Boris Johnson admits to taking caravan holiday during London riots

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by Maeve O’Donnell and Chris Jefferies

Mayor of London Boris Johnson came under fire last summer when he failed to return from his holiday whilst the capital was in a state of upheaval, caused by three days of riots.

But now, it has emerged that Boris’ holiday was, in fact, spent in a caravan. As the London riots got underway the Mayor was caravanning in a remote area of Canada.
With the upcoming London Mayoral elections due to take place on May 4th, last summer’s mistake is back to haunt him – in a recent candidates’ debate Ken Livingstone was quick to mention Boris’ delayed return to the capital.

Johnson responded, “I was in a caravan stuck up a mountain with very poor mobile reception and I was a good 300 miles from the nearest airport. As soon as it was obvious what was going on, I got back as fast as I could.”

Boris has already revealed his love of the outdoors in his Daily Telegraph column, writing: “At the risk of sounding like a character from Enid Blyton, there is absolutely nothing to beat camping.”

CaravanTimes can only speculate on Boris’ choice of caravan, but given his political experience, a Bailey Senator would certainly be a fitting option.

Stray cat finds new home in mini Bailey Orion caravan

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by Tom Lowenstein

A stray cat that took to loitering around a caravan dealership was taken in by the firm’s big-hearted owners and now has its very own luxury tourer to live in.

Unlike most Bailey Orion 430-4s, however, the feline’s new home measures just three foot long and boasts a single fleece-lined bed.

Staff at Cosford Caravans in Albrighton, Shropshire began feeding the cat – which they rather unimaginatively named Cat – when it first turned up and it very quickly became a regular at the dealership.

Cosford owner Mervyn Hughes then mentioned Cat to Bailey director Nick Howard during a meeting and didn’t think anything more of it, but days later a cat-sized Orion 430-4 arrived on the doorstep.

“It turned up with a message saying ‘something for the cat to sleep in at night in comfort’,” he told the newspaper.

“I must admit I was a bit amazed. In my 28 years here, I have never seen anything quite like it. I was amazed it was made from scratch so quickly.”

Last year, a cat called Banjo from Sussex spent months living 250 miles away in Wales before being reunited with her owner after stowing away in a neighbour’s touring caravan.

Mystery fire destroys two caravans in Essex

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by Tom Lowenstein

A fire in a residential carpark in Vange, Essex destroyed two caravans and a car at the weekend.

Firefighters don’t know what sparked the inferno, which quickly spread between the two vehicles and a Ford Fiesta parked in between, wrecking all three.

Two fire engines and eight firemen spent a quarter of an hour tackling the blaze on Saturday night (April 14th), but luckily managed to prevent one of the tourer’s gas canisters from exploding.

An investigation is now underway to establish the cause of the fire, the Southend Standard reported.

Warren Breeze, leading firefighter, told the newspaper: “It’s strange how it started in a residential car park.

“We had to use breathing equipment while we put out the flames. Luckily we managed to get the canister out before it became too hot.”

A recent study by Club Care Insurance revealed that 99 per cent of claims relating to caravans would not be covered by an owner’s standard car insurance.

Car insurance doesn’t cover 99% of caravan insurance claims

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by Tom Lowenstein

While it may be tempting to dispense with caravan insurance and just let your car insurance cover it, a new study has revealed just how bad an idea this could be.

In the UK caravan insurance is not required by law, so some people decide against the extra expense.

However, according to Club Care Insurance, just one per cent of all caravan claims it receives would be covered by standard car insurance policies.

A caravan itself is not insured under standard car policies, meaning the only cover they provide are for damage to third parties.

The Camping and Caravanning Club’s insurance provider revealed that just one per cent of all claims fall into this category, meaning the other 99 per cent of claims would fall on deaf ears unless a proper caravan insurance policy was taken out.

“If you were involved in a road accident while towing your caravan that was your fault then you would be covered for any damage that you did to a third party, not to your own caravan,” Club Care said in a statement.

This means that any thefts or damage to your caravan are only covered under specific insurance policies, so relying on your existing car cover is a dangerous game and one that is probably not worth playing.

Tourism minister praises £3m Morris Leisure caravan park

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by Tom Lowenstein

Tourism and heritage minister John Penrose has offered his congratulations to the Morris Leisure caravan park company following the completion of their new five star site in Shropshire.

The 135-pitch Ludlow Touring Park cost Morris Leisure £3 million and sits on the banks of the River Teme in a stunning 20-acre site.

Ahead of its official opening on May 9th, the Conservative politician visited the site alongside local MP Philip Dunne, unveiling a plaque to mark the completion of the new caravan park, Shropshire Live reported.

Mr Penrose said he was “delighted” to see such a significant level of investment going into the local tourism industry.

“It is a wonderful destination for caravanners to come to and it looks like a very professional park, which I am sure is going to be full,” he said.

Mr Dunne echoed the minister’s sentiments and commented that the site would bring a big boost to local businesses.

Last month, Morris Leisure revealed that it was planting 750 new trees at this site as part of its Diamond Jubilee celebrations.

VIDEO: Designing the new Dunster House Concordia range of luxury caravans

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by Chris Jefferies

Dunster House’s first ever range of caravans split opinion right down the middle, so with the new Concordia collection they are going for a more traditional look, which they think will appeal to almost everyone.

In this video feature, we speak to Matthew Rickard, who explains the thinking behind this brand new collection, which has been completely redesigned from the bottom up.

Featuring the class-leading Alde central heating system and with highly competitive price tags, this range is sure to win over many more caravanners to the Dunster House way of thinking.

Prices in the Dunster House Concordia range start at £17,995 and MTPLM weights range from 1,360kg to 1,580kg

For a virtual 360-tour of the Dunster House Concordia Serenity, click here

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Safety devices recommended for avoiding caravan towing accidents

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by Chris Jefferies
Towing a caravan can be a stressful experience, particularly if you are new to the pastime, but luckily there are many devices you can buy to make the whole experience safer and smoother.
From stabilisers to anti-snaking devices, there are many products on the market that can help in this area, and Towergate Insurance has recently pointed out that some of them can earn you a discount on your annual policy as well.
Towergate insurance expert Edward Cross told CaravanTimes: “I would certainly recommend these types of devices, they are an absolute must with bigger caravans, and indeed I would encourage anyone to invest in one of these.
“They significantly reduce the chances of you having a nasty snaking accident, which can even include the entire caravan flipping over.”
In a nutshell, these systems work by monitoring the road conditions, sensing any lateral movement and gently applying your caravan brakes as necessary to prevent the tourer from snaking out of control.
For more tips and advice from Towergate on how to pick the right system for your tourer, read their original article: How safety devices can help you avoid caravan accidents.

Friendly Club joins forces with mapmakers Ordnance Survey to help caravanners

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by Tom Lowenstein

The Camping and Caravanning Club and British mapmakers Ordnance Survey (OS) have joined forces in a bid to help caravanners get the most from their touring holidays.

As part of the new partnership, OS will be offering a discount on all of its Custom Made maps that centre on the Club’s sites, as well as cutting the price on other products, including its get-a-map annual subscriptions.

All of this is designed to help caravanners find new walking routes when staying at Club sites, while members are able to use the online OS Leisure Portal to share their routes with others and find new recommended routes.

Ruth Doyle, director of marketing and communications at the Club, said they are delighted to partner with Ordnance Survey.

“Our campers love walking, cycling and running when they stay on our sites and Ordnance Survey maps are an excellent way for them to discover a new area,” she said.

Caravan Club gives tips on living green this spring

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by Tom Lowenstein

With spring upon us and summer closing in, it is the perfect time of year to start thinking about a greener way of living and the Caravan Club has offered some great tips.

Outdoors exercise, eating fresh, local produce and composting your food waste are the Club’s top three ways to cut our carbon footprint and help preserve the natural environment that make caravan holidays so enjoyable.

According to the Club, spring is the best time to get a sweat on outdoors, whether its running, cycling, working out or just walking. It’s great for health and fitness, costs nothing and doesn’t waste energy driving to the gym or using treadmills.

“Experts also believe that exercising in the natural light can improve vitamin D and serotonin levels, which in turn can boost your mood and even help you to lose weight,” the Club says.

Seasonal, local produce is very big at the moment, but there is a reason for that.

Visiting farmers markets is not only fun and interesting; it also helps support the local economy and is much better for the environment than buying asparagus that have been on a plane from Peru.

And once you’ve eaten all of your delicious locally grown fruit and vegetables, don’t forget to compost your waste – great for the environment on so many levels.

As well as cutting waste going to landfill, it also generates free compost to feed gardens.

VIDEO: Saving weight and petrol with the new Sprite Lite range

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by Chris Jefferies

The new Sprite Lite range from Swift Caravans is an attempt by the manufacturer to cut out any unnecessary features from the caravan to make it as lightweight and fuel efficient as possible for towcar owners.

The design team at Swift Group claim that there is a real demand for ‘back to basics’ caravans that come with a more flexible level of specification.

They discovered that many caravanners prefer to use on-site amenities at caravan parks, so features such as the shower and the oven are often rendered obsolete.

Earlier this year CaravanTimes visited Swift HQ in East Yorkshire and sat down with Chris Milburn, design director on the Sprite Lite range, to get the details behind the project, and what kind of caravanner it may appeal to.

First look and pictures of the new Hyundai Santa Fe towcar

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by Cameron Bird

The third generation Hyundai Santa Fe has been unveiled this month at the 2012 New York International Auto Show, and Hyundai promises several improvements and additions to the popular SUV.

An initial look at the new Santa Fe reveals its new ‘Storm Edge’ design concept, which presents a more masculine and aggressive appearance than its predecessors.

The towcar will also feature a hexagonal-shaped grille finished with dark chrome, which will be accompanied by large, tear-drop headlights above the bumper that will be matched in shape by fog lights below.

The new Santa Fe is longer, lower, and wider than previous models and the new body shape hints at its added strength and power, with the imposing front-end and muscular flanks.

Click here to see more images of the new Hyundai Santa Fe

Upgraded Engine

Offering three different engines, two diesel and one petrol, the range-topping diesel engine remains the 2.2-litre Hyundai model with variable geometry turbo that Santa Fe owners will already be familiar with. This all-aluminium beast generates around 197bhp, and its CO? emissions have been drastically reduced.

There is also a smaller 2.0-litre diesel engine available which can generate 148bhp, significantly less than the larger model, and also emits slightly more CO2. This suggests that the larger diesel engine will most likely be more expensive option, although the prices have not been released at this time. The third engine model is a 2.4-litre petrol version, with 194bhp.

The kerbweight for the new Santa Fe was not released at the auto show, but the
previous version carried a 1,946kg kerbweight. Hyundai claimed its maximum tow weight was 2,000kg, but according to the Caravan Club’s 85per cent rule, the tow weight for the older Santa Fe was only 1,654kg. Either way, the new Santa Fe is bigger and more powerful, and should be able to tow some seriously heavy-duty caravans.

New safety features

The new Santa Fe also has several new safety features, which include a lane-departure warning system, an automatic cruise-control system which monitors traffic in front of it through radar, and safety systems like ABS and vehicle stability management.

This towcar also provides drivers with improved visibility with high-intensity HID Xenon headlights which switch on automatically if conditions require them.

As a result, Hyundai expects the Santa Fe to follow in the footsteps of recent Hyundai models and attain a five-star Euro NCAP safety rating.

The 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe is expected to launch in late 2012, and more details on this powerful new towcar will be revealed as the year progresses.


Find more photos like this on CaravanTimes

New online service Towsafe matches towcars with caravans

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by Tom Lowenstein

If you’re on the look-out for a new car but aren’t sure whether it will be up to the job of towing your touring caravan, then a new service designed to help car dealers secure sales could be a major help.

Towsafe is an online service provided by vehicle data specialists HPI designed to match cars to caravans that they are safe to tow.

Though the service has been around for more than ten years, only now is the service being rolled-out to car dealers around the country.

In a bid to help them increase sales to caravan owners, dealers will be able to show customers exactly which cars they sell that can legally tow their caravan, but the benefits will be experienced by both buyer and seller.

Many caravanners are still unaware that towing their tourer with a car deemed unsuitable can result in three penalty points and a fine of as much as £1,000, so making sure that the car fits the caravan is essential.

According to HPI, there are more than one billion different combinations of caravan and towcar, but using the firm’s in-depth database when buying a vehicle provides all of the information needed to tell whether there is a match.

At the moment, the firm is marketing the service to vehicle dealers, but private customers can sign up at the Towsafe.co.uk website to carry out a match, with prices starting from £2 per match.

“Dealers can sell with confidence with Towsafe, helping them improve their customer service and safeguard their name,” said Kristian Welch, consumer director at HPI.

“[They] can check out caravan and car combinations for added peace of mind for them and their customers . helping secure the deal and build lasting customer relationships.”

HPI was formed in 1938 and offers the UK motor industry, dealers and consumers a primary source of vehicle information.