Do you have your caravan serviced

It's obviously a chance you take by not getting that rubber stamp in the book while in warranty. Knowing that, I still wouldn't bother as servicing can cause problems of its own when undertaken by our wonderful dealerships and getting work done under warranty
is traumatic. If the van was beyond hope I'd send to auction and replace it. That's my view.

Dealers must love you, my Lunar would'nt  be worth fourpence if I had left it to rot for 4 years and there was nothing traumatic about  getting it rectified just took it  in and told them they did the rest.

No, they don't love me because they don't get my money each year for, so called, servicing.

What bad luck having such a rotten van, David. 

Yes SWMBO is refusing point blank now to buy any more British vans, we have had 2 and they have both leaked like sieves and 2 German vans that we were  quite mad to part with. Incidentally  I am under no illusions about what gets done  on a service but new
Fridges and damp repairs more than justify the  cost of getting a stamp in the book AND
its a condition of our insurance and  most likely yours too.

Err, no it isn't and never has been on any of my van policies. In fact I wouldn't have bother with cvan insurance either if it wasn't for the third party element. The MH, of course, is different altogether with regards to insurance as there's no split between
base vehicle and hab unit cover.

If the van got stolen and  faced with a £25000 loss it would be great comfort to to know how much we had saved on insurance.and servicing.

I'd live with it but, as I said, insurance has always been in place.

I,ve had a van stolen and was paid out in full. Serviceing never came into the equation.The only thing they were interested was if it had wheel locks on and its year of manufacture.Service history especially on cars is notoriously easy too fake and in many cases is,nt worth the paper its written on.

peter.

Hi - The poor people who lavishly send their cars in get them serviced by the main stealers are living in cookoo land. I have a friend who runs a garage and MOT station and has been through all the Engineering qualifications I have - he informs me that with
the range of vehicles he takes in for the First Test (3 years) many have the signs of not beeen properly serviced or maintained in that time. Though the owners take them in the guarantees and servicing are prepaid for on purchase so the dealer simply chekck
to make sure the running gear is safe - and they are good enough to last at least that today. They don't change the oil and filters etc if they think they can get away with it and  by the time the first test is due they are a wreck. The same will be for caravans
with such simple checks needed boy of 12 years could manage them.  warranties are designed to scare people into taking them in for so called services to be valid. My neighbour has had his new van in more times than he has been off in it - leaks and electrical
problems.

Vehicle serviced annually by the local garage which I have used for over thirty years and the habitation side is done annually by a reliable local mobile engineer who I have used for ten years.All paperwork is kept on file.Total cost averages around £300
pa depending upon bits required,of course.Look after your kit and it will look after you is my policy.

Having used 5 different caravan dealers and a mobile service engineer over the years I agree that there are some really rubbish ones out there.  However when you find one that you trust it is worth sticking with them.  Not everyone has the tools and knowledge
to do their own servicing. The local garage has always serviced my towcar and is now looking after my motorhome.

Sorry all you folks who don't get your service books stamped by a recognised dealer or qualified engineer, but I certainly wouldn't  consider buying a used Caravan or a M/H without a full service history. After the recent tale of the explosion and fire at
a CC rally, AND the amount of folk posting here,who do not get their gas systems,appliances and Electrical systems serviced every year, I can't  say I'm  suprised. I'll  be making sure I'm  a good distance away from my neighbors on CC sites in future.  

Most service history aint worth the paper its written on.A stamp in a book is no proof of anything.

peter.

Ray , do you get your house electrical wiring checked every year ??, you know ,all those house fires 

Write your comments here...No, I don't,  but then I don't take my house bouncing around the country, and don't   plug and unplug the connection to many different  mains suppliers with my house either.The same principle applies to the gas fittings and pipework which is even more critical. As for Dealers NOT doing these checks, that is what they have been paid to do.AND they sign their initials to prove it,  if they don't  check it and there is an accident, at least I cannot be held liable, as I had a professional service it. If I didn't  I could be held negligent and potentionally liable.

Things you should know: Manufacturers - cars in particular have the technology now to build into their products code to prevent aftermarket work being undertaken so that they force customers to take in their cars or maybe in the future "caravans". They do this by fitting code into every aspect of the vehicle. It is so complex that even the people in the dealerships do not have the skills to fix a problem without connecting a computer to the car with special diagnostics. given that they have the ability to implement these codes they also have the ability to build into the vehicles a low cost self diagnostic feature in to the items that allows parts to be paired at a stroke but they won't because it's a rip off to get extortionate charges in the pockets of dealers.

NB There is a socket on every car called an OBD2 that interrogates the car ECU that has helped the aftermarket get around this but now some are making it so that just plugging into an OBD2 socket will need a pass code only the dealers have - and you guessed it a charge of £100 for just a one off use --mmmmmm.

Steve - The truck industry have been fitting nut markers for years since  there is no nut fitting that is beyond reproach - the physics are well know - metal fatigue, heat expansion and contraction of metals etc.  Those markers on tell the drivers that the nut has not loosed but it does not indicate that the wheel is loose since the shaft of the bolt has just expanded - the nut position stays in place.  To check if the wheeel maybe loose you have to use a  small hammer - ever heard the term "wheel tappers and shunters" it comes from industrial revolution railways. Ya just tapthe nuts and listen - if it rings ,it's tight, if ya get a dull thud it's slack - simples eh. If you drive a vehicle ya should know how to maintain it - period.

Hi - there is an unseen rule that once the vehicle is taken out of the service centre the driver is fully responsible for it. Since there is no way liabilty can be accepted for omissions by the service personnel - sounds incredible but you will soon find
out that enforcing any litigation will prove very costly and difficult.  Even for a loose wheel that should have been fixed.  Today the culture is to always blame someone else and paying for a service entitles immunity from blame - well you may get some sympathy
but that's all.