Be smart: stay safe and save money, by performing your own caravan or motorhome habitation check.
Whether you own a motorhome, a caravan or a self-built camper van, ensuring it’s safe to stay in is essential. Many companies offer habitation checks, but with this invaluable pocket-sized book, all leisure vehicle owners can learn how to carry out their own comprehensive habitation checks, ensuring safety for themselves and other occupants – and save money in the process!
What are habitation checks?
Just as with your home or your car, your leisure vehicle needs to be safe and secure, both for owners and occupants. Habitation checks are a series of detailed inspections of your leisure vehicle’s living area to ensure it’s safe for all occupants. Checks cover everything including appliances, water, gas, and electrical systems. They can also include internal and external bodywork checks, ensuring seals, joints, panels and windows are safe a secure from damp, moisture ingress, and perishing.
Why do I need them?
Although habitation checks aren’t a legal requirement in the UK, many vehicles will require one to maintain a warranty. Also, your leisure vehicle must be in good mechanical and roadworthy condition: your insurance company will stipulate this as part of your insurance policy, so regular habitation checks are essential if you want to be safe, and not fall foul of the law. If that’s not motivation enough, it also ensures the heatlh and safety of your passengers and guests. While habitation checks are NOT the same as a service (you will still need to get your vehicle serviced regularly) they do include gas, electrical, water systems, and other checks, helping to keep other road users – and your fellow campers – safe.
How much is a habitation check?
Prices vary from vendor to vendor, and depend on what checks are included, but a typical check taking around three hours to complete usually begins at around £200 – they can be more. Habitation checks are most definitely worthwhile, for all the reasons listed above, but you might be surprised by how little you get for your money when you pay a company for a habitation check.
But I don't have specialist knowledge; can I do my own checks?
YES YOU CAN! Whether you’re a seasoned leisure vehicle owner, a complete novice new to the world of caravans and motorhomes, or a self-build enthusiast planning to start work on your first project, this book this book shows you how.
Detailed, well-illustrated, clear instructions ensure that problems – and potential problems – that you may come across are identified quickly and early, not only saving you money and unnecessary inconvenience, but also providing essential information on how the different systems of a leisure vehicle function.
Given the cost of a professional habitation check, this book could save you a lot of money. Not only is it an invaluable pocket-sized guide, but it will become a constant companion!
Be smart. Stay safe. Save money. Perform your own annual habitation checks for your motorhome, caravan, or camper with this complete DIY guide.
DIY Habitation checking for leisure vehicles
Learn how the utilities in your motorhome, campervan or caravan work
Making sure your leisure vehicle is safe
Save money on a habitation service by doing it yourself
Essential knowledge for motorhome, campervan or caravan owners and self-builders
Leisure vehicle electrical, gas, water systems and damp testing
Interior appliance checks for leisure vehicles
Prevent costly repairs with regular DIY checks
How to perform a comprehensive habitation check on your leisure vehicle
Covers batteries, electrical systems, gas systems, plumbing, ventilation, safety equipment and more
Please note: this book is intended to cover UK regulatory requirements, and may not be suitable for habitation checks on recreational and leisure vehicles outside of the UK.
