GENERAL ADVICE FOR CARAVAN OWNERS!

Owning a caravan holiday home provides you with the opportunity to create a relaxed, tranquil and luxurious lifestyle. Needless to say though like any luxury, your caravan does need regular inspection and routine maintenance. Here we have for you some simple but effective advice which will help to ensure you have many happy holidays.

Insurance: Johnstons’ Caravans Ltd also provide insurance to cover Storm, Theft, Debris, Accidental and Flood Damage. These are all things outside of our control and some of the risks caravan insurance will cover. Most parks stipulate that you must ensure your caravan is adequately insured and is one of the most important ways to protect your investment.

Frost Protection: Whilst your caravan is unoccupied, even during the season we recommend that it is a good habit to turn off the water supply to your unit. Off season when frost is high risk it is important to properly drain down the water system through the drain valves on both the pipe work and water heater/combi boiler. Johnstons Caravans’ Ltd provide a professional frost protection service and then re-connects the unit prior to the start of the next season. If your holiday home has a wet central heating system it is imperitive that the boiler be serviced regularily to maintain a satisfactory level of anti-freeze protection in the sealed central heating system and that same aspect of the combi-boiler also.

Condensation: Double glazing does help in reducing, but not eliminating condensation. The best way to reduce condensation is to have adequate ventilation, which provides regular air changes and in doing so reduces the moist air content.

Chassis: If your caravan is located on beach front or is particularly exposed to the salt air it is definitely worth having the chassis greased to protect against rust. Caravan manufacturers now offer a galvanised chassis which may be worth considering when upgrading your caravan holiday home.

Routine Inspection and Service: To keep your caravan in top condition it is recommended to routinely inspect for any effects of leaks, especially after winter storms. Particular interest should be given to vertical side joints (including those above/below windows and doors), the four corners, bay windows, skylight systems and along the roof/gutter joints.

Check fire extinguishers to be in good order and fire escape windows/doors are accessible and opening.

Anchor points and tie downs should be inspected periodically.

Window/door catches should be operated and oiled.

Gutters should be kept clean of sand, leaves etc.

It is recommended that gas appliances be checked for safety and serviced as necessary on an annual basis by a registered engineer, New holiday homes now come with fire extinguisher, smoke alarm and Carbon Monoxide alarms as standard safety equipment, these are all items which can be fitted to your holiday home during gas servicing/safety checks.