of campervans? Could it be the car-like standards of build quality and refinement? Or could it be the ingenious use of every inch (or shou...
There are great choices in holiday homes from just £15,000.
Owning a holiday caravan in your favourite locality can be a worthy investment. “We want a holiday property which we can invest in”. A familiar statement from many families looking at holidays in the UK and wanting one that will offer value and can be used whenever they choose. Let us introduce you to the static caravan. Well actually that term went out with gas lamps and two- burner stoves! Holiday homes as they are now referred to, reflecting the modern sophisticated units they are.
