Guidance for keeping the van safe during each booking

Keep your trip incident free

At Camplify, we are committed to supporting our van owners and hirers throughout each booking. With thousands of completed bookings across four countries and over six years of experience, we know how to keep our customers and their vans safe. Unfortunately, accidents can happen, but over two-thirds of our damage claims come from incidents that can be avoided by owners and hirers taking time to share and learn more about the specifics of their holiday van.

We have put together the following guide for our community, offering advice and easy steps to avoid some of the most common mistakes. We also detail the process for safely managing any damage or accidents that may occur to help holidaymakers get back on the road again.

Guidance to minimise damage

If this is your first getaway in a camper, motorhome or caravan, you may want to familiarise yourself with some of the things that could go wrong, and how to avoid them.

Fortunately, you’re in good hands, with our local owners ready to give you a full handover before you set off, and our Customer Support team on hand to support you every step of the way. Our office is open 7 days a week during peak season. Please call 0330 808 1811 for assistance.

Handover is crucial

We understand that once you’re all packed, you may be in a bit of a hurry to get on your way! However, it’s REALLY important to ensure you dedicate time to a full handover with the van owner - Camplify recommends at least one hour.

Go over everything in detail from how to hitch up, open windows, put up awnings and pop-tops to locking up and packing everything away. Don’t be afraid to ask the owner to demonstrate things more than once if you’re unsure. We recommend attempting some of these tasks in front of the owner so you can ask questions along the way. Don't forget to take your own photos of the interior and exterior of the van before you take off and please note you will get a copy of the pre-hire checklist the owner submits to Camplify via email. It’s important you take a look and make sure you are happy with the information on it. If not, please raise it with the owner and inform Camplify as well.

We want to address the most common and avoidable types of damage that can happen during a booking:

1. Interior Damages

2. Wing Mirrors

3. Tyres/Alloys

4. Damage/collisions when parking and moving the RV

5. Awnings

6. Water Pump Damages

Interior Damages

Treat the van with care during your getaway, while the van is moving, and while you’re parked up. The interior of an RV is often more delicate and custom-built than that of a normal households and as such is more prone to damage. These are the easiest incidents to avoid:

• Curtains & Blinds: Make sure to take care when opening and closing curtains and blinds as the clips can break easily.  Often these are custom sizes and costly to replace.  If you are unsure or you have never operated RV blinds and clippings, ask the owner to demonstrate during the handover. Please never force them open or close.

• Dents in Tabletops/Worktops: If this is your first trip in a van, ask the owner for some tips around storing items in the cupboards and around the van. Take care when placing items in upper cabinets so that they don't fall out when the van is moving. Be cautious when opening upper cabinets for the same reason, some stuff may have moved during the drive. Falling items can cause dents and cracks in the dinette area. 

• Fridges/freezers: Be gentle and careful around the fridge & freezer particularly when you are moving your luggage or moving around in the van. Whether it is the locks on the fridge/freezer, drawers in the interior, or scratches and dents on the door, individual pieces are not easy to come so it may end up being a larger replacement than expected and a much higher cost to you.

• Doors and locks: Be mindful of all doors in the van! Locks and doors are very expensive to replace, and damage to these items is unlikely to be considered wear and tear. Never force locks, especially on older vans. If something doesn't feel right contact the owner. Sometimes it's just a matter of knowing the right trick. Take care when moving around the van with luggage or sports equipment to avoid dents. Be careful also when hanging stuff on doors, hinges are not meant to carry lots of weight.

Wing Mirrors

One of the most common items that get damaged during a hire! Remember, RV wing mirrors generally extend 2-3 times further from the van than a normal car.  When driving down narrow country lanes or past oncoming traffic, exercise caution! It’s very common for mirrors to get hit by oncoming traffic if driving too close to the centre of the road. Always tuck them in when the van is parked.

Tyres/Alloy

Be vigilant of curbs! The most common damage type with tyres and their alloys is scraping while rubbing against a curb on the sides of roads. Generally, these types of damage require a complete replacement of the damaged alloy and/or tyre. 

Awnings

There are three primary types of awnings that you will find on vans on Camplify: Roll-out awnings, Wind-out awnings or Bag awnings

Each awning is set up slightly differently, so it's very important that you watch & listen to the owner during the handover to make sure you fully understand how to set up, correctly position, and then pack away the awning. Please take some time to look at this video which offers guidance and tips on setting up your awning.

Despite this, many damage claims include awnings. Much of the damage is because the awning was left up during adverse weather conditions; strong winds and/or rain can damage the arms of the awning, tear the canvas or even damage the body of the van.

Before setting off, and throughout your holiday, we recommend keeping a close eye on the weather via the BBC Weather website or another trusted source. Put the awning away if you see the wind is picking up or you plan on leaving the van for more than a few minutes. The weather can change very quickly and leaving it up when you go to the beach could be a costly mistake.

(Top tip: If you are going to a location with a poor phone signal, be sure to take a video of the owner demonstrating how to set up, correctly position, and then pack away the awning. This way you can refer back to it later).

Damage/collisions when you're parking or moving the RV

Parking and manoeuvring in a small or unfamiliar space can always be a challenge. Damage, scratches, and dents caused when moving the van around a campsite or car park account for roughly half of avoidable damage claims.

We understand that reversing into your pitch, with an audience of other campers can be a little daunting, but it’s really important to take your time. Before attempting a big reverse, carefully study your site/pitch and consider where the power & water connections are the proximity to your neighbours, and the direction your door & awning will be facing.

The importance of a ‘Spotter’

When reversing or manoeuvring any type of van, we strongly recommend that someone from your group gets out of the vehicle and guides you in. This 'spotter' will help to provide you with much better visibility and prevent frustrating scratches and dents from hitting a post!.

(Top tip: When reversing a longer van like a motorhome, hearing the instructions from your 'spotter' can be difficult. Use your vehicle’s bluetooth connection and call your spotter on their phone so that you can hear their instructions clearly).

Incorrect fuel type

This is an expensive mistake. When doing your handover be sure to confirm the fuel type with the owner and write it down. If you forget during the booking, either contact the owner to ask or check their Camplify listing.

Water Pump Damages

This is an easy one to avoid. During your handover, have a conversation about the freshwater tank and how to check and fill the tank, as needed. Running the pump in the freshwater tank for even 15 minutes without water in it can burn out the motor in the pump requiring full replacement.

That extra peace of mind

At Camplify, all of our vans are comprehensively insured against accidents and damage whilst they are on hire. If you run into any issues, call the owner right away and Camplify

. You can reach our support team on 0330 808 1811, who are on hand to walk you through the process.  It is important that you make us aware of any issues on hire immediately to give us the chance to help find a solution.

Every hire comes with 24/7 nationwide breakdown cover from the RAC. The level of cover is dependent on the Accident Excess option you selected before your getaway. More information on the breakdown cover can be found here. For information on additional accident excess packages - find more info here.

Please note that many of our owners choose to use their own insurance and breakdown cover so make sure to check with them before taking any action. 

We want you to feel confident that your van is protected and in good hands whenever you share it via Camplify. Unfortunately, we all know that accidents can happen, but there are steps that you can take to minimise the risk of this damage and avoid your van being off the road for repairs. 

Pro-Tips:

• Make sure you are using the Pre-Hire Checklist in the Camplify App to guide you through your handover process. 

• When completing the checklist, you must take a minimum of 6 interior and 6 exterior photos of your van (you are allowed up to 20 of each). We recommend using the full allocation as these photos are your evidence of the state of the vehicle when handing it over and will support in the event of a damage claim. Without sufficient photographic evidence, Camplify may not be able to assist with a damage claim.

• For the exterior, ensure you take photos of all angles of the vehicle (as well as the underbody and the roof):

• Damage to interiors is the most common type of claim, and repairs can be very costly and time-consuming. Tears to blinds and curtains, dents to worktops, damage to fridge/freezer, and broken doors and locks can all be avoided by demonstrating these features and giving plenty of warning tips to hirers during the handover.

• Awnings - It is very important that during your handover, you spend plenty of time showing your hirer how to use the awning - how to set it up, and when they should take it down. Make them aware that this is the most common item to be damaged during a booking and that there is a significant cost to replacing one.Much of the damage to awnings is caused due it being left up during adverse weather conditions. Remind your hirers of the importance of keeping an eye on the weather throughout their holiday via the BBC Weather website or another trusted source. If in doubt the hirer should always take the awning down even if they will only be away from the van for a short while and especially overnight.In advance of each booking, feel free to send the hirer a link to ourYouTube channel where we have a playlist dedicated to how to set up and put away each type of awning. Alternatively, if your holidaymaker is heading to an area with poor phone signal, consider getting them to film you demonstrating putting the awning up during the handover.

• The importance of a ‘Spotter’: The BEST way to avoid bumper damage or panel scratches & dents is to make sure that your hirer is using a 'spotter' - someone from their group who can be outside the vehicle to guide them when moving or reversing the van. This significantly reduces the risk of reversing into something or incurring small scratches/dents from posts/branches etc and minimises having your RV out of action due to expensive repairs that can take weeks.

• Camplify highly recommends that owners screen their hirers before approving a booking. Enquire about their driving experience and planned itinerary before approving. Remember, YOU are in complete control of who you hire to and where they can and can’t go. If you plan to use Instant Book make sure to put as much info as possible on the listing - hirer criteria, rules of hire etc. Being upfront and transparent is important! 

• We recommend offering drop-off solutions, where you can suggest a fee to tow/drive and set up your van at a local campsite of their choice for those hirers that haven’t hired before or don’t feel confident driving your van.

• Make sure there is a sticker on your fuel cap to specify the type of fuel that the hirer must use, and point this out during your handover.

• Stone chips can be avoided if you put a stone shield on the front of your van. Further measures can be made to protect your van including using pool noodles cut in half to protect the undercarriage and providing instructions to the hirer on how to seal the van for dust.

• Over the busy summer period, it’s more important than ever to ensure a thorough pre and post-hire process to keep you and your van protected. Please ensure you use the Camplify app to do your Pre-Hire and Post-Hire Checklists. Manage the hirer's expectations in advance. Explain that both pre and post-hire checks will take up to an hour. Be sure to demonstrate all the key elements of your van, especially trickier elements like awnings, pop-tops, window locks, and the hitching up process. Consider asking hirers to have a go of some of these processes or ask that they film you to make sure they feel comfortable when out on the road.

• For extra peace of mind, many of our community provide hirers with a printed manual including some of the specifics of their van, a 'how-to' guide, fuel type, yours and Camplify’s contact information, and the processes to follow in the event of any damage or accidents.

• If you choose to accept same-day bookings ensure there’s enough time for thorough vehicle checks, cleaning, and preparing for the next hire. 

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  Remember our team is here to support you, so for any questions or concerns give us a call on 0330 808 1811. Our Camplify Owners Facebook group is also a useful resource, with many members sharing advice on their handover process.