Last week on the A66 I witnesses a very sad situation.A family with a car and caravan had broken down and limped to a lay-by.When we pulled in for a break the car driver was in a heated discussion with the recovery truck driver ,who was loading his car on to the truck.The family did not have cover to recover the caravan, so the caravan would be left in the lay-by, and he didn't have a hitch or wheel lock with him.
When we left they were deciding what to do,who should go with the breakdown truck,who should stay with the caravan and what to do with the dog.
I bet there are a lot of caravaners who do not have appropriate cover when towing.Or perhaps people are not aware of the consequences of car breaking down when towing.
Happened to friends of ours with their almost new car. They had cover for the car which they thought covered the caravan. It didn't and they had broken down on the motorway so both units had to be towed. Cost them a small fortune!
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This debate has happened several time on this forum whereby someone will say that they have got a good deal with their car insurance for breakdown recovery but if people read the small print carefully they will find that in the majority of cases they are not. Basically if the car breaks down with the caravan in tow the rescue vehicle will attend to try and get you going again but if the unfortunate ever happens whereby the car has to go to either a garage or back home and the caravan then has to be detached then a charge per mile is applicable to tow the caravan back as well. Very often people ignore it and find out the hard way but at the end of the day you only get what you pay for. The two best known rescue packages are either Green Flag 'Mayday' taken out via the Caravan Club or the RAC 'Arrival' taken out via the Camping & Caravanning Club as with these packages the caravan is always included whether it's detached or not.
Quote: Originally posted by neil and lena on 17/8/2013
We have Mayday through the C.C which will recover both car and van to any destination in the U.K
Which is a small price to pay for piece of mind
And then take you home again at the end of your holiday.
------------- Bill
For a licence dated 1997 or later you must add together the plated max weight of the caravan and trailer, if the total is 3500 or less you can tow it. You may even tow a caravan with a MAM greater than the cars unladen mass the restriction was removed in 2013
Quote: Originally posted by Grampian91 on 17/8/2013
I mentioned this a while back also. I had the RAC top package which would recover the car and tow the caravan to my destination. But thats it.
No return if the car cannot be fixed etc.
I guess the cheaper packages may not even cover that.
I joined the CCC and took the RAC arrival option.
And how much did that actually cost in total ,I had all sorts of silly quotes this year ,the best deal I have been offered so far is auto-national rescue car and van covered for just over £60 , doing it your way was over £300
My quote for the RAC full package with arrival came in at almost £190. A quick phone call knocked £50 off.
Bringing it down to very close to the CC and Mayday scheme.
Not sure where you got £300 from?
The auto national cover looks seriously poor by comparison. They will only take you to one destination after a breakdown. So i either get the caravan brought home with nowhere to store it or get my car taken to the storage and leave it there?
£66 + £9 for caravan cover is better than nothing. But what will you do if you breakdown on the way there?
Get taken to the garage with the caravan in tow and maybe stuck there or goto the campsite and arrange/pay for the garage to collect it?
My own problem this summer might be of interest, I have Mayday cover for the car & van at £95 per. Year. I was at the nutters meet at Lady Heyes meet in June, left the van there for a week then went back down for one night, with intention of moving on to York. Next morning could not move the car. Within two hours we were on our way, car on the back, van on tow.
Mayday let us get set up at York and arrange for the car repair, came back and took the car to the garage the next day. For me that £95 membership was well spent.
Andy
------------- no day you learn something,is wasted
We have been with Mayday for many, many years and have had to call on their services on three occasions, all quite dire situations - 1 serious blow-out on M3, 1 major vehicle breakdown in Yorkshire (tow home to Hampshire) and total loss of 'van lights after disembarking Brittany ferry at 11pm. Each instance was dealt with so efficiently and professionally from the moment we made the call for help until we were safely out of trouble.
It really is madness to venture out with your van in tow without breakdown cover, no matter how clever or experienced a caravanner you think you are!
After reading this it got me thinking..Hubby has his car through work so it is covered ...can we just get covered personally for just the caravan if the circumstance ever arose ???
------------- Coming home back to a caravan
2013
Whit week Kelpie Manorbier
July/Aug Carpenters Farm Isle of Wight
The car will probably be covered, If it breaks down then they will tow the van to the garage/destination or home depending on the policy.
But if something happens to the caravan a major blowout that causes damage or a wheelbearing fails or any reason that it cannot be towed then it wont be covered.
You also need to check with the firm or manufacturers policy to see what the cover provides.
Beware some call centre staff though. An insurer offered me breakdown cover and i asked can i cover the caravan also. They said its covered as standard. But it would not have been.
Only if the car broke down with it attached and they would tow it to my destination.
When we were touring we had RAC cover through C&CC - brought our Discovery and caravan home to Leeds from Wales when the Disco brakes started making a noise 10 miles after leaving site - they dropped the Disco at home (where we had asked for it to go), took the caravan to storage and brough hubby back from storage. Worth every penny for the peace of mind.