Servicing a caravan
Regular servicing of your caravan or motorhome should pay off in the long run with greater reliability and improved resale value.
But there are safety and legal issues too. Every vehicle or trailer is required by law to be in a condition where is does not cause danger to anyone. Some items you can easily check for yourself, such as tyres and lights, but the braking system and the electrical and gas items inside the habitation area are best left to experts if you are not to risk your safety or that of others.
This Data Sheet is intended to provide general guidance on how to go about servicing and maintaining your unit. While the guidance is mainly directed towards caravan owners, much of the information is also applicable to owners of folding campers and motorhomes.
Benefit from more technical advice from the experts when you join the Club.
The three elements of maintenance to keep your caravan or motorhome in tip-top condition are:
- Annual servicing
- Regular maintenance
- Winter preparation and maintenance.
Annual Servicing
The Club recommends annual servicing is carried out by properly qualified experts, and ideally this means by a member of the Approved Workshop Scheme (AWS). The AWS was set up jointly by The Camping and Caravanning Club, the Caravan Club and the National Caravan Council (NCC) to ensure consistent standards and good practice in the caravan repair industry. The NCC now administers the scheme and it has proved a great success with more than 350 caravan, motor caravan and mobile workshops now in membership. Please note that the majority of AWS centres that handle motorhomes deal with servicing and repairs to the habitation area only and not the base vehicle.
An AWS workshop
All AWS members follow the same nationally-agreed service schedule, provide clear menu pricing, a strict code of practice and also a dispute conciliation service. You will normally get a minimum six-month guarantee on all repair work and all members of the AWS are independently assessed each year for their levels of customer service.Some 65 separate checks are carried out by the AWS annual service, and details of the work undertaken can be found on the AWS website (www.approvedworkshops.co.uk) or by asking any member of the scheme.