General Caravan Tips

Subscribe to a good caravanning magazine and join the caravan club, both will help you find a site which suits your requirements. The right site for you will give you the best possible holiday!

Rhian Muncer

Always have shoes for your caravan - and spare bungies. We were caravanning in May and found we had neither, but needed both.

Steve Bloxham

Take out the first pole from a windbreak and sew in a plastic bead such as one that you would purchase for an awning and run the windbreak into the awning slot. This creates a good seal to the caravan and you can place your poles to suit.

Victor Hogg

Take plenty of packs of cards to play games and things to keep the children occupied. Also, if you apply a decal onto the caravan body work, first apply wax polish to the caravan then affix the decal. It will then remove easier without taking off the paint work.

Wendy Read

Use an old plastic screw top hand-cleansing tub to protect the threads and lock from road grime and salt of your spare wheel carrier under the van. Use the lid as a backing plate held on to the chassis with the mounting nut for the carrier and then screw the tub onto this. This also helps with security as the lock and fixing screw are out of site. Keeps your hands clean too.

Colin Murray

Attach a tag to the cylinder in use before disconnecting the regulator prior to traveling. That way you will always re-connect to the correct cylinder and eliminate the risk for having 2 nearly empty cylinders at the start of your holiday.

Daniel M Muir

Take a short trip close to home before your main holiday each year so any problems can be fixed before you leave on your main holiday.

Janice Patterson

Talk to experienced caravanners and take their advice on locations and sites. You'll learn some handy tips.

Annika Bjorklund

Prepare your caravan for use in cold weather and make full use of your investment by caravanning all year round. Watch the forecast and get out whenever the weather is looking good. Avoid the crowds and benefit from cheaper low season fees.

John Nutting

Always take duct tape away with you. It's great for a quick mend to anything.

Debbie Jackson

When buying a new caravan always make a note of the chassis number of the demonstrator you have seen. We recently ordered a new caravan and when it was presented to us as brand new, it was actually the demonstrator. We refused it.

Trevor Barnett

Try and buy a caravan with the kitchen and toilet on the opposite side of the caravan to the door, then if you have an awning up you wont have your waste bottles in your awning.

Jeanette Baker

Why not make a big double glazed door on the side of a twin axle large caravan. This would bring light into the caravan and optimise the outdoor experience. For privacy you could pull the curtains or door shutters, but all in all it would make your caravan seem a lot fresher and bigger.

Scott Reis

Save 35ml plastic film canisters. They are great for all kinds of things on the move, for example salt & pepper, tablets, sewing kit etc.

Heather Ridgway

Join one of the owners clubs. Not only will you meet lots of friendly, like-minded people but you will visit interesting parts of the country, often not too far away, at a relatively inexpensive rate and gain lots of useful hints, tips and technical advice.

Robert Garlant

If taking a barbecue on a trip, make sure you carry one of those oven cleaner kits that supply a bag and the chemical for you to put the grill from your barbecue in. Do this at the end of the break, and the next day remove the grill from the bag and rinse and it will be as good as new. Make sure you use the supplied gloves as the chemicals are quite severe.

Andy Barrett

Always part fill your water container before you leave home and then when you get to your site you already have water for a cup of tea!

Catherine Joyce

Rather than looking down or being negative about a neighbouring camper's or caravanner's approach to how they wish to "set up camp", be a little more open-minded about it. You may just appreciate an aspect of it a little more yourself, especially when your goal is surely the same - enjoying a little extra freedom and having a bit of fun too!

Peter Campbell

When you buy an awning, replace the plastic pegs and rubber hammer with metal pegs and a claw hammer - much easier to use and remove

Ken Pickering

If you are a member of a caravanning club, make sure you check your member offers before going on any day out, with or without your caravan! You will be surprised how much you can save!!

Nicola Fudge

Explore many different sites until you find the one that suits you best.

Karen Dunlop

At the end of the gardening/holiday season, buy half price or less kneeling mats. gloves, camping accessories, windbreaks, beach mats, etc. in places like Asda, Wilkinson, etc. ready to use when caravanning next year!

Barry Yeates