loire storage

[jacknife]

just discovered this site, looks good, but the reason i,m here is to see if anyone can recommmend a caravan site with storage around Saumer in the loire valley france, thanks in advance..

[LoisEdwards]

Hi

I quess this is too late but Camping Caravaning la Vallee des Vignes near Saumur does caravan storage. See site no Fr49070 in AR
Cheers

[LoisEdwards]

Further to discussion about this issue I’ve had a chance to talk to caravan journalist Mike Cazalet who has made the following points.

1. If a caravan has been in France for more than six months it is considered to have been imported and must therefore be registered just as French caravanners have to register their caravans. In France, unlike the UK, a caravan has a unique registration number and plate like a car.

In theory registration isn’t difficult. The owner gets a certificate of conformity from the caravan manufacturer and presents the certificate and the caravan to the French authorities who then register the caravan. However some manufacturers (Avondale and Fleetwood spring to mind) have gone out of business so the caravanner can’t get a certificate. I’m told, but can’t confirm, that caravans made by Lunar before the change of Lunar ownership can’t be issued with certificates by Lunar’s new owners.

Older caravans may not have been made to comply with the Certificate of Conformity standard.

In some parts of France the authorities aren’t that worried about certificates, merely examining caravans to make sure they complied with French law, but it may just be the inspector’s own idea of what French Law says. For example one caravanner was told that his caravan couldn’t be French registered because the entry door was on the wrong side.

Even if it is possible to get a UK market caravan registered in France almost certainly the French authorities will require the registered owner to have a permanent French address.

One thing is for certain, in generally the French authorities are unsure of how to handle this registration process and the requirements of the inspectors seems to vary enormously across France.

If you do succeed in getting a British caravan registered in France your real problems start when the police stop a British registered car towing a French registered caravan. I’ve been stopped by both the French and British police whilst towing a French registered caravan. We old journalists leaned at a very young age that bul***** baffles brains. Both the French and British police hadn’t got the slightest idea what the legal position was, but since I was a specialist caravan journalist and seemed to know what I was talking about the best thing they could do was let me get on doing it.

2. If you’ve got a caravan subject to a UK warranty storing it in France might be a costly move. All current new caravan warrantees require the caravan to have an annual service and inspection to keep the warrantee valid. No inspection, no warrantee. As far as I know no UK caravan manufacturer authorises any French dealer to conduct the service and inspection although there is a rumour that one UK manufacturer is looking seriously at appointing two or three French dealers to do service, inspection and warrantee work.

Perhaps i can explain that point with an example people might recognise. Two years ago there was a spate of blocked Truma gas regulators. If the regulator blocked in the UK the caravanner took his caravan to the dealer and the dealer changed he regulator and sent the bill to Truma. In France, and other EU countries, the regulators were mounted in a different position and didn’t suffer the same blocking problem. If the caravanner could get a suitable replacement whilst on holiday – and that seems to have been a problem – he could fit it. However on returning home he was told (quite legally) that he culdn’t reclaim the cost of the replaced regulator.

Many caravanners question the value of the annual inspection. The theory behind this is that if, for example, a water leak in to a side panel develops it shouldn’t be more than a few months into the period between inspections. If an inspection is missed it may be a year of water leaking before the problem is spotted. A recent water leak is usually easily fixed by resealing and drying out. After a year of water leak you would reasonably expect to see damage to structural timbers which means a rebuild of the sidewall or possibly a complete new sidewall. And that would cost up to £1000.

3. Insurance for caravans stored abroad could be a major problem. Most car insurance policies cover the caravan against any damage it might do to other people or their property whilst being towed. However once the caravan is detached from the car – either because it is being used on site or is in storage – it is uninsured. That is why we always strongly advise caravanners to have a separate insurance policy for their caravan. And, of course, if the caravan is stolen you’ll be thankful you were well insured. Unlike the UK caravan theft is an increasing problem on the mainland.

The problem is that a piece of EU legislation allowing UK insurers to insure property stored abroad, was blocked by the UK Government. Similarly French insurers can’t insure a caravan stored in the UK. Fairly obviously if a UK insurer covered a caravan stored in France the cost of sending a bi-lingual assessor to France to inspect accident damage would be prohibitive.

French insurers say that they can only provide cover for UK owned caravans stored in France if the owner has a permanent French address. However I have heard rumours that some British caravanners have persuaded French insurers to sell them cover. How valid that insurance may be without the owner having a French address remains to be seen.

4. The final issue which needs to be considered is that of servicing. I get the impression that French caravan mechanics generally do a good job at a reasonable price. However it seems that French mechanics often don’t do a damp test unless requested.

The majority of spare parts that might be required during a service are readily available in France, but only when they are already used on French market caravans. So, for example, the use once hub nuts used on Al-Ko chassis are also used in France. However the French don’t usually fit ovens so if a fault – especially a safety fault – occurs in an oven whilst the caravan is being serviced in France the British owner might have the difficult job of sourcing the required part in the UK and sending it to France.


I would recommend that those thinking of storing their caravans in France think long and hard about the implications before doing so.


Mike Cazalet

Interesting? Lois

[Robin P]

i was interested in the comments about storing and insuring caravans in France. I come from Jersey in the Channel Islands and it is common practice for the members of our local caravan club to store their vans in France. These are mainly english bought vans rather than continental. The French customs are only concerned that the vans have had the VAT paid so that they can remain in France for more than 6 months per annum.
To get the vans insured it is cheaper to use a French company than an English one. In Dinan there is a company which has an English speaking office which insures most of our members vans.
As far as servicing new vans under warrenty goes some bailey van owners have come to an arrangement with the English dealer they bought the vans from to recognise the annual servicing carried out by a French dealer. as long as the French company carries out the service in accordance to the Bailey agents checklist.
I hope this helps
Robin P