Bunch of silly questions from a noobie who just bought a caravan

gutteruu

So I just bought a caravan with great intentions but no knowledge. I have a few quick questions

Caravan insurance. Whats a typical cost for a 2004 valued at about 6k? Do I need to go to specialist caravan insurers?

I cannot find anywhere in the manual if the leisure battery gets charged while plugged into mains or do I need to charge it independantly?

Checking in and out times. We had intended on doing 2 night trips for the most part. If I have to check out on the last day early, am I stuck with the caravan for the day or do parks allow you to store it and collect later that day heading home? e.g. I arrive Friday night and leave sunday. Am I stuck with the caravan on Sunday?

During winter I was told to put a few moisture absorber canisters to stop mould. Presumably I keep windows closed also. Aside from dewatering is there anything else I need to do?

Any other tips?

Thanks

db

Insurance - OBF Insurance are the best at the moment for this. Contact them for a price, it will be about €200.

Battery - There should be an onboard charger which will charge the battery when connected to the mains. You can get an adapter to connect the EHU cable to a standard domestic socket. Some people will tell you that you should take the battery out when not in use and put it on a decent charger but I have found plugging it in every couple of months over the winter keeps it charged.

Checkin / Checkout - Most sites expect you gone by midday and not to arrive before then but there can be some flexibility. Don't expect to be able to leave the caravan on site until late evening unless you pay for an extra night. Some sites will do a late checkout for a small charge.

Wintering - Leave a few windows open on the ventilation setting to let the air through. Moisture traps are a waste of time. Caravans have numerous vents anyway so any moisture you remove from the air will soon be replaced. It will look like the moisture traps are doing a great job and will be full when you check them but if you were to check the humidity it would be the same with or without. Move any cushions away from the walls to let the air circulate. Make sure you have all the water out of the caravan, taps open, toilet flush emptied etc. Turn on the heating every now and again to warm it up a bit. Leave the fridge door open when not in use but make sure the fridge is turned off.

gutteruu

Great. Thanks for that. Much appreciated. Just signed up with OBF for 175 quid. Very reasonable.

On arrival, does each park assign a bay number or is it a bit of a free for all? I don't have a wheel clamp. Is security needed or are the parks safe enough to leave unattended for the day?

I think we may end up just paying an extra day if we want to head home late in the evenings. The prices are so cheap compared to hotels. Brought the kids away for 1 night a few weeks ago and was down 450 quid all in.

Cheeky question given there are stickys, but any good parks or favourites you'd recommend for a small family?

db

Most sites will assign you a pitch, the odd one will let you pick your own. At the moment when everywhere is almost fully booked you will be directed to a pitch. Earlier this summer I was on a site and the pitch they put me on was not great so I asked to be changed and there was no problem.

The caravan itself will be safe on site and I have never heard of one being stolen off a pitch. At home or in storage is a different matter and they are a magnet for thieves. You insurance almost certainly states that you must have a wheel clamp or hitch lock on the caravan so you will need to get at least one of them. Neither will prevent the caravan being stolen by a professional thief and there are CCTV videos of caravans being stolen in a few minutes with both locks. Other security measures taken include electric gates, parking a car in front of the caravan, steel posts etc.

There have been some reports recently of equipment being stolen on sites like water containers, toilet cassettes, bikes so make sure anything loose is at least put in the awning if you are away.

Favourite caravan parks are very much a personal thing and it depends on what you are into. When our children were younger one place we went a couple of times a year was Trabolgan. It might not seem obvious and a lot of people might think it a bit expensive but if you do it right you can get great value and the facilities are quite good. We used to book a midweek during the summer and there was a deal that you could book another break off-peak for free so we would book the week before Easter. If you book in January there was an additional 30% off so we got two 4 day breaks for < €200 with full use of swimming pool, entertainment, kids clubs etc.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117767607#Comment_117767607

I've just bought a caravan too. Got a good deal from a sister who spends all summer in a caravan and was upgrading so decided to go for it.

Like you, I'm finding my way around the area. but just back from 4 nights in Woodlands, Tralee and it really is excellent. Spotless, very strict on noise at night, playground and playing pitch for kids, even a little wooded area with a path, and all facilities you need, laundry room, kitchen with fridge facilities etc. And only a few minutes walk to the town centre, which might be very handy for those rainy days. Again, it might not seem obvious, but as someone explained to me before...because of our weather, it's better to stay in the town and drive to the beach, than stay in the beach and drive to the town.

Check out Charlie & Me on YouTube for lots of campsite reviews, it's motorhome based so theres everything from "proper" sites like Woodlands to places which are basically a field with a tap.

On arrival, does each park assign a bay number or is it a bit of a free for all?

Can be either, some will assign you a number, some will let you drive around, pick a pitch and tell them what number it is, others don't keep track of numbers so you can park where you want.

I don't have a wheel clamp. Is security needed or are the parks safe enough to leave unattended for the day?

Personally I wouldn't leave mine without something, we usually use a hitch lock instead of a wheel clamp purely as it's more convenient. Also, check your insurance doesn't stipulate what you need, I know when I buy UK insurance they all expect at least one locking device, most now require two.

I think we may end up just paying an extra day if we want to head home late in the evenings.

Ask beforehand, some will state you must leave at say midday but in practice won't mind if you ask them to leave it for another few hours especially when they're not busy (but if they're busy you might have to leave on time), and others will accept a fee for staying a bit later (say €5), others might have a yard to leave it in.