What Makes a Good Caravan Storage Site?
Caravan's 12-Point checklist for good caravan storage
As there are many sites around the UK, you may be thinking; ‘surely they’re all the same?’ Or ‘what are the differences between a good site and an average site?’ Caravan visited Border Caravan Storage, in Lincolnshire, a CaSSOA Gold-standard site, to see what features make the difference to its security set up.
If you are about to visit a site with a view to storing your caravan there, take along our 12-point checklist and tick off these features for extra peace of mind.
1 Location
Proximity to your home is not the only aspect of the site’s location you should consider. The best sites are situated discretely ‘out of the way’, avoiding main roads and other locations with significant passing traffic or pedestrians.
This way, chances are, the average scumbag won’t know the storage facility is even there. Parking £100,000s of caravans and motorhomes next to a busy road may be asking for trouble.
2 Secure fencing
Shabby wooden or wire fencing is something you would not want to see around a caravan storage site. Tall (2.4m high), metal palisade fencing is the preferred option and will deter and prevent wrongdoers from attempting to damage or steal your caravan.
3 No trees surrounding the fence
Walk around the perimeter fence and look out for tall trees overhanging the boundary. Ideally, there will be none, as thieves can use them to climb over any fencing. The lack of this opportunistic vantage point will be another variable to put off potential theft.
4 Space between the fence and the stored caravans
Caravans backed right up to the fence should set alarm bells ringing. This practice will obscure CCTV, offering thieves an opportunity to hop over the fence and target your caravan out of sight.
A good storage site will have a perimeter track to keep extra distance between the fence and its pitches. At Border Storage it's six metres.
5 Fire-prevention equipment
Not all risks come from thieves and vandals. Sometimes accidents will happen. If a fire occurs, there should be easily accessible equipment not only to raise the alarm, but to combat the fire as well. Hand-cranked alarm bells, and multiple fire extinguishers are what you want to see throughout a storage site.
6 Motion-activated lighting
Obviously good lighting goes without saying, but leaving floodlights on all the time is actually not the answer. People don’t notice when a light is left on permanently, but if the lights are off and then activated by motion, the site owners know straight away that something is amiss and can investigate any disturbance. It is also more likely to scare off thieves.
7 High-definition CCTV
Enhanced CCTV serves two purposes - one proactive and one reactive. Firstly, it allows the site owners to monitor the facility to make sure all is well. Secondly, if the worst happens, good CCTV will provide the police with clear and crisp imagery of the offenders, and will also be compelling evidence to insurance companies should you need to make claim.
8 Electronic tag system
Rather than relying on a hand-written system of who is booked in/out, an electronic tag system keeps records instantly updated. This enables the site owners to keep track of activity; when a certain person entered or left a site and how many caravans are currently on-site at any one time.
9 Set spacing requirements
Keeping a safe distance between pitches serves multiple purposes. Firstly, it enables you to get the caravan in and out with ease, rather than spending your precious holiday time slowly manoeuvring it out at awkward angles.
The chances of a collision occurring is minimised. Secondly, correct spacing helps in case a fire starts as it will reduce the risk of it spreading to neighbouring caravans.
10 Air-lock gates
While a robust entrance gate is a must, air-lock gates is far more desirable. This is how it should work; the caravan enters via the first gate, which should close before the second gate is opened. This creates a 'sterile', secure space between the outside of the storage site and the interior where caravans are pitched up.
11 Staff on-site
Having CCTV installed, but no staff around to watch it, is counter-productive. When you visit a storage site, enquire whether the owners, or security personnel, are permanently on site. This is especially important after dark, when most theft and damage occurs.
12 Links to police stations
Should the worst happen, check the storage site has a direct link to the local police station. This enables the officers to respond more quickly, increasing the chances of recovering your caravan should it be taken from the storage facility.
