Message Forums

 Just to interject about another popular pastime as in Caravans and the question of a certificate of "soundness".Boats need an  safety certificate  just even for inland waterways. Only ones exempt are ones with out cabs.Boats are similar to caravans with their gas and electric facillities and one of their tests is for for the LPG installtion which are similar cooking and heating arrangements as in a caravan. I have a boat without a cab and is towable on a trailer but is exempt from safety certificate and so towing trailer has not been checked. But if it did have a cab and the same facillities as my caravan it would have to pass a safety test. So quite "ironic" on the comments already made on caravans.

http://www.boatsafetyscheme.com/site/preparingyourboat_22.asp

 I have to work out how i can tow caravan and boat at same time j/k lol.

I am in favor of the caravan MOT in fact I would go as far as any type of braked trailer should have one.

Surly ,when a caravan is made it has a brake efficiency test at the manufacturers to show the system is working. the picture below shows an engineer testing the system so we do have the technology 

all HGV trailers have an MOT test so why not caravans? I cant see an argument over casts of the test when it  gives peace of mind when towing you know the system is working properly and efficiently,

I honestly think a caravan should have a mandatory service and MOT every two years  and to be carried out by trained caravan engineers who would need to train up specialist testers just like they do for the gas system.

Hi

Yes, it can certainly be argued that not all caravans are kept in a roadworthy condition and if you're old enough, like me you'll remember that's why M.O.T.s were introduced for cars. (Hell, there were some unroadworthy bangers about)

But I suspect the majority of problems with caravans on the road are due to the owners mismatching outfits, poor loading, having unfit for use tyres or incorrect tyre pressures etc  - The list goes on and on

Perhaps the drivers need some kind of fitness/awareness test too?

Tyreman

I think they should have an MOT after a certain age. We bought a caravan years ago with that was from a dealer and had just been serviced, OK it was old and we didn't know much about caravans but it leaked from every place possible and the fire smelt funny. We took it back to the dealer and was lucky to get back what we had paid for it. If it had been a car I don't think it would have passed an MOT.

Denise

Hi Michael

its quite an engineering piece  by the looks of it ,yet I bet it works very well.

When purchased new, a caravan must be dealership-serviced every 12 months to avoid invalidation of the manufacturers' warranties.  And caravan insurers will give new-for-old cover, up to 10 years, with the same proviso.

To answer Steve W's question about gas and electrical tradesmen being available, surely the maintaining dealership MUST have the necessary qualified personnel for ALL aspects of caravan maintenance before the manufacturer gives accreditation.

Such personnel could then be registered on a formal basis, similar to vehicle MoT inspectors.  The dealership would then issue a "certificate of roadworthiness" on completion of the service.

This need not add much to the overall costs (unless used as another tax hike), and compulsory Ministry of Transport registration of service engineers would give caravan owners a good degree of protection from unscrupulous dealerships.

Not all owners have the necessary know-how to cross check that work claimed to have been done has actually been done. 

Bertie.

As a new comer both to the forum and to the world of caravans.  I have just purchased a 1990 Avondale Leda Quantock to use when attendind Dog obedience Competitions, so most of my time will be spent in muddy fields rather than nice sites.

It has been fully serviced before I took it off the dealers site and it will go back every year for a full service.  I must say I was shocked that this is not compulsary and feel there should be some rules to govern the servicing of caravans.

An MOT for a caravan is a good idea - however I would think it should be at a reasonable price though - £15 - £20 would be ok.

I think the same as people have mentioned above in regards to an MOT and ongoing maintenance - it is the owners responsibility to ensure the tyres etc are in roadworthy condition, the same as you would with a car.

MOT for caravans, sounds in principal a good idea for caravans say over 8 years of age.  To be honest we bought our Bailey Indiana new at Easter this year, we have only used it for  7 times, about 4.5 weeks in total.  With the expense of storing, insurance, annual servicing, it already is expensive, and quoting £15 for an MOT is living in cookoo land, it would be more like £36 - £40

Cars are used on a daily basis and therefore MOT is important to check for wear and tear, but caravans are hardly used to the same effect. 

The next thing after MOT will be making us pay for road tax!

Quote: Originally posted by scuba on 03/12/2006

---

 Just to interject about another popular pastime as in Caravans and the question of a certificate of "soundness".Boats need an  safety certificate  just even for inland waterways. Only ones exempt are ones with out cabs.Boats are similar to caravans with their gas and electric facillities and one of their tests is for for the LPG installtion which are similar cooking and heating arrangements as in a caravan. I have a boat without a cab and is towable on a trailer but is exempt from safety certificate and so towing trailer has not been checked. But if it did have a cab and the same facillities as my caravan it would have to pass a safety test. So quite "ironic" on the comments already made on caravans.

http://www.boatsafetyscheme.com/site/preparingyourboat_22.asp

 I have to work out how i can tow caravan and boat at same time j/k lol.

---

I agree with Elaine. costs are already too much. Proof of recent service (say within the last 2 years) should be sufficient. If people are not bothered  about the state of their caravan, they will hardly be likely to conform with rules  which can really not be policed.

Robin

Quote: Originally posted by Elainef on 06/12/2006

---

MOT for caravans, sounds in principal a good idea for caravans say over 8 years of age.  To be honest we bought our Bailey Indiana new at Easter this year, we have only used it for  7 times, about 4.5 weeks in total.  With the expense of storing, insurance, annual servicing, it already is expensive, and quoting £15 for an MOT is living in cookoo land, it would be more like £36 - £40

Cars are used on a daily basis and therefore MOT is important to check for wear and tear, but caravans are hardly used to the same effect. 

The next thing after MOT will be making us pay for road tax!

---

HI Elaine.  The fact that caravans are hardly used in comparison to cars does not qualify them as being roadworthy.  The running gear (brakes, suspension, tow hitch mechanism) can all be affected by damp ingress, and this can cause failures in their operational efficiency.

A car left standing in the same manner as a caravan would not be as reliable as a car used on a daily basis, even if it received the same annual service.

This is why caravan manufacturers insist on an annual service to keep their warranties valid.

Bertie.