FAQs

Take a look at our advice for beginners section to get you started. You may also be interested in our training courses, outfit matching service or information on where to buy/hire.

Our caravan towing and motorhome manoeuvring courses operate from various UK locations. Use our expert tuition to boost your experience and confidence levels.

If you passed your test before 1st January 1997, you are able to drive any combination of car and caravan, or any motorhome with a weight of up to 7500kg (or 8250kg with a trailer).  If your licence starts after 1st January 1997 then you can drive a car and caravan with a combined maximum weight of 3500kg (or 4250kg to include a small trailer weighing no more than 750kg). 

You can also drive a motorhome with a weight of up to 3500kg (with a small trailer of up to 750kg, or a heavier trailer if the combined maximum weight is no more than 3500kg).  For all drivers aged 70 and over, the motorhome weight allowance is reduced to 3500kg maximum weight, unless a medical report is supplied.

Battery advice for caravans and motorhomes is available on our website.

Caravans and other light trailers are exempt from MOT-type testing. However to be road worthy, there are legal safety requirements that must be met. An annual service by a competent service agent (such as a member of the Approved Workshop Scheme www.approvedworkshops.co.uk) will check this, and also inspect the habitation parts of the caravan, leading to a safer and more reliable holiday. Take a look at our news article for more information.

Tyre care information for towcars will normally be found in the vehicle handbook with inflation pressure advice usually on a label on the vehicle. This may include revised pressures to use when towing.

Caravan tyre information is usually in the handbook with inflation pressure advice sometimes on a label on the caravan. Motorhome tyre information will be in the base vehicle handbook with inflation pressure advice sometimes on a label on the vehicle, but this may be overridden by revised advice in the conversion handbook or on a replacement label applied by the convertor. 

Additionally, the Sites Directory & Handbook contains technical advice and on-the-road tips

Battery advice for caravans and motorhomes is available on our website.

Yes, the Club tests towcars, caravans, motorhomes and trailer tents/folding campers.

Test results are published in the Club Magazine (sent to members and available online). The Club also carries out annual design competitions for caravans, motorhome and lightweight leisure trailers, plus an annual Towcar of the Year competitions. Competition results can be found online.

The Club’s Technical Advice service may be able to provide details on specific models - please email technical@caravanclub.co.uk or call 01342 336611.

Yes, we have a list of workshops which have been independently inspected and approved to the requirements of the Approved Caravan Workshop Scheme.

Caravans and other light trailers are exempt from MOT-type testing. However to be road worthy, there are legal safety requirements that must be met. An annual service by a competent service agent (such as a member of the Approved Workshop Scheme www.approvedworkshops.co.uk) will check this, and also inspect the habitation parts of the caravan, leading to a safer and more reliable holiday. Take a look at our news article for more information.

Yes, see our list of caravan and motorhome hire companies. We also work with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, who will deliver your hire car for free at over 80 Club Sites.

Yes, we offer a full online outfit matching service to members. Alternatively, speak to one of our experienced Technical Advisors on 01342 336 611 for further advice.

Yes, if you are keen to learn the techniques for driving and manoeuvring a bigger vehicle, our motorhome course will aid you, no matter what your level of skill or driving confidence.

We run two different caravan towing courses, both are open to non-members as well as members. Improve your manoeuvring skills, even if you tow a trailer or horse box.

Car manufacturers tend to operate a 'model year' concept, whereby the new season's models may actually be introduced before the end of the preceeding year. 

Normally you will select the year in our database which corresponds to the year of registration of the car. Occasionally, however, you may need to select a year earlier or later to get the correct model, if the model year of the car is not the same as its year of registration.

There are a number of possible reasons for this. Firstly, make sure that in both instances the advice has been based on exactly the same combination of car and caravan - it is quite easy for a minor change in variant to make a significant difference. Secondly, we base our judgements for outfit suitability on a range of criteria, including not only legal limits, but also safe and comfortable towing. This sometimes results in our threshold for advising that a given outfit is suitable being appreciably lower than the car manufacturer's or the legal limits. Other advisors may not have the same concerns, and may be happy to advise up to higher thresholds, or may base their advice only on the legal limitations. 

If you need help interpreting a match result, or need more assistance with matching issues in general, you can always contact us directly.

You can call the Technical Advice team Monday to Friday, between 8:45am and 6:00pm on 01342 336 611.

We believe the caravan data to be very accurate. However, the sheer quantity of data involved means that occasional errors may well occur. Please email us at technical@caravanclub.co.uk if you believe you have found an error, and we will investigate it.