Fire Safety in Caravans

Apart from buying caravan insurance or insurance for your motorhome there are a number of more practical ways in which you can protect your investment. None of them will be as good as having the correct motorhome or caravan insurance in place if the worst does happen of course, but here are our tips for a safer caravan holiday that will also apply just as much to those of you who own a motorhome.

When you arrive at a site and if possible, site your caravan at least 6 metres away from your neighbour's. This will help stop the spread of a fire if the worst does happen. If you have fire extinguishers on board (which of course you should have) make sure they are in working order before you leave home and locate any fire fighting equipment on site. If you're going to be Fireman Sam for the evening albeit in a caravan or motorhome rather than a big red fire engine, it's worth knowing which direction to run in to find the hose!

Just as you would at home, make sure you have at least one smoke alarm in your caravan and a carbon monoxide one too. When you have fitted them to your vehicle, check that they are working. Fit new batteries to the smoke and carbon dioxide detectors in your caravan at the start of the season. It probably won't invalidate your insurance if you don't but it might save your life if you do.

A fire in your kitchen is probably the most likely cause of extensive damage to your caravan or motorhome and you will want to save the hassle of a big insurance claim, so, tempting as it may be to sit outside in the sunshine with a glass of Chablis whilst the steak is grilling, you should never leave your caravan cooker unattended. If you have a chip pan too, invest in a fire blanket and keep the handles of your saucepans turned inward to lessen the chances of spillage. Remember, it's not only your caravan that can be damaged, you can too and that's not something that can be put right by a claim on your insurance.

If you're one of the few people left on the planet who enjoy a smoke in their caravan or motorhome, always ensure that cigarettes and cigars are extinguished correctly and cannot reignite. Don't use plastic ashtrays and don't tip the butt into a bin of any description - stick to metal or glass ashtrays. Better still - don't smoke! Your insurance bills will be lower (that's your life insurance we mean, not your caravan or motorhome insurance!) and you will feel better for it. That's what everyone says anyway! Smoking in your bed is very dangerous at home and even more so in your caravan or motorhome. If you happen to fall asleep you could easily set fire to your bedding and it goes without saying that you should keep matches and lighters out of reach of children.

With the weather we have in this country it's always a good idea to have gear on board your motorhome or caravan that will help you to keep warm. Most of us will rely on a fan heater but remember this can be a fire hazard! Never block or cover your heater with anything (tempting as it may be to dry clothes in the middle of our balmy summer evenings!) and pay attention too to the condition of cables and plugs, as they can easily be damaged by normal use out of the house. With most caravans and motorhomes having only limited sockets it might be tempting to overload them but please don't! It's dangerous and it might invalidate your insurance if you do. It's all common sense really, but to sum up, use your common sense, buy some caravan or motorhome insurance and most of all, have fun!

Solar RV Systems - Free Electricity on the Open Road

Using an RV motor home to travel is a great way to see the country with the family. You have a comfortable dwelling with most of your daily electrical appliances on board.

There are many RV campsites available around the country. Most sites will offer electricity supply which you can plug into. However, if you were to spend a few days on the site, the electricity cost will add up very fast.

To save cost, many RV owners are installing solar power kits on their vehicle. The kits will enable the RV to have a constant supply of electricity which can be used to power their television, satellite dish, microwave oven, hot water heater etc.

However, a commercial solar kit for motor homes can be quite expensive. A system that can generate 330 watts will cost more than $2700! Most people will not be able to afford that.

There is a cheaper solution though, you can build the solar system via a Do It Yourself (DIY) approach. The solar energy system is actually quite simple. The key components are the solar panels, charge controller, battery units and power inverter.

The heart of the system, which are the solar panels are fastened to the roof of the RV. The panels are made from a semi-conductive material known as Photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are capable of producing an electric current when exposed to direct sun light. Located on the roof of the RV, it will have maximum sun light coverage.

All the solar panels are connected to 2 main cables which are the positive and negative runs. The cables are to be connected to the charge controller.

The function of the charge controller is to use the power generated by the panels to charge the battery units. Deep cycle batteries will be used to store the electric current. This type of battery is suitable because it is very durable and can be discharged to a very low level and produces a steady flow of electricity.

If you have 5 family members on the RV, 4 - 6 units of deep cycle batteries will be able to stored sufficient power for consumption.

Since the batteries can only hold Direct Current (DC), the power inverter will be used to convert the DC to Alternate Current (AC). All modern electronic gadgets are designed to run on AC.

The last stage is to run an extension cable from the power inverter throughout your RV. This will allow easy access to the power generated by the solar system.

When Buying an RV Makes More Sense Than Renting

With many expensive consumer products, there is always a debate about whether buying the item or renting the item is better. Most of the time the decision of buying or renting is based on how you use the product. When it comes to a recreational vehicle or RV, there are some conditions where it does make sense to actually purchase the RV versus renting it. There are advantages to owning the RV versus having to rent one.

The first advantage is that you will not be limited by rental time. Some people have lots of vacation time or are retired and don't need to be limited by certain times like in rental agreement. Buying the RV does give the freedom to take trips for as long as you would like without having to return to a certain location. For many this is one of the best aspects of owning an RV.

When you own an RV, you also don't have any mileage limitations. Many rentals allow you a certain number of miles to use the RV and will charge an extra fee for each mile that you go over this limit. To some this is too much of a limitation and owning the vehicle makes more sense.

If you are going to use your RV out of the country, owning it is almost required. Very few will rent you an RV that you can take out of the country. This is because of liability. For cross country tours, owning your RV is much better.

If it doesn't cost you very much to store your RV or it can be stored on your own properly, it does make sense to own it. Storage costs are one of the big arguments for renting instead of buying. If you can store it for free, this argument is no longer valid.

Owning an RV is much cheaper than renting if you spend more than six weeks in one each year. This justifies the storage fees, insurance, and maintenance costs versus just taking this money and renting.

RV Solar Panels - The Benefits of Installing Solar Panels on A Recreational Vehicle

Do you like the freedom of a recreational vehicle (RV) lifestyle? Taking long RV trips on the road is a great way to spend quality time with the family. An RV is basically a house on wheels with all of the basic amenities and comfort on a home. Most people going on RV road trips would want to bring along all of their electrical gadgets such as television, personal computer, satellite dish, hair dryer, Xbox, microwave oven etc on the vehicle.

Due to the limited power supply on board the RV, you cannot run all of the appliances simultaneously because doing so will deplete the battery very fast. To overcome this issue, many recreational vehicle owners are installing RV solar panels.

There are many benefits of using a solar power kit on a motor home. Firstly, it is clean, quiet and easy to use. The solar system does not consume any gasoline or diesel and does not produce any unwanted waste also. All it does is harness the free energy from the sun and converts in into usable electricity.

In fact, an RV solar system design is quite simple. There are only 4 key components in the entire setup which are the solar panels, charge controller, battery bank and power inverter. The solar panels, usually installed on the roof of the vehicle are used to collect the energy from the sun. It is made from a semi-conductive material known as Photovoltaic (PV) cells. Solar cells have a natural tendency to generate electric current when exposed to sun light.

To use the current from the solar array, it is to be connected to a charge controller via electric cables. The charge controller will take the current from the panels and use it to charge the RV on board battery bank. Doing so will actually extend the life span of the vehicle batteries.

If you need a lot of power on your motor home because you have multiple electrical appliances, you may consider setting up separate battery bank just to fulfill the energy needs of the living compartment.

The type of battery most suitable for a solar system is the marine or deep cycle type. Deep cycle battery is very durable and can be discharged to a very low level without damaging its internal plates.

Since the batteries can only store Direct Current (DC), the power inverter will be used to convert the DC to Alternate Current (AC). Most modern electronic gadgets are designed to run primarily on AC. The final step is to run an extension cable from the inverter throughout the RV internal spaces.

The Roads Are Full of Them

Caravans and motor caravans have made quite a comeback. We've noticed it in the insurance brokers, and I'm sure they've noticed it in travel agents and caravan parks too. It seems that in a drive to save money, people have turned their backs on costly overseas destinations. Official Figures suggest that an extra 5 million holidays will be taken at home this year.

According to the National caravan Council there are now 500,000 caravans in regular use in the UK by no less than 1.5 million caravan fans. Meanwhile, the Camping and Caravanning Club has reported a massive 21% increase in the number of bookings. Perhaps its a counter cyclical marketplace, but the caravan manufacturers aren't complaining about the recession. Swift recently reported 12% year on year growth.

Similarly, the Motor Caravan fraternity appears to have increased too. The United Kingdom Tourism Survey in 2009 reported a 13% increase in the number of trips taken.

All of this is going to mean that the roads are going to get busier and busier, and take more and more of a battering. All this additional pressure is on top of the beating that our roads took during the winter. We have all noticed the dreadful pot holes in the road.

There have been times, when out on my bike, I have wondered if I might see a little kangaroo head sticking out from one of those pot holes. I am sure they will be causing damage to cars, caravans and motor caravans. Indeed I wonder whether they will actually cause accidents.

It's not compulsory to buy insurance for caravans, but advisable. You wouldn't pull any other important belonging behind your car, or leave it unattended in a park without insuring it, would you? There are, I'm informed over 30 motor caravan and caravan insurers, so it feels like the specialist advice is available to those willing to look for it. My advice would be to ask a broker to help you. In a recent survey conducted by well respected magazines brokers came out as the most competitive for price, and its good to be able to ask questions and get proper advice... from a human.

To Secure Your RV Doors and Drawers For Travel, Think Like a Flight Attendant

To avoid the unpleasant surprise of your interior RV doors and drawers flying open when traveling, think like an airline flight attendant. For us who have flown on commercial airline flights, we have seen the flight attendant walk up the aisle before take-off pushing on every overhead storage door ensuring each is closed and latched. I use this same method and think like a flight attendant when securing the doors and drawers inside of our motorhome before travel.

I begin by turning on a light in each area of our motorhome, which for us is the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen/living area. I start in the furthest corner of the bedroom and push on each overhead cabinet door and every drawer to ensure it is latched. Sometimes a cabinet door or drawer looks closed but it may not be latched and can fly open during the movement of travel. I also ensure the closet doors and the door to the bathroom are secure as I make my way around the room. When all is secure in the bedroom, I turn off the light as I move to the bathroom and repeat the process in each room until I get to the front of the motorhome.

If I am interrupted during the process, I look to see which room's light is still on. If the light is off, I know I finished that room. If the light is on, I know I did not complete securing that room and will start over from the beginning in that room. I always double check that I secured our mirrored closet doors and glass shower door as a glass door banging open during travel could result in broken glass.

The contents inside the cabinets and drawers also need to be secured such as putting non-slip material between dishes and packing contents, including refrigerator contents, tightly to avoid movement. When first starting out RVing, we recommended you have a checklist for securing all areas of your RV for travel until you get a process in place that works for you. This "flight attendant" process only takes a few minutes and has worked well for us for years in ensuring all doors and drawers are latched and secure for travel.

Your Guide For Picking a Motor Home That Fits Your Needs

Have you as well as your loved ones decided to get yourselves a motor home so that you can improve your bonding time and travel with comfort and ease? Well, prior to finally choosing the Recreational vehicle you want to get, it is crucial that you research the various kinds of motor homes first.

Listed here are the various types to know more about:

Traditional Coach-built Motor Homes

This is the most typical kind of motor home that can be observed on the highways of the United Kindom. They often have large over-cab hump and may accommodate a fair-sized bed and still have lots of roomy area for storage. This sort is actually a useful vehicle for families as well as couples who prefer to travel around UK and other European countries. They have regular kitchen, washroom and can support 2 - 6 individuals.

Camper-vans or VW Campers

Camper-vans are legendary to be Volkswagen models. They are still mass-produced and have a selection of publications as well as clubs for its hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts. This sort can easily accommodate three to four persons and it's small enough for drives in both cities and open highways. This kind of Recreational vehicle is perfect if you have extreme enthusiasm to tour around Europe.

Campers have a selection of nice and ideal functions - windscreen sunlight visors, roofing racks for surfboards, raising rooftops, chrome fixtures as well as trims, etc. These features can be a direct conversion of Volkswagen or from many noted camper-van professional converters.

Low Profile Coach-built RVs

This type offers features and style that is comparable to the traditional coach-built motor home. Nevertheless, rather than the over-cab bed, it has a low profile style that has streamlined form as well as lower roof for better clearance and handling.

Van Conversions

This sort is usually called the panel van conversion and can be available from medium to big sizes. Well-known commercial vehicles are the base units for creating this particular motor home type. Nearly every unit introduced includes a sliding door feature. They have outstanding amount of space inside and most have spacious washrooms, well-equipped kitchen areas than the micro-sized or scaled-down van conversions.

Many models also feature dual beds at their rear, that runs across the van's width. In the event that owners are taller, they might have trouble with fitting inside. As such, it's also important to look at the actual dimensions as well as design of a RV, before you buy it.

A-Class RVs

This type is very large and recognizable because they don't have a detached cab area. Models of this kind will often have large front windscreens, like those in buses.

Tag Axle or Twin Axle Recreational Vehicles

This sort is generally the manifestation of a very large coach-built motor home that already requires an additional set of wheels in order to amply support its length and weight, like the twin axle caravan. The third axle has been known as the tag axle. They are a lot more roomy although it may be difficult to drive due to the twin axle at its rear.

Additional types of RVs include the American Recreational Vehicles, Home Constructed Motor Homes, and Mini Motor Homes.

Taking Your Car to the Garage

Even if you buy a brand new car or own something second hand, from time to time it will need to visit a garage to have mechanical repairs carried out. Choosing the right garage can be a little daunting. Should you choose the brand name franchise or should you go to the smaller independent?

Typically smaller independents will offer lower prices than the big names, but if the work required is a specialist problem related to a particular make and model of car, then it maybe a wise idea to go to the dealer's garage to have it checked out.

If cost is a concern to you then you should ask for a written quote or estimate of how much the work will be. Once you have this you can then decide on what work you wish to authorize. If you only provide authorization for specific work on your vehicle then the garage should not complete any other work without further permission.

If further work is carried out without your permission then the garage is not entitled to request payment for the unauthorized work. Again it is better to put the agreement into writing concerning the price agreed upon and the work to be carried out so to avoid any disputes over these issues at a later date.

If you are unhappy with the repairs that are carried out on your car, you should firstly speak to the garage about your concerns. You should remember that for some mechanical faults a complete fix might not be possible. If this is the case then you may need to consult with your motor insurance company if any modifications have been made to the vehicle to ensure your insurance policy is still valid.

If you have any concerns explain to the garage why you are not happy with their work and allow them an opportunity to explain what they have done. Ay repair work undertaken should reach a competent standard, and any materials used should be of the correct standard and free from any defects. Any work that is carried out that is substandard could mean that the garage is in breach of contract or has been negligent.

In these circumstances you have the right to take your car to another garage to have the work rectified. The original garage should then pay for the cost of repairing their work. You would need to ensure that you have evidence to support your claim that the repair work carried out was not faulty which may require consultation by an expert.

It is often best to allow the garage an opportunity to fix any work you are not happy with no additional charge to yourself. But if you do not feel comfortable with this having another garage rectify the work is the alternative option. If your car is returned to you and you believe it has developed further problems since having undergone work at a garage, again you should speak to the garage about the problem as a first step. Garages are responsible for any additional faults or damage to a car that occurred whilst in their care.

However it would be up to you to prove that this is where the damage or fault occurred. It should be noted that problems like these do not happen very frequently and that most people are happy with the level of service that their garage provides. If you do have problems with your garage then you should express your concerns at the time and remember that you have the choice to seek the services of another mechanic.

How Electric Trailer Brakes Work

If you are planning to hire a towable trailer or caravan this summer for the first time, it might not be immediately apparent how to hook up the brake system to your own vehicle. Indeed, even if you have performed the job before, it's worth refreshing the memory as while the principles are the same, the steps might vary depending on the model. This is essential safety and should be approached with care and diligence.

While for small utility trailers an independent brake system is not necessary, for any larger load brakes are essential. That's because when travelling at higher speeds and it becomes necessary to stop sharply, or while trying to control the speed of the tow vehicle on a steep downward gradient, the trailer can charge into the back of the vehicle, causing it to lose control, or the trailer itself can be put under undue strain, causing it to sway and pitch from side to side. It's an accident waiting to happen, so ensure that when towing a trailer you have hooked up the brakes and they are functioning flawlessly.

Things to remember
1. As a general rule, the weight of the fully laden trailer should not be greater than 85 percent of the vehicle being used to tow it, so ensure you check that the vehicle you are driving is heavy enough to handle the trailer.

2. Look for the electrical system of the towing vehicle at bumper level and plug in the wiring harness of the trailer brakes. In addition to serving the magnetic brake system, this is also essential for running the brake lights and indicator signal lights lights. Trailer brakes do not use hydraulic fluid. Instead, magnets engage the brake drums when fired by an electric charge.

3. For added safety, most brake systems on larger trailers come with a control panel which the driver can activate by hand within easy reach of their driving position. This is a back up system and if you begin to experience sway on the trailer, or sense it is losing control, activate the brake system using the control panel to instantly bring the trailer under control.

4. Most importantly, never exceed 60mph when towing a trailer. Speed kills, and this is even more true when you are towing a heavy trailer. Keep your road speed to a safe level, adjust your braking distance to the car in front to account for the extra weight - about 5 seconds is a safe distance - and be aware at all times of developments ahead so you can brake in plenty of time.