Preparing a Caravan or Camper

A caravan has more to go wrong in transit than a car, simply because there is more of it and more of it moves. Half an hour of preparation prevents nearly all of it.

Water, gas and power

Outside

• Awning fully retracted and locked, with the arms secured. A partly latched awning at highway speed is destroyed and takes the wall with it
• All hatches, windows and vents closed and latched
• Door locked, and the security bar engaged if fitted
• TV aerial wound down
• Stabiliser legs fully wound up
• Jockey wheel raised and secured, or removed
• Anything on the A-frame — generator box, jerry cans, bikes — removed or properly secured

Inside

Everything loose becomes a projectile. Cupboards open on corrugations even when they feel latched.

• Empty overhead lockers of anything heavy. They are the first to burst open
• Latch every cupboard and drawer, and tape any that do not latch positively
• Remove or secure the microwave if it is not fixed
• Take TVs off their mounts
• Lay mattresses flat, remove loose cushions
• Photograph the interior, not just the outside

If it is being towed rather than carried

Then it has to be roadworthy, and three things fail more than everything else combined:

• Wheel bearings. Vans sit for months. Bearings dry out and seize.
• Tyres. Often plenty of tread and perished sidewalls. Age kills caravan tyres, not wear. Check the date code.
• Brakes and breakaway. Electric brakes and the breakaway system must work.