Keith Gooden
Welcome along to the Motorhome Matt podcast. I am the stupid one, Keith Gooden. And here’s the clever one…
Matt Sims
Motorhome Matt.
Keith Gooden
Oh, dear. Okay. Shall we dive in? In today’s podcast, we’re going to be talking about motorhome and caravan security. bit more on that later on. But first of all, let’s dive into the news. And it’s all brought to you with www.thatleisureshop.com. We’re talking about your experiences, actually. I suppose it’s not really news. It’s Matt’s experiences – the life of Matt. You’ve had some patchy experiences, haven’t you?
Matt Sims
Lots!
Keith Gooden
With rescue services and breakdown services.
Matt Sims
Oh, I see! Yeah, we did. We broke down recently. Yes, it’s actually quite funny, this. We drove to Harrogate for the Yorkshire Motorhome Show in a van and a motorhome. And the night before we went, the motorhome wouldn’t start. It had been in the workshop for a month having a repair done to a part of the bed. And I think it had been stood around because it went flat.
So I hooked it up in the morning, went out – five o’clock in the morning. It started no problem. Brilliant, we’re on our way. Drove five hours to Harrogate and parked the motorhome, which was by now full of stuff for the show, for the shop, and we reversed right up to the entrance. Blocked the entrance completely so we could unload it. Unloaded.
Some hours later, we went back to the motorhome and turn the key. Nothing, literally. Completely flat battery again. And so the battery was dead. It dropped a cell. Now know what that means if you’ve listened to some recent episodes on batteries. And yes, completely dead. So we had to call the breakdown service out, and they came and got us a new battery. It was great a experience, actually, I have to say.
Keith Gooden
£180 for a new battery. That’s a lot of money, isn’t it?
Matt Sims
Yes, it normally you wouldn’t be that much if you bought one in a shop. But, to be fair, the breakdown service went off and bought the battery and then came back within the hour and fitted it. And off we went.
Keith Gooden
And am I right in thinking you are blocking the entrance and exit to the show?
Matt Sims
Completely! There was going to be no show at this point. You couldn’t get in the hall because this motorhome was completely… I parked it right up to the door so we could tip the contents of the garage straight in the door and straight onto our stand. But you weren’t going to get people past it! There were 5,000 people queuing up to come in!
Keith Gooden
Were they happy?
Matt Sims
Over the moon! Thankfully, it was the day before the show opened and we managed to recover it. But the big thing was, we had a really different experience. So when we phoned the breakdown service, 16 minutes later – the patrolman was on the phone. I’m on my way, I’m 20 minutes away – sure enough, Mark turned up. There he was, big grin. Sorted us out – hour and a half, we were fixed. We’d moved it. Absolutely brilliant.
Keith Gooden
A great experience.
Matt Sims
Couldn’t fault it. Same breakdown service back home in Bristol. We were driving our little Austin 7 through the middle of Bristol.
Keith Gooden
Sorry, an Austin 7?
Matt Sims
Yes, 88 years old. I made a schoolboy error there as well. I forgot the toolkit. I drove through the middle of Bristol. Dirty fuel or something caused the fuel issue. Seven and a half hours we waited. In the end, I gave up. I went off and bought a pair of child scissors from a shop and used them as a screwdriver.
And that with the aid of a back of an earring – not mine! Jude was in the car with me. We cleaned the carburettor and off we went. We managed to fix it. In fact, it was another hour later that the patrolman rang and said, “I’m on my way to you.” And I said, “Well, we’ve given up. We’ve actually moved on, and we’ve fixed it ourselves.”
So it was a very different experience. So I was intrigued what your experience has been. If you’re listening to this and you’ve broken down – it might be in a motorhome or caravan or it might be your car. What are your experiences of breakdown services? Because it seems there are different response times based on where you live in the country.
Keith Gooden
Yes, well, if you’re up north with a motorhome, you certainly get the service that you expect. If you live in the southwest or in Bristol with an 88-year-old car, I’m sure they’re all pointing at the screen saying, “No, you first. No, no, no, no. I’ll leave it for you.” There you go. But if you were going to fix it yourself, why didn’t you fix it earlier?
Matt Sims
Because I didn’t have any tools. So I waited and waited, and all I needed was a screwdriver. And we were in a part of Bristol – it was a Sunday afternoon, late afternoon. Everything was shut.
So I walked off a few miles and found a supermarket and bought a pair of children’s blunted scissors for £1.80. I used them as a screwdriver to undo these brass screws that probably hadn’t been undone for 55 years. So I broke the scissors. I hurt my finger. And yeah, anyway, I cleaned it and fixed and off we went.
Keith Gooden
So that’s why you should always keep those little toolkits you get at Christmas in the cracker.
Matt Sims
Yes, Jude was over the moon. “Let’s go for a little spin in the car.” Seven hours on the side of the road in the cold.
Keith Gooden
So your experiences, please. And how do people get in touch, then?
Matt Sims
Yes, go to www.motorhomematt.co.uk/askmatt. And we will be having some conversations with the breakdown services on their levels of cover. And we plan to do a future episode on specifically motorhome and caravan breakdowns. We want to try and build some content for that. So let us know how your experience has been.
Keith Gooden
And if you search through our podcasts, you’ll see an exclusive we got with Edmund King from the AA. He’s the president, isn’t he?
Matt Sims
He is, yes. A lovely, lovely man. And we hopefully might be able to speak to Edmund again about the AA and their offering as well. But in that episode – it was quite scary, actually. Not Edmund himself, he was fine. It was what Edmund said. He revealed some truths about smart motorways. If you ever use them, go and listen to it. I will never travel in the near side lane of a smart motorway ever again.
Keith Gooden
Okay, then. So let’s delve in, shall we, to the meat of this podcast today. It’s the Motorhome Matt podcast with me, Keith Goodman, and Motorhome Matt, brought to you with www.thatleisureshop.com. We’re talking about motorhome and caravan security. Now, we touched on this last week when we heard somebody who had stopped in a motorway service station and his wife had interrupted people trying to take his caravan.
Matt Sims
Yes. He’d gone for a coffee and a wee and left the caravan hitched on the back of the car. And whilst they were gone, his wife heard some noise behind her. She looked around and there were two guys trying to unhitch the caravan and nick it – have it away.
Keith Gooden
So what’s your advice, then, for security?
Matt Sims
Well, check your insurance policy. This was Jason from Caravan Guard, and they do cover a caravan if insured with them if it’s hitched on the back of the car. But it’s really important to check the schedule of the insurance and what the insurance requirement is of you and what security you have to have in place.
Keith Gooden
That’s in a motorway service station. What about just normally? Let’s say, for instance, you get to a campsite or whatever and you go out on your bicycles. Is the level of security in motorhomes, the door locks, up to snuff or do you have to retrofit?
Matt Sims
Up to snuff? What does that mean?
Keith Gooden
It means up to the required standard.
Matt Sims
Up to spec? Caravan locks and motorhome locks can be easily punctured with a screwdriver and then twisted.
Keith Gooden
What is it about expensive items, and it’s not just caravans and motorhomes, it’s other things we buy whereby the security, the locks on them, are tuppence-ha’penny when they’re protecting something which is £30,000?
Matt Sims
They’re rubbish, it’s true. It depends on the motorhome or caravan you’ve bought, and some are definitely better than others. And there’s a whole aftermarket industry in additional security for motorhomes and caravans, and this is why.
But yes, some of the locks are plastic inside. They’re really easy just to punch with a flat blade screwdriver and twist. It’s frightening. The lock barrel is £6 to replace. You think, “Really? Why didn’t you just fit a decent lock on it, as you say, in the first place?” Yes, it’s slightly odd.
Keith Gooden
Because there is a huge market, isn’t there, for nicked motorhomes and caravans which are taken away and all the identifying marks are removed from them and then passed on. It’s organised criminals, isn’t it?
Matt Sims
Yes, it is. Yes, it’s always organised. I actually spoke with Liz and Jason from Caravan Guard whilst we were at the Yorkshire Motorhome Show on this topic about security, and really what items we should consider and what impact it has on our insurability.
How to keep your motorhome or caravan secure
Jason Ware
Yes, so it is true that thefts have increased, particularly post-COVID. We saw maybe one stolen a month pre-COVID, and now it’s more like one a week. So there has been a big increase. It’s not a pandemic or anything like that. There aren’t a lot of thefts, but it’s on the rise and a thief will take what they see as the easiest option to steal your unit. So in which case, doing all you can, whether that be the storage location or whether that be the security, it’s best to protect the asset that you’ve got.
Matt Sims
Yes, certainly. And are they been stolen to order or is it just random, do you think?
Jason Ware
Our experiences is it is no longer random. We find the people are very organised. They know what they’re after. And if it is stolen to order, they will go with the equipment they need to bypass a lot of security that might be on the unit, so doing all you can is very important.
And once it’s stolen, it may be taken abroad. It could be stripped for parts, given a new identity and resold. So if you’re buying a new unit, it’s so important that you do your research into the history of it, especially if you’re buying in a private sale. Various things are done with them once they are stolen.
Matt Sims
But how are they being stolen, then? Because the key’s got an immobiliser in which is connected to the ECU, the electronic control unit. You can’t start it easily without the key. I know there’s been a spate of house break-ins where people have their homes broken into and the keys are taken so it can be driven away. Is that what they’re doing, or have they got more talent than that?
Jason Ware
You can actually buy a device that helps you steal a motorhome, believe it or not. So the majority of our thefts are stolen without keys. What a thief will do is they will hang around… Wait a minute – should we be telling our listeners this?
Matt Sims
Wait a minute – should we be telling our listeners this?
Jason Ware
Well, it’s not to scaremonger, but it’s an interesting fact that a lot of people want to keep the keys in a safe, somewhere really safe, and they don’t need to get into your house.
Now, the majority of the time to steal the unit, they will get into the motorhome or campervan and they will access what they call the onboard diagnostic port, the OBD port, and from that they have a way of replicating your key and making the van think that you have the key on you so they can start it and they can drive it away.
So that can be done within a very short space of time for people who know what they’re doing, obviously. And yes, they wake up in the morning and their campervan has gone. And you think, “But I’ve still got the keys!”
Trends in motorhome and caravan thefts
Matt Sims
And are there hotspots in the country where this is happening, so where motorhome theft is more common than others?
Jason Ware
There are, yes. You may live in a high risk area, but you probably live in a very nice area. But what they will do is the thieves will target where they believe them to be. They’ll drive around, whether that be in a storage yard or whether it be your home address, and they will target them. The main areas perhaps are around the motorway network.
So if we’re talking about the north of England, across the M62, down the M1, the M6, around the southeast, places like that. So if you’re in a more rural location, we generally find it is a lower risk. But if you are near the motorway network, it’s easy for them to get away, so it can be a high risk area.
Matt Sims
And are Fiat Ducatos or Ford Transits more common? Obviously they’re the mainstay of motorhome chassis, and by Ducato I include Peugeot and Citroen as well. Global Telemetrics let a press release out last week where they stated that the Fiat Ducato was more prone to theft than the Transit. Is that right?
Jason Ware
We do find that, but then again probably over 60% of our motorhomes and campervans that we insure are on a Fiat base. So by default, you are going to find that more get stolen. We had a problem a few years ago with a certain model of Transit that got stolen more often. But these days, if the thieves know what they’re doing, they could steal pretty much anything if they want it.
The Fiats are more common. We do find that, definitely. Less so with the VWs, for example. For whatever reason, we get very few of those stolen, but it can change really quickly. The thieves could decide one minute they like a certain type of motorhome if there’s the demand for that motorhome to sell on or whatever they do. And another time, it might well shift to a different base vehicle.
Matt Sims
And any thief is very interested in getting rid of it quickly, aren’t they, for the maximum amount of money. Now, you were giving me an insight earlier about thresholds of values which are most common place to be stolen. Tell me more.
Jason Ware
So we tend to find our experience is between about £30,000 and £60,000 market value tend to be the more common wants to be stolen, because of a couple of reasons, really. They will likely blend in. So if you have a row of motorhomes around that sort of value, then they can be more easily sold on. They’re not going to stand out in the crowd.
If you have a £100,000 A class, for example, it will be more difficult to sell that on. Whereas what they are selling on are the ones that are easy to do so with. Like anything, the lowest common denominator of what they can actually move on quickly.
Matt Sims
And we’re sat here at the Harrogate show in a 5th Wheel. We’re in a Celtic Rambler. It’s very nice, I have to say. And Dave, thank you for letting us come in and make ourselves comfy in here for this little conversation.
I guess something like this, a 5th Wheel, goes onto a hitch on the back of a pickup. So it’s a huge trailer. It’s more like an articulated trailer, isn’t it, for those who are listening and don’t know. I guess something like this is probably less common to be stolen.
Jason Ware
Exactly, and for the same reason. If you see one of these on the campsite, it gets a lot of interest, and it’s very difficult to sell on. The guys that 5th Wheel, they they know their owners. They know who buys them. They’ve got the chassis numbers of them all, etc.
Like I say, if you have something that’s quite unique in terms of a motorhome or campervan, then it’s probably less likely to be stolen because it can’t be sold on without someone actually realising that it’s something quite unique.
Should you leave your leisure vehicle at a storage site or driveway?
Matt Sims
So it would be great to talk about what we can do to stop this happening. And we’ll come to that in a moment. So stay tuned. But Jason, tell me – are motorhomes being stolen more so from storage sites or from people’s driveways? Which is more common?
Jason Ware
Again, our experience is probably around two thirds of customers keep their motorhome or campervan at home. And the remainder put it in some sort of storage. So if we look at storage first, there are obviously recognised sites out there, CaSSOA gold, silver, platinum and the bronze, which has recently changed. They’re great.
You have the accreditation, and so in effect, you know what you’re getting if you put it on a CaSSOA site because they have to comply with certain conditions. That doesn’t mean to say if you choose a different storage site that it’s not going to be up to standard.
What I would say, and I recently changed my storage site for my caravan – I phoned them up. And I went and I looked around. I looked around the whole site. I looked at the security, considered things like if there’s a break in the hedging or the fencing.
Can it be taken across fields, as happens quite a lot in a theft? Are the gates always locked? Does the owner live on site? Does it have CCTV? If it does, does it always work? Don’t make assumptions. Ask the storage site owner what security they have in place and if any of it, for whatever reason, stops working to notify you, because that can happen.
Matt Sims
Yes, of course. We have a storage site of our own. And we’ve got battery backups on all of our systems. So if the cameras fail, we get an alert because they text us to say there’s been a power cut.
And we get 48 hours, I think, before there’s a problem and the power fails completely. So our CCTV keeps on working. And that is really important, isn’t it? And if someone changes their storage location, you need to know, don’t you, as the insurer.
Jason Ware
That’s right. It’s a condition of our insurance. If you change your storage location, we do need to be informed as soon as you do with that. Again, it’s for your own protection, really. If you move it from secure storage to maybe the road outside your house for some reason, or a less secure storage area, then we may not accept that as a storage location and should the worst happen, there’s a chance you wouldn’t be covered. And obviously no-one wants that.
So give us a call straight away or whoever you may be insured with. Let them know any changes to your circumstances. Let them know so that in the event of a claim, you’re going to ensure that you’re fully covered.
Matt Sims
What about, though, if I’m taking a motorhome to a motorhome dealer for some repairs, and it’s going to be there for a month. Do you need to know then?
Jason Ware
No, we automatically cover the unit when it’s in for repairs or servicing or anything like that. We cover it automatically at a recognised dealership.
Matt Sims
Thanks, Jason. That’s great.
What security products can I fit my vehicle out with to prevent theft?
Matt Sims
So Liz, we’re going to come to you. I want to ask you a little bit about what people can do and the benefits they have as an insurer from your perspective of different types of security measures. If I’m putting on my drive, what do you advise people to do to try and prevent a theft?
Liz Harrison
Well, as Jason said, it’s about fitting as much security as possible. So there are a range of devices out there. One practical tip, though, when parking any drive, is to actually park the motorhome in nose first. Then that can avoid it being towed off your drive from the front of the motorhome.
But then it’s fitting things like steering wheel locks, physical security devices, which I know might seem a bit strange, but it’s anything that can really slow a thief down or might just make them think twice and maybe move on. So things that are very visible and physical. Steering wheel locks, wheel clamps – we also know of owners who will turn around the driver cab seat and then face it into the habitation area and lock that with a padlock or a chain.
There are things like pedal locks or clutch claws. There are locks for your gear stick. There are also things like removable steering wheels. So there is a range of products out there and what we would say is that you always look for a Sold Secure standard product. There are different ratings for gold and they’ve been tested for their resistance to attack. So we would always recommend Sold Secure products.
Matt Sims
And Sold Secure is a label, isn’t it, that gets stamped on the product or on the box to show you that it’s insurance recognised.
Liz Harrison
They tend to be Gold Automotive for motorhome products. Some wheel clamps might be caravan rated as well. So look for those Sold Secure markings on the products. Then there’s a range of electronic security devices, so most motorhomes will obviously come with an immobiliser, but then you can get Cat 1 alarm and also then tracking devices.
So we would always go for Thatcham approved tracking devices. You’ve got S7 and S5. S5 is the better product because they’re proactive tracking devices and they come with things like ID tags so that you know if they have bypassed the keys or they’ve not got the keys. There some now tracking devices now for which you need an ID tag, which might be in the form of a fob or it might be a credit card type of thing. So if it hasn’t got that tag in the cab, then it won’t start.
Matt Sims
You can also disable the starter motor, can’t you? I mentioned Global Telemetrics earlier and their press release. They have a product where you can remotely disable the starter motor. So without the key it won’t start at all and even with the key it won’t start.
Liz Harrison
It’s really important to look for those Thatcham approvals when you’re picking your tracking devices. For us to ensure motorhomes over a certain value, we will actually ask for a tracking device and or a Cat 1 alarm. So when you are insuring your motorhome, you need to speak to your insurer about what those requirements might be.
Matt Sims
Now, that value has gone up, hasn’t it? So what’s the threshold now from Caravan Guard? Do you need a tracker?
Liz Harrison
Any motorhome over £65,000 would need a tracking device, a Thatcham approved tracking device. So yeah, that’s recognising obviously that motorhomes have gone up in value. And talking about that, it’s really important that you do set your correct sums insured when you are insuring your motorhome, especially if you are insuring new for old so that in the event of a theft you know that you are covered for its correct value.
Matt Sims
Yes, of course.
Can I receive insurance benefits for protecting my leisure vehicle?
Matt Sims
Now, this is all good stuff. But it all costs money. Wheel clamps, steering locks, bike chains, disk locks to stop my seat being spun around. What’s the benefit of having all of this? Am I going to save that cost in my premium? Is it going to make a difference?
Liz Harrison
Yes, the good thing is that we do because we do reward those security conscious motorhome owners. So if you are going to fit the electronic security devices, you can get up to 25% off your premium. And then we’ve recently introduced some discounts for those physical security products, so you will get 5% discount for things like steering wheel locks.
We recognise that you are going to have that initial outlay for those security products, but you’ve got to remember you’ve spent a lot of money on the motorhome itself. So I think it pays to protect that investment with those security devices. But we will reward those security conscious owners with some attractive discounts.
What insurance conditions are there for motorhome or caravan theft?
Matt Sims
Now, many owners will apply all this security when it’s parked at home on the drive or in storage. But we’re here at the Harrogate show. Our motorhome is in the camping site here with all the other traders. I will confess, all I’ve done is locked it. And we’ve come to work, where we’re exhibiting. There’s no security on it at all. Where do I stand with insurance in that scenario?
Jason Ware
If it’s a requirement of the insurance to have a steering wheel lock, a tracker, whatever it might be, then that should be on all the time that you’re not around the motorhome, basically. So if you’re leaving it, then you should apply all the security.
If it’s something that isn’t a requirement but you’ve chosen to fit that security, then it doesn’t need to be on there. Somewhere like the show, for example. They couldn’t just drive away with it. You’re in a secure place. So nothing should happen here, hopefully!
Matt Sims
No, there’s no way they’re getting it out. We’re blocked in!
Jason Ware
Yes, but if we say you need that security, then it needs to be on whenever you’re not with that motorhome, whenever it’s parked up or stored just to be on the safe side. Because it’s less often, but we do get campervans and motorhomes stolen when people have gone into town, maybe, and had a meal and they come back and it’s gone.
Matt Sims
So the really important thing is that you understand that in the schedule of insurance for the insured what the terms are that have been imposed by the insurer, in terms when you’re away from that vehicle, what security has to be on it.
Jason Ware
That’s right, yes. And we tell all our customers that what they need to do, whether that be in our help text online or whether it be in our contact centre, we always make sure they are fully aware because thefts do happen. And that’s what the insurance is there for, to pay out in the event of a theft, but you just need to comply with the terms and conditions.
Matt Sims
So no doubt that there are some conditions that you would apply to how a motorhome is stored and what security then is fitted to it. But Liz, we were talking earlier about gates, locked gates, CCTV, drop posts and so on. Are they often a condition that you impose?
Liz Harrison
They can be, yes, depending on the value of the motorhome and where it has been stored. So at home, it’s always a good idea anyway again to have as much security as possible. Get the best quality gate posts that you can get, or like you say, the drop posts that will sit behind or in front of your motorhome.
Also, if you’re saying that you’re storing your motorhome in front or behind locked gates, then they’ve got to be locked 24/7. So it’s not acceptable to leave them open overnight or while you’re out at work during the day, maybe. So if you’re going to have lock gates, and you’ve got those stipulated on your insurance policy, they do need to be locked at all times.
Matt Sims
And also in storage, the batteries can go flat, can’t they, which means the tracker actually stops working, especially on a caravan.
Liz Harrison
If you do store your motorhome in a storage location and it’s away from home, we would recommend you do check up on it regularly, particularly in the winter months, because you know, batteries don’t like winter. And you don’t want the battery to go flat.
There are some tracking devices now where you’ve got an app, and they will give you an alert when your battery levels do go low. So that’s something to consider when you are choosing your tracking device. It’s really important, particularly in the winter months, to check on those battery levels, because you need to make sure those devices are always working. Same goes for the alarm as well.
Matt Sims
Absolutely. And tracking devices are a minefield. We have a future episode planned on exactly this and the benefits and merits of each one and why you should consider them.
Ron: “Is my motorhome insured if I leave the vehicles inside?”
Matt Sims
We have had a question. It was from a chap called Ron. We don’t know where he was. And I realise I haven’t primed you on this, so you might want to take a moment to prepare the answer. But he said, “Is my motorhome insured if I’ve left the keys in it and it’s stolen?”
Jason Ware
It’s a general condition that you need to take reasonable steps to look after your property. And what we would say is, if you leave your keys in the motorhome and it’s unattended and it gets stolen, then that isn’t something, unfortunately, we would cover. We have found that some people keep a spare key in the motorhome.
Again, we wouldn’t recommend that at all because someone could break in and just be perhaps looking at stealing some things in the motorhome. They find the spare key and then they steal the whole unit. So no, if you’re leaving the motorhome, even if you’re at a petrol station or whatever it might be…
Matt Sims
I was going to say, what if I’m just going to pay for my fuel and I’ve forgotten? I’ve just left the keys on the seat or in the ignition. If someone jumps in and drives off, that’s it – not insured?
Jason Ware
Unfortunately, yes. It’d be the same for any car insurance policy. If you go to fill up at the petrol station and you go in and pay, you take the key with you. You lock the unit. It’s just looking after your property.
Matt Sims
People need to be very vigilant, don’t they, and be very mindful of what they’re doing and how they’re looking after the asset. That’s the key, isn’t it?
Jason Ware
Yes, we’ve spoken quite a lot about units getting stolen and how they’re stolen. They don’t even need the keys. But we don’t want to scaremonger. It is still a very small minority of motorhomes that get stolen, but the best you can do to protect your motorhome or campervan and have that security on it is to pay a bit extra for better quality security. Then you’re really minimising the chance of anything happening to it.
Matt Sims
Well, some great advice in there and some top tips as well. Things I hadn’t considered like parking nose in on your driveway at home. That makes it much harder to nick.
Keith Gooden
I’ve got a neighbour about four or five doors down from me. He’s got a big motorhome. It really is very impressive. And he had his drive resurfaced last year, and a motorhome suddenly appeared. And he puts a wheel lock on all four wheels. And then he’s parked a car in front of it. So clearly, he’s worried about losing it to somebody.
Matt Sims
Where do you live? Are you in a crime hotspot?
Keith Gooden
I didn’t think so!
Matt Sims
Four wheel clamps and a parked car. Blimey. That’s going for it. I bet his insurer gives him a discount. But I thought Liz’s advice about parking nose into the house and having a steering wheel on full lock is brilliant. Really easy things to do to help prevent the theft of your motorhome.
Keith Gooden
And the question is, of course, if you do upgrade the security, the locks or whatever, does that usually attract a discount from insurers?
Matt Sims
As they say yes, often it will. I mean, these things all cost money, don’t they? And it will attract a discount. It makes you more insurable. That’s the first thing. Because if you’ve got an £80,000, or even as Jason was saying, a £40,000 motorhome, so within the thresholds of the most commonly stolen, if you’ve got no security on it, then the insurance company may not have an appetite to insure you at all.
Or they might give you a very extortionate premium of thousands of pounds. So fitting security reduces the premium, undoubtedly. Yes, it has a cost, but it’s about protecting your asset, isn’t it, and keeping hold of it. I mean, you’ve bought it to enjoy it. So don’t resent buying the security. It has to be part of the considered purchase and the budgeting that you need to do.
Keith Gooden
Yes, because it’s nonstop hassle if something gets stolen and all the paperwork and then waiting and replacing… Jason was saying there, wasn’t her, we mustn’t scare people. But, I mean, what else costs that much money that you leave outside?
Matt Sims
Well, yes, quite. Exactly. And it’s a big investment. To leave it unattended and not looked after and not secured would be daft. Jason came up with some great advice. In a previous episode, we were talking to them about insurance, of course, and he was saying about keeping the receipts for all the stuff you buy that goes inside. What a great idea.
Caravan Guard will offer a cover for the content that you put in the motorhome. So when you buy the motorhome and it’s empty, you then go off and buy tables, chairs, a hook up cable and all these accessories that go on it. Solar panels, a lithium battery, perhaps – it all has a significant cost.
And this is all insured, but you have to provide the evidence that you bought it. So keep the receipts. I mean, how often do we go out and buy stuff and we just bin the receipt, don’t we? But actually keeping it, maybe taking a photo of it, building a file and just saving it – if in the event something’s stolen, all that stuff potentially is insured. So I thought that was a top tip.
Keith Gooden
Good tip. So that’s the latest for your motorhome and caravan security. Of course, if you’ve got any other questions, then you should get in touch with the Motorhome Matt podcast. How should people do that?
Matt Sims
Easily. Just go to www.motorhomematt.co.uk/askmatt. Hit the orange button and record your question. Tell us where you are in the country. We’d love to know. Or you can fill in a form if you’d rather not hear your own voice on the podcast, and you can submit it that way there as well.
Audience Q&A
David – “Is a motorhome or a campervan going to save me more stress?”
Keith Gooden
It’s the Motorhome Matt podcast. I’m Keith Gooden.
Matt Sims
And I’m Motorhome Matt.
Keith Gooden
And we’re delving now into our audience Q&A brought to you with www.thatleisureshop.com. David is in Kent. He says, “Hi, I’m on the verge of buying my first motorhome/van for full-time living with my wife. Do you think a seven and a half metre motorhome with good living space and an island bed would be more stressful than a campervan which can be parked more easily for wild camping? We don’t intend to use campsites very often. Thanks,” says David. Advice?
Matt Sims
I’m assuming the stress is going to come from the worry of parking it and where he’s going to put it. I mean, potentially no. If you’re in a big open space with the landowner’s permission where you’re going to park up – check out our episode on trespass – then you’re going to have plenty of room. Manoeuvring it is going to be harder for sure.
But I’ll tell you what David should do go – and check out Darren the Urban Motorhome. He’s just taken delivery of a tag axle, probably eight metre long, almost, motorhome, and he lives in it full-time. And he’s parking up in all sorts of places, often in urban neighbourhoods. And I would go and check out Darren and follow him and his journey.
Neil – “We’re still a way off fully electric leisure vehicles.”
Keith Gooden
Neil’s in Swansea. “Listening to your podcast on the different types of motorhomes, you highlighted a number of anxieties regarding electric vehicles. I have lived with one for the last two to three years,” he says, and he loves it. “I’m going to a motor show with a view to purchasing a motor caravan and can’t wait.
It is too early for EVs to be efficient in these areas. But there’s a significant investment in items such as solid-state batteries, which would increase capacity, charge time and reduce weight. I’m looking to keep my current vehicle until we get to ranges of 450 plus miles. Great channel, by the way.” 450 plus miles – I mean, even with the good stuff that you’ve seen at the shows recently, that’s a stretch, isn’t it?
Matt Sims
That’s a long way, yes. Thank you for your message, Neil. You’re right, this is a huge topic. We are going to be delving into this. We’ve kind of lifted the lid on it, the topic around electric motorhomes and campervans, and it’s a real mixed bag. We spoke at length to Gary from CampervanCo at the NEC show in February, and they were launching a 100% electric campervan. An absolutely brilliant product. The key threshold for them was a 200-mile range. And then they went live with it.
And they’ve been researching and creating hybrid and now all electric campervans for years, for quite some time. So they’re definitely one to watch. I think the issue, though, starts with commercial vehicles. And until we get vans that have a reasonable range, then come motorhomes, and that’s a year or three after we’ve got vans.
The problem, and I’ll lift the lid on it now, we have mentioned this before – the government ruling is that by 2030 all vehicles sold new are a minimum of hybrid, so will be able to go a certain distance on no fossil fuel, which is deemed and accepted to be about 80 miles, I’m told.
And then in 2035, all new sold vehicles must be zero fossil fuel. They must be 100% electric, and electric is the route we’re kind of being guided down. I use that word very carefully. But that’s the route we’re being steered toward by our government, all electric.
So as a result, the van manufacturers are thinking, “Well, what’s the point of making a hybrid van? We’re only gonna be able to sell it for five years.” And so they’re not. So all the investment is into electric vans. The eSprinter has been launched and last year managed to do a fairly significant trip of hundreds of miles on a single charge. That’s a great sign. But what payload did it have? I don’t know.
I mean, I’m still waiting to find out some more detail. So this is a massive topic. And we interviewed Edmund King, the president of the AA, as we mentioned earlier. And we talked with him about electric motorhomes and his view, and they’re still in a pickle about what they’re going to run their own fleet of recovery vehicles on. Is it electric? Is it hydrogen? Is it synthetic fuel? And they don’t know.
And so there are so many questions. There’s so few answers, I think, on this topic. And of course, the other side of this is the infrastructure. You know, how do you go and charge? Lots of people are having challenges with recharging their electric car. I don’t know what your experience has been, Neil, but it’s a massive topic. And yes, I think the ability to travel in an electric motorhome for any great distance feels to me like it’s a deadline beyond 2030.
Keith Gooden
By 2035 you said everything’s got to be all electric, everything sold new.
Matt Sims
Everything new. So of course, the great impact for this, if you’re a diesel motorhome owner, what’s going to happen to the value? It’s going go up because you can’t buy a new one at that point. And at the moment, it’s hard to buy a new one because of supply chain issues and used values have shott up. Well, I think that’s going to happen again.
Keith Gooden
Right. And, of course, a lot can happen in 12 years. That’s what we’re talking about. But we have to think about that not only have bigger batteries got to be invented. They’ve got to be mass produced and then they’ve got to be designed for vehicles. 12 years isn’t a long time at all, is it?
Matt Sims
Not really, no. And then there’s the infrastructure side of it as well. So we’ve got conversations lined up, and some happening with a number of EV experts. And it really is a niche within the motor trade, I have to say, and there are some big players in the market who’ve got some real insights. We’re having conversations with them and hoping to get them on the podcast, and also people like National Grid. So they’re a big part of this development and the future of this.
That’s all well and good, but what about a campsite on the peripherals of the UK? How do they offer electric charging? The Sun ran a story, a proper clickbait story, classic Sun. ‘Staycationers are warned campsites may not be able to host them this summer.’ And the real story was that for campsitegoers with an electric car and caravan, some campsites can’t offer a car recharge facility. There’s no recharge point, and therefore they can’t go to that campsite.
So it was a bit of a tenuous link, really, from The Sun. But it’s true. Most campsites don’t have the electric capability to offer a car recharging service. So we’re talking to campsites about this as well, because this is going to have a big impact on campsites and how they supply and charge for electricity. So a big topic. Thanks for raising it, Neil.
Keith Gooden
Thanks, Neil in Swansea and David in Kent. Thanks very much.
Get in touch with Matt and Keith
Keith Gooden
How do people get in touch then, Matt?
Matt Sims
Very easily. Just head to the website, www.motorhomematt.co.uk/askmatt, where you can ask a question. You can record it. Please tell us where you are – we’d love to know that. Or you can submit it via a form.
On the website, you will also find where to find us on Facebook and Instagram and we’re on YouTube as well as Motorhome Matt. Whilst you’re there, make sure you click subscribe and hit the bell. And if you are listening on Apple or Spotify, please would you leave us a review? A five star one would be lovely. It really helps populate the world with the podcast and spread the word and makes Keith and me feel really, really fuzzy.
