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Caravan Service
What do I need to do to make sure my Caravan is ready for Spring?

It's that time of year we look forward to the most - time for a caravan service and preparing for the start of the new season and our first caravan holiday of the year.

Just as you prepare your caravan for winter hibernation, you have to make sure your caravan is ready to use in Spring (unless, of course, you frequently brave the weather in winter!).

Here's what we do to prepare for our first caravan holiday:

• As I said above, one of the first things I do is to book my caravan in for a service at my local dealer. It gives me peace of mind knowing that everything has been checked and is in working order. It is not law to have your caravan serviced but you should at least take the time to make sure your caravan is fit to go on the road.

• After I have collected the caravan from being serviced, I still check it thoroughly just to make sure everything is working properly.

• Make sure the Leisure battery is fully charged and that all 12v appliances are working okay.

• Put the gas bottle back in the caravan and make sure that the cooker, heater and fridge all work okay using gas.

• We normally run the fridge and heater on electricity but it is always best to check that they work on gas as you never know when you might need to use them on gas!

• Then I clean out the pipes throughout the caravan. I tend to use Milton Sterilising Fluid (the one you use for babies bottles, etc) when sterilising the pipes. I fill my Aquaroll with water, add the Milton fluid to it and then block the waste pipes. Then turn on all the taps and fill the pipes until the water stays in the sinks. I generally leave the water in the pipes for 2-3 hours before removing the waste pipe plugs and letting the water run into the Wastemaster. If you leave the water and Milton fluid in the Wastemaster for a few hours this will clean the inside of this as well.

• After this I change the water filter cartridge.

• Then turn on the hot water heater to make sure that is working properly.

• I then give the inside of the caravan a thorough clean and polish, and put back all the cushions, etc.

• Although I have had the caravan serviced I still check the handbrake to make sure it is operating okay.

• I also inspect the tyres and check their pressure, and then check the torque on the wheel nuts.

• Make sure that the couplings that connect to your car are clean and dirt and damp free. Also check the car sockets.

• Connect the plugs to the car and ensure that the road lights are working (these are operated by the black plug). The grey plug operates the internal 12v system, i.e. if you want to run your fridge while travelling. It also operates your reversing lights on the caravan.

• I then normally give the outside of the caravan a good wash and polish - then we are just about ready to start the new season with a sparkling caravan!!

What do you do after your caravan service to get ready for your first holiday? Click here if you have any useful tips or tricks.

Well, that's what we do after our first caravan service ready for our Spring holidays! It definitely does pay to really look after your caravan well - it reflects in the price you will get when you come to sell it on or trade it in.