What to look for in a good caravan storage site

Many people don't have the space to store a caravan at home securely so it's no surprise that there are caravan storage sites all over the UK.

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There's a world of difference between available sites, from farmers renting out space in redundant barns to state-of-the art, floodlit, 24/7-access, security-patrolled, secure compounds.

So how do you pick out the good ones?

Take a good look around

You must visit a site before committing. First impressions are usually spot on - if a site looks dirty and badly looked after, walk away. Are the caravans all parked up neatly on decent hardstanding? Are they far enough apart to stop fire spreading and do they conduct fire risk assessments?

We used to tell people to look for evidence of hook-ups nearby to charge batteries through the winter. But nowadays solar-powered trickle chargers do such a good job that it's no longer anything to worry about.

Security is important. Look for a secure perimeter, CCTV and find out if there are people on the premises 24/7. How do you gain access - with a combination lock or by going to a manned office?

Convenience

How close is the site to where you live and is it easy to get to from where you live?

You also need to consider how you use your caravan - if you nearly always travel to a particular trunk road or motorway to begin your journeys, it might be worth looking at sites around there rather than closer to home.

What are the opening hours? Let's face it, you're unlikely to want to go and pick up your caravan at 3 in the morning but if you get delayed returning from a long cross-channel trip, you'll want to know whether you can drop your caravan off or have to park till morning.

Are there other facilities available onsite that you could use, caravan washing or valeting, perhaps servicing?

Look for CaSSOA signs

The Caravan Storage Site Owners' Association (CaSSOA) was formed nearly twenty years ago to represent storage site owners. It also developed a code of practice and rating system to help raise the standard of all sites, particularly with regard to security.

The organisation awards three levels of certification - gold, silver and bronze - depending on the level of facilities and security offered. So a gold standard site will be the safest but probably the most expensive - it's up to you to balance how much you want to pay against security and peace of mind.

Insurance

It's just worth ending on a cautionary note - make sure the site you choose has liability insurance.

Also make sure that your caravan insurance covers your caravan while it's in storage. Your policy may demand a certain level of security before covering you too. It's well worth reading the small print - you could avoid a big disappointment further down the line.

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