COMPETITION: Win a wireless caravan reversing camera in our latest giveaway

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Update: Thanks for your entries, this competition is now closed

by Chris Jefferies
Caravanners and gadgets go together like peas and carrots, and one of the most helpful gadgets for any keen touring holidaymaker is a reversing camera.
Not only do they give you added peace of mind when reversing onto your pitch, they can also be used in addition to the rear-view mirror to see what’s coming up behind you as you’re towing along a motorway.
What’s more, if you get a wireless version, then you can take it off your caravan, attach it next to your towbar and hitch up with precision every time, as the dashboard display will show you when the towball is exactly lined up with the hitch.
If all of this technical wizardry piques your fancy, then you’re in luck – CaravanTimes has teamed up with Towergate Insurance to offer three wireless In-Car reversing cameras (worth £80 each) in our latest reader giveaway.
This competition will end at midday on Friday June 29th and the three lucky winners will be announced in our weekly newsletter.
Entering the competition is easy – simply provide your contact details and a renewal date for your caravan insurance and we will enter you into the prize draw.
Update: Thanks for your entries, this competition is now closed
Competition rules:

  • The lucky three winners will be picked at random on the 29th June 2012 and the winner will be notified via the email supplied in the entry form
  • The value of the camera will be £80
  • Only one entry per person
  • No purchase necessary
  • No cash or alternative will be offered
  • The competition is open to UK residents aged 18 and over

VIDEO: Why the Elddis Autoquest has a stronger Peugeot chassis

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by Chris Jefferies
Elddis Autoquest is the best-selling motorhome range in the UK and one of the reasons for its popularity is the strength of the chassis.
In this video, we meet David Whitehead from Elddis, who explains that the way they build on the Peugeot chassis ensures a stronger motorhome and reduces potential warranty problems.
We also talk about all the different things that people tow with a motorhome – from motorbikes to small cars.
What’s more, David tells us about some of the celebrities that Elddis have lent an Autoquest to over the past ten years.
Prices in the Elddis Autoquest range start at £32,599 and there is a wide range of two, four and six-berth layouts to choose from

Wrexham family in lucky escape from caravan arson attack

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by Tom Lowenstein

A family in Wrexham, Wales, had a narrow escape this week after arsonists targeted the caravan that they were storing outside their home.

The Martins, who live on St David’s Crescent in the Caia Park community, were shocked when neighbours began frantically trying to alert them to the blaze, which was started by vandals at around 10pm on Monday night.

Thanks to a neighbour’s quick thinking, the family of four, including ten-year-old Jonathan and Charlotte, eight, were able to escape their home before the flames had a chance to spread, the Leader reported.

Fire crews quickly arrived on the scene to put out the flames, but it was too late to save their £7,000 caravan, which was completely gutted by the blaze.

While the fire has ruined their plans of a holiday to the Lake District at the end of the month, dad Edward, 41, revealed he was just glad that his family were not hurt in the incident.

“I just feel sick thinking about it,” he told the newspaper.

“The main thing is everyone got out but the thought of what might have happened when my wife and kids were inside is awful. I can’t believe anyone would do this.”

Northumberland brothers launch new caravan wheelchair lift

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by Tom Lowenstein

Two Northumberland brothers are hoping to make caravan holidays accessible to all with their new business – a hoist that easily lifts wheelchair users into touring vehicles.

However, while Jim and John Little’s invention could revolutionise touring holidays for those who thought them inaccessible, the pair did not set out to launch a new business.

The Belford Transfer Lift was created so that Jim and his wife Carol could continue enjoying their touring trips after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

“It was never built as a commercial venture,” John told the Northumberland Gazette. “It was built out of necessity.”

Yet after receiving encouragement from enterprise development organisation Business Link the brothers were backed by Northstar Ventures and took their invention into production.

They are now touring the hoist around trade shows in the hope of drumming up business.

“It certainly works, that’s for sure,” remarked John. “The best thing is that you don’t have to alter the vehicle, so if you sell it you can sell it as a standard caravan or motorhome.”

Including installation, the lift is being sold for £4,995, but that could offer a saving of thousands for people considering converting their vehicle to make it wheelchair-friendly.

For more information on the Belford Transfer Lift, click here, or watch the video below to see this lift in action:

Top tips offered for caravan reversing and buying reversing cameras

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by Chris Jefferies
Reversing a caravan is a prospect that fills many towcar drivers with dread, with so many potential pitfalls, from jack-knifing to hitting hidden objects.
With this in mind, a major insurance broker has offered some very helpful tips for reversing your caravan like a pro.
Towergate Insurance has explained that the caravan hitch works as a pivot in the reversing manoeuvre, and understanding how this affects the movement of your tourer is key to the whole process.
The insurance provider has also suggested that caravan owners look into purchasing some added gadgets to help with the reversing process, such as extra-wide towing mirrors and reversing cameras.
Of course, the most helpful piece of kit you can have is a patient and co-operative co-driver, who can get out and give directions.
No matter what technique to employ, the most important thing to remember is to keep calm and take your time, the company adds.
For more tips and advice from Towergate on how to keep your manoeuvre your caravan with confidence, read their original article: Top tips on safe caravan reversing and the best reversing cameras.

Staycations on the rise with 41% of Brits holidaying at home

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by Tom Lowenstein

Summer 2012 looks set see a record number of staycations, with a recent study revealing that Brits will spend £8.7 billion holidaying at home this year.

The figure represents the most that has been spent on staycations since the start of the recession and shows that regardless of the economic problems facing the nation, we refuse to give up on our precious holidays.

Hotel chain Travelodge made the discovery after surveying 5,000 people about their holiday plans for the coming summer.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Cornwall was named as the number one staycation destination, with Edinburgh and the Lake District making up the rest of the top three.

Some 41 per cent of respondents revealed that they plan to holiday at home this year – a six per cent increase on 2011. The study also found that the cost of an average week’s break in the UK has risen £10.78 on last year to £433.47.

Grant Hearn, chief executive at Travelodge, believes that it is great news that Britons are planning to embrace the staycation despite household budgets being eaten away by a double-dip recession.

“Our research highlights even in difficult financial times, Britons will make the necessary sacrifices in order to have a summer break,” he said.

“I guess everyone needs something to look forward to during these difficult times.”

Midsummer Motorhome and Caravan Show cancelled due to wet weather

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by Tom Lowenstein

Not content with flooding caravan parks and ruining people’s homes, the awful weather of late has claimed another victim – the Midsummer Motorhome and Caravan Show.

The show was due to kick off at the stunning Kelmarsh Hall in Northamptonshire on Friday June 15th and run all weekend, but event organisers have been forced to cancel the event with just days to go until the doors opened.

In a statement announcing their decision, Warners said: “Due to the consistently poor weather conditions that the country has experienced over the past few weeks and the outlook up to the Show, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the Midsummer Motorhome and Caravan Show.”

For any disappointed caravanners who had pre-booked camping tickets for the show, Warners are offering the option of transferring them to the Motorhome Show Season Finale in Lincoln, which runs from September 21st-23rd.

This will include a caravan pitch plus two entertainment tickets for the Saturday evening’s events worth £72.

Those look for an alternative caravan show this weekend can head to Paulton’s Family Theme Park in Hampshire where the UK’s largest dealer network, Marquis will showcase a range of motorhomes and caravans (June 15th – 17th).

Cleethorpes caravan parks offering Humber Bridge toll refund

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by Tom Lowenstein

Caravan parks and tourist attractions at Cleethorpes are offering visitors a refund on their Humber Bridge toll in a bid to drum up more business.

In the past, businesses in the town south of the bridge said that the toll was discouraging people north of the bridge from visiting.

However, at the start of April the fee was cut in half and, with single journeys now costing £1.50, Cleethorpes has seen a noticeable increase in tourists from the other side of the Humber.

In a bid to further boost this, the BBC has reported that businesses in the town have come up with a new scheme to refund the toll charge and further drive visitor numbers.

“It will definitely have an impact and will be a good thing,” the Showground Caravan Park’s Harry Dolby told the news provider.

One tourist attraction already seeing the benefits is Hull’s Deep Aquarium, with staff revealing that visitors have increased significantly since the toll was reduced.

If visitor numbers continue to increase at the region’s caravan sites it will be another piece of good news for the Hull caravan industry, which celebrated recently after successfully leading the campaign to overturn the Government’s controversial ‘caravan tax’.

VIDEO: How The Camping and Caravanning Club set a Guinness World Record

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by Chris Jefferies
Over the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Weekend (June 2nd – 5th), more than 100 Camping and Caravanning Club sites across the UK hosted one of the biggest celebrations of camping that this country has even seen.
Thousands of campers and caravanners joined the Friendly Club to set a Guinness World Record for the most number of people wearing paper crowns across multiple locations.
This ambitious event was timed to coincide with National Camping and Caravanning Week (June 2nd – 8th), so the Club went all out to lay on plenty of entertainment and attractions to get people outside and camping.
In this video, CaravanTimes heads to Norfolk to meet the team behind this incredibly ambitious event and we find out how they managed to organise a party for thousands of people.
We also reveal the grand total and speak to some of the campers and caravanners who will be able to say that they made history on a sunny day in June.

Beaulieu Motor Museum to host Bailey and Caravan Club exhibit

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by Chris Jefferies
Caravan holidays have been around in some form or another for well over 100 years now, so it’s high time that this great pastime was formally commemorated in a museum.
Thankfully, the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu has stepped into the breach by announcing a new permanent exhibit with the help of Bailey of Bristol and the Caravan Club.
The Hampshire attraction has worked with the Club to host events about caravanning since 2006, but the new exhibit is the first permanent fixture at the popular museum.
Developed in partnership with Bailey Caravans, this unique collection of memorabilia, photographs and film footage dates back to the 1880s and some of the items are on public display for the very first time.
History buffs will surely enjoy learning about the origins of caravanning, which date back to the Victorian era in the form of horse-drawn caravans.
Moving into the 20th Century and visitors can also learn about the formation of the Caravan Club in 1907 and look around an Eccles caravan from 1926.
The exhibit also covers modern developments, such as the pioneering Bailey Alu-Tech construction method, which was launched in 2009.
Lawrence Bate, director of marketing at the Caravan Club, said: “The National Motor Museum is a treasure-trove of motoring history. The Club is delighted that the museum has chosen to showcase the origins of this wonderful leisure pursuit as a permanent fixture.”
A third off for Club members
Stephen Munn, commercial director at the National Motor Museum added that the exhibit has already proved to be highly popular, particularly among those who are visiting the nearby New Forest for a caravanning holiday.
In order to encourage Caravan Club members to visit Beaulieu, the Museum is offering a third off for anyone holding a valid Club membership card, plus three guests.
Tickets are priced at £20 per adult, £18.50 for seniors and £52.50 for a family ticket. The Museum is open every day from 10am to 5pm, with late openings to 6pm during the summer months.
Other items on display at Beaulieu include stunning Bentleys from the 1930s, powerful Formula One cars from the 1990s, and some of the crazy contraptions dreamt up by BBC One’s Top Gear.
For more information about the Caravan Club’s permanent exhibit at Beaulieu, visit the National Motor Museum website.

Welsh flood: 150 evacuated from caravan site as flash flooding hits UK

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by Tom Lowenstein

More than 100 terrified caravanners had to be rescued from their holiday homes after torrential downpours caused flash flooding in Wales at the weekend (June 9th-10th).

Holidaymakers staying at the Riverside Caravan Park in Landre near Aberystwyth, Wales, were left frantically fighting for their lives when the River Lery burst its banks.

A huge rescue operation was carried out by the RAF, coastguard and fire services, with families stranded in their caravans and the water levels rising rapidly.

In some cases, the water rose 5ft up the side of people’s caravans and two teenage girls had to be airlifted to safety after becoming stranded in their caravan, the Shropshire Star reported.

Others were forced to scramble 30ft up a steep slope to higher ground after wading through water up their chests. Around 1,000 local residents also had to flee their homes as the rain kept falling and water levels continued to rise.

Emily Nickless, 18, and her 17-year-old friend Leigh-Anne Wharton were rescued by helicopter after waking at 5am to find themselves trapped in their caravan by the rising water.

“When we opened the door, it was terrible. It was impossible to get out,” Emily told the newspaper.

“We saw people on the cliff and we kept the door open because the water was still rising and if we closed it, we wouldn’t have been able to open it again.”

Meanwhile, in Pennal, Gwynedd, around 600 residents had to abandon their homes and were moved to a local leisure centre after the unprecedented rainfall threatened to break the dam of a local reservoir, potentially flooding the village half a mile below.

More than twice the amount of rain that usually falls in the whole of June fell in just 24 hours. The Met Office has now issued severe weather warnings across the UK, while the Environment Agency has put flood alerts in place in areas across the nation.

As much as three inches could fall over the next 24 hours as the downpours continue, forecasters have warned.

Riverside Caravan Park is the second site to fall victim to flash flooding this year, after Billing Aquadrome in Northamptonshire was flooding last month.

The floods come after a Government survey warned back in March that 28 per cent of the UK’s caravan parks are at risk of flooding.

Norfolk caravan owners warned over security following Avondale theft

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by Tom Lowenstein

Police in Norfolk have warned caravan owners to make sure their tourers are well secured following the theft of a vehicle from the quiet village of Wiggenhall St Germans.

Thieves took a five-berth Avondale Argos Pearl tourer from outside its owner’s home on Thursday morning, according to a report in Lynn News.

Unfortunately for the victim, they had left the vehicle’s original purchase documents inside, meaning the crooks who stole the tourer will look legitimate when they try to sell it on to unsuspecting buyers.

Authorities have urged caravanners to make sure they store their paperwork in a safe place away from the vehicle and suggest that everyone registers their tourer with the Caravan Registration and Identification Scheme.

The theft also highlights the importance of taking out a good caravan insurance policy. A recent study by Club Care Insurance revealed that just one per cent of all claims it receives would be covered by a person’s standard home insurance.