Can you use a British caravan without a battery?

Probably but a battery will give you a smooth 12 volts DC.

I'd buy a battery in Spain 🙂

I have a Swift and I think in the instruction manual it says it's not recommended.

Post edit something to do with what ED said.

Highbank,  I ran older low tech caravans without a battery for 30 years - just taped up the connectors in the battery box to insulate them and used hook ups on sites everywhere. Everything worked - as the on board charger /transformer supplied 12 volt for lights, pump and so on.

But people say that modern high tech computerised caravans need a battery to keep the on board electronics happy with a smooth supply. Yet our European cousins regularly buy caravans without a leisure battery, as every campsite there has hook ups. It’s absolutely normal for them not to have a leisure battery.

So I would fly to Spain, plug in your caravan and see what works. -then as Emily’s dad says, buy a battery in Spain if you need one and fit a solar panel to charge it while you are away.

It’s not normally recommended but it would depend what charging system you have. Agree it would be better to source one locally. Of course, if you then leave the van in storage without a solar panel that could ruin it.

Modern caravans come with switch mode chargers which have voltage regulation and smoothing 

Yes but modern charging systems such as Sargent have “intelligent” chargers that measure the battery voltage and take it offline when on EHU so that they can be charged at maximum voltage. Not sure what happens with those systems if there is no battery. Certainly older vans have simpler chargers and most would perform fine without a battery connected.

If you have good contacts amongst the Spanish caravan community, it might be worth asking Them how their 'vans are set up and just following suit !

Why bring battery home?

We store in Spain & have always been able to leave caravan for 6-8 months & battery retains enough power to use motor mover on my return. That wasn't the case of course during Covid when it was left for 2 1/2 years!! As long as caravan has no tracker or alarm and 12v main switch is off there is no reason battery should not be OK.

The Owners Manual for my 2009 Bailey says "The 12 volt system is designed to operate with a leisure battery in circuit and should not be turned on without one connected".  So my interpretation of this is that, in my caravan, I must have a battery fitted when using the 12v system in my caravan.  A Swift may be different of course.