Caravan and motorhome staycations are more popular than ever, as Brits turn to more self-contained holidays at home in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
This has led to huge demand for leisure vehicles, but it’s not just caravans and motorhomes themselves that are in short supply.
Calor Gas cylinders are an essential amenity required for cooking on a campsite pitch, but they’re also used to fuel some barbecues.
The uptick in caravan owners and more people hosting events in their gardens means there’s an unprecedented demand for cylinders and Calor Gas can’t keep up.
It anticipated there would be a need for extra cylinders this summer and put in a large order for these to be manufactured, but the lead time on the bottles coming from abroad has led to shortages.
A spokesperson for Calor Gas told MailOnline: “To address this and improve cylinder availability for customers, Calor has prioritised cylinder exchange transactions for certain size cylinders, whereby cylinders are returned to Calor for filling and redistribution.”
This is one way to get around the problem if you’re a seasoned caravan owner, but does not help anyone buying a leisure vehicle for the first time.
In fact, dealerships are having trouble getting hold of cylinders to go into the vehicles they’re supplying to customers.
Calor Gas is urging anyone with unused or empty cylinders to return them to the company to be refilled and improve availability for others this summer.
Matt Sims, managing director of The Motorhome Holiday Company, said it’s an issue that he’s become aware of, as his firm rents vehicles to people going on holiday.
He predicted there will be an upsurge in people selling on any cylinders that have been languishing in sheds and garages to ensure as many people as possible can enjoy caravan holidays this year.
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