Eligibility & Documentation

Towers must be over 21 and under 70 years of age.

Towers must have held a full driving licence for at least one year. (link to more information about Licences)

Salisbury Caravans Ltd. must be made aware of the identity of all potential towers and a current and valid driving licence for each potential tower must be produced upon collection of caravan.

Photo card licences must be accompanied by the counterpart paper licence.

The following documentation must be provided at the time of collection:

Current & Valid Driving Licence

Insurance Certificate for Towing Vehicle

Number Plate Documentation (link to more information about number plates)

Payments

Debit / Credit cards accepted. All prices include VAT.

Deposit charge of £150 per caravan required on reservation. This deposit is held as a damage deposit for the period of the hire and is refundable at the end of the hire period – subject to inspection of caravan.

Caravan to be returned clean and tidy and undamaged.

Refund of deposit is paid after cleaning and inspection, normally by the same method as payment was originally taken.

Full payment is required 28 days prior to the commencement of the hire period.

We reserve the right to cancel the booking in the event that payment is not made when due.

An extra charge of £25 will be made for the emptying and cleaning of unemptied toilets.

Strictly No Smoking in caravans. NB. An extra charge for cleaning will be levied for infringement of this condition.

Hire Period

Hire periods of less than 1 week will be charged pro rata plus 20%
Caravans will be ready for collection at 12.00 on day hire commences.
Caravans must be returned by 12.00 on day hire finishes.
Arrangements for earlier collections will depend on availability.

Hire caravans are collected from and returned to our premises at:

Castlegate Business Park

Old Sarum

Salisbury

Wilts

SP4 6QX

Cancellations

Cancellations up to 28 days before hire period commences – No refund of £150 deposit

Cancellations after 28 days before hire period commences – Full payment of hire charge will be required.

Insurance

The Hirer is responsible for the excess charge of £300 for any loss or damage to the caravan or any of the equipment included in the hire price. If the cost of repair is greater than the damage deposit of £150, then any additional repair costs, up to the insurance excess of £300 will be the responsibility of the Hirer.

The Hirer’s personal property is not included in our insurance cover.

It is the Hirer’s responsibility to inform their own insurance company that they intend to use their vehicle for towing a caravan. In law, the third party risk in respect of the caravan must be covered by the insurance company of the towing vehicle.

A current Certificate of Insurance for the towing vehicle must be produced at the time of collection.

Rear Number Plates

The hire caravan will require a rear number plate to match the towing vehicle and these are provided free of charge. To meet legal requirements, Hirers will need to produce certain documents in order for us to provide a number plate (link to more information about number plates). Failure to produce these documents at the time of collection will result in us not being able to supply a number plate.

Equipment

All of our caravans are inspected and checked to ensure that they are satisfactory for the purpose of hire.

Any faults should be reported to us immediately the fault becomes apparent.

Salisbury Caravans will not accept liability for any unauthorised repairs carried out by third parties.

We reserve the right to make variations to our rates and conditions up to acceptance of booking by Hirer.

Limitations & Liabilities

The Hirer must not exceed the legal speed limit whilst towing the caravan or allow others to do so.

The Hirer must not allow persons unauthorised by Salisbury Caravans Ltd to tow the caravan.

The Hirer must not lend or hire the caravan to a third party.

The Hirer must not allow a lien to be created on the caravan for any reason.

Licenses

Hirers will need to produce Driving Licences for themselves and any other persons who will be towing the hire caravan. Photo card licences must be accompanied by the counterpart paper licence.

International Licenses

A full International Licence is usually acceptable for towing caravans. If you are unsure please contact your licence issuing authority.

Full UK licenses held before 1 January 1997

All drivers who passed a car test before 1 January 1997 retain their existing entitlement to tow caravans until their licence expires. This means they are generally entitled to drive a vehicle and caravan combination up to 8.25 tonnes MAM.

Full UK licenses first obtained since 1 January 1997

Drivers can tow one of our caravans under the category B entitlement of their licence as long as the Maximum Authorised Mass (MAM) of the caravan does not exceed the unladen weight of the towing vehicle AND the combined weight of the towing vehicle and caravan does not exceed 3.5 tonnes MAM.
To tow a caravan with a larger vehicle, i.e. a 4 x 4 with a MAM of 2600kg, you would need to pass an additional driving test in order to gain the B+E category.

More details regarding UK licences are available from the DVLA website at www.dvla.gov.uk

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Rear Number Plates

The hire caravan will require a rear number plate matching the number plate of the towing vehicle. We will supply these free of charge, although some Hirers may supply their own.

Legislation introduced by the Department of Transport in 2003 requires all number plate suppliers to be registered with DVLA and to keep full details of all number plates issued.

Failure to meet these criteria is now a criminal offence.

If you require us to provide you with a number plate for your hire caravan then the following documentation must be provided when the caravan is collected.

Failure to supply these documents will result in our being unable, by law, to supply a number plate and you being unable to tow the caravan.

Documents required: One from each group

Proof of Identity

Current Driving Licence  (preferred)

Recent Utility Bill

Bank or Building Society statement

Passport

Foreign Identity Card (Government issued)

Debit or Credit Card

Police Warrant Card

UK Armed Forces Identity Card

Proof of Entitlement

Vehicle Registration Certificate V5C (preferred)

The tear off slip V5C/2 (section 10) from the V5C

Vehicle Licence Renewal V11

Certificate of Entitlement to a Mark V750

Cherished Transfer Retention Document V778

Temporary Registration Certificate V379

Authorisation Certificate V948

A letter of authorisation from a fleet operator(including a lease/hire company) on company headed paper with contact details stating that the company holds the V5C and quotingthe document reference number.

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Towing Mirrors

Towing mirrors are required by law to be fitted to all towing vehicles whilst towing a caravan. We have a wide range of mirrors available in our accessories shop to fit all modern makes and models at reasonable prices.

Stabilisers and Towballs

All our caravans are fitted with a stabiliser hitch head. These are designed to clamp onto the towball on the tow vehicle and dampen any excess movement of the caravan. If your vehicle has a ‘Swan-neck’ style or detachable style towball then there is usually no adjustments necessary. If it has a standard bolt on style towball then this will need to be replaced with an AL-KO extended neck towball. We can supply and fit these towballs if required. Please contact us for prices.

Tow vehicles

One of the main factors to consider when towing a caravan is the weights of the vehicles. It is generally accepted and recommended that the maximum laden weight of the caravan should not exceed 85% of the kerbweight of the tow car.

Some other factors contributing to the safety of your car/caravan combination are weight distribution in the caravan, engine size, and the type of tow bar.

Please check with us to ensure your vehicle has the capability to tow one of our caravans. Leaving it until the day of collection can lead to disappointment if your car is not up to the job.

For safety reasons we cannot allow our caravans to leave the site if the tow vehicle is not suitable.

If you are unsure about towing please check our Static Hire section where we can deliver and collect the caravan for you so you don’t have to tow!

Always happy to help.