Let's face it: caravans
don't come cheap. Even entry-level tourers start from around £8000 new, which is still a fair old whack. When you're shelling out this much, you'll want to make the most of your new caravan. This is where owners' clubs come in.
If you think that an owners' club consists of a group of anoraks who meet up every now and again to examine each others chassis and share fond memories of long-lost models from 1962, you're wrong. Most caravanners join clubs for two sensible reasons: first, it's
a great opportunity to make lots of like-minded friends; and secondly you'll never be stumped for holiday ideas: just sign up for the next rally, turn up and enjoy
a great holiday with your mates. Paul Beech, chairman of the Bailey Owners' Club, remembers why he got involved. "I didn't think I was getting value for money from the odd weekend away in my old van. I had previously had an idea that a rally was like a Maplins holiday camp. But how wrong I was. When I bought my first Bailey, I joined the club straight away and we soon got sucked in to the social side of it."
Gordon Perry, publicity officer for the All Avondale Owners Caravan Club, tells a similar story. "Before we bought our first Avondale, a 1998 Olympus Perle, we thought 'we're going to make use of this', so we joined what was then called the Perle Leda Owners' Club. We didn't know many people with caravans, who lived near us, and the idea of being able to go to a venue with friends made the club seem perfect."
Meanwhile, Reg Lapper, chairman of the Buccaneer Owners' Club, understandably enjoys the fact that someone organises his holidays for him: "The advantage of being a member is that if you don't feel like planning where to go for a long weekend, there's always something being organised by the club."
The Swift Owners' Club secretary Trevor Benton also sees the club as a ticket to exclusive caravanning locations. "You can get into places that you couldn't ordinarily go to. We've rallied in the grounds of Chatsworth House and the grounds of Beamish Museum."
It's a formula that becomes hard to resist, and most members end up buying the same brand time and time again, so that they can stay in the same club. Reg Lapper explains "A lot of our members who've considered changing their van have not done so simply because of the club – they don't want to move. And the rules are: no Buccaneer, no membership."
Such is the power of friendship. But while the social side of the club is the main pull for many, there are also several practical benefits to joining an owners' club. First off, by rallying as group, clubs can negotiate lower site fees that you'd have to pay individually – and this includes foreign sites.
"Last time we rallied in the Dordogne," recalls Trevor, "we paid £250 for 14 nights on a site with
a meal at the start and end of the rally and a meal in the grounds of a château half way through. We also got money off several local attractions. You have to pay for your own ferry and journey to the site – although we can help people arrange to travel together – but once you're there you can definitely make a saving." Most of the clubs can also arrange member discounts on insurance, ferry trips and accessories from selected. Discounts available tend to change from year to year, depending on which companies take part.
Something that's just as valuable but comes free with membership of any owners' club, is advice – particularly technical advice. This is especially useful if your van is out of warranty. Every club will have experienced members who have watched their chosen brand develop over several decades and are happy to give other members the benefit of that experience. "It's about pooling resources," says Gordon Perry. "We have a lot of expertise, and everyone is willing to share advice. I've lost count of the number of times I've been under someone else's caravan trying to work out what the problem is. You can arrive on site and discover one of the seals in your washroom has perished, yet there's bound to be
a guy next door who has a tube of mastic with him. We don't have a technical officer though; if there's an actual technical problem we tend to put it over to Avondale. We don't want to get caught out giving the wrong advice. Or we can field problems out to whoever is the best authority."
Other clubs use a similar approach, with advice offered only as a temporary substitute for the manufacturer's expertise. What's more, the clubs are also concerned that they could be inundated with queries from non-club members, so advice is usually kept to a word-of-mouth exchange on the rally field. The Swift Owners' Club, however, is among the few that does have a dedicated technical officer. Terry Owen has attended engineer training courses, and liaises closely with Swift at all times, so along with his own bank of caravan knowledge and experience, and the many contacts he has made over the years, he is well qualified to give club members one-to-one advice.
The fledgling Geist Owners' club, meanwhile, currently exchanges its advice over the internet. This British brand, which was built in Germany, was launched only two years ago, so there aren't yet enough owners to make up an official membership yet. Last year, owner Chris Snellock decided to set up a consortium so that owners could share advice and views on their caravans. Chris says, "It has proved helpful because I didn't feel that the manufacturer was putting enough emphasis on aftersales, so it made sense for owners to help each other out. I started the website to give users information on these new caravans – what's good and bad – and a forum for feedback for Geist, so
it's a warts-and-all view of the caravan from the owners. At this stage, if there's enough people who want a change, it's possible to get it done. For instance, there was a problem with the bed slats, but other owners had only reported back to their dealer about it. Then when five of us realised we had the same problem, we reported it to Geist's managing director, Paddy Doherty, and the problem has now been sorted out."
Chris and his friends aren't alone in having helped to influence the way caravans are made. In fact, most caravan manufacturers have the clubs to thank for many of
the features in current models. This is usually because the
clubs have built up strong relationships with their respective manufacturers, giving members the opportunity to convey their concerns and suggestions on improving the brand.
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