We have an enthusiastic five-year-old caravanner in our family, but we're always worried that he will trip up on a guy rope, or worse still, fall over and catch his eye on an awning peg. But when we saw a broken tennis ball lying next to our pitch over the summer, we had an idea. Next day, we took a trip to the nearest discount store and spent £1 on a pack of four bright-yellow tennis balls. We took them back to site, punctured each one with a corkscrew, and then pushed them over the top of the pegs securing the guy ropes to the front of our awning. The bright colours make them easy to see, and if our five-year-old were to fall over any guy ropes now, he would get a far less painful reminder to look where he is going next time.
Jay Lewis
Nottinghamshire

When my metal caravan steps are on grass or hardstanding surfaces, I always worry about them slipping when I stand on them. So I tie the remains of an old mountain bike tyre to the step rails on the ground, to give them extra grip.
Andrew Dunscombe
Pencoed, Mid Glamorgan

Fit a pair of mudflaps to the back of your towcar. This will prevent your rear wheels spraying grit and dirt everywhere and keep the front of your caravan nice, clean and free of stone chips. You can get them from any motor accessory superstore. Halfords sell them at about £5-£15 for your average-sized tug.
A M Davy
Boston, Lincolnshire

The only thing we found wanting in our new Bürstner Ventana was a convenient workspace close to the sink. We used a pair of ‘fold-flat' spring-latched hinges (available from any decent caravan accessory stockist) and an old spare locker door to make the folding shelf shown in the picture. This allows us an alternative place for our kettle and many other things, without interfering with the dinette arrangements. You can use any suitably shaped piece of wood to make your folding shelf, and if your caravan has thin sidewalls by the kitchen unit, you can secure the flap to the other side of the surface, thus making use of the extra space.
William Billing
Ely, Cambridgeshire

After we purchased our caravan a couple of years ago, we spent the first year suffering from algae in the freshwater stem of our Thetford toilet system. We had been using Thetford's pink bowl cleaner, but last year we decided to change to Bloo Loos and now the algae blocking our stem have completely disappeared. We take each one, remove the outer coating, divide it into quarters and drop a quarter at a time into our freshwater system. Each quarter lasts around one week with constant use, and our toilet water is now a nice deep-blue colour instead of a washed-out pink. Better still, Bloo Loos are also a fraction of the cost of Thetford bowl cleaner and are widely available from any supermarket or discount store for as little as 40p.
Ken Featherstone
Eston, Cleveland

If you have to pitch on sloping ground, try choosing a pitch that is uphill next to the access road, and set up with the hitchgear pointing downhill. You will find it much easier to tow off, particularly if your pitch is soft or wet.
Donald Brown
Hertfordshire

To help level my table on uneven ground, I place pieces of pipe insulation onto the feet (as shown below). Not only does this keep my table straight but if I use them on all the legs, the metal feet don't rust.
David J Kirkland
Hinckley, Leicestershire

As someone new to caravanning I have found myself struggling with putting up a stuck awning. The answer is in Free 'N' Easy silicon lubricant (£3.95 from Lakeland). Squirt a small amount through the channel and your awning will run smoothly. It's good for curtains, too.
Patricia Thripp
East Sussex

When my wife and I use the shower block facilities at caravan sites, we take with us a sheet of foam rubber wrapped in an old hand towel. We place the foam sheet in the actual shower area and the towel in the changing area. It's much more hygenic than standing on the bare floor, and the feeling of warm foam under your feet is rather more luxurious than standing on freezing cold bathroom tiles. The foam can be wrung out and rolled back in the towel easily, and it's lighter than a wooden board or a rubber bathmat, because it weighs almost nothing at all.
George W Lear
Blyth, Northumberland

It isn't unusual for determined thieves to carry around a set of wheels in order to remove a caravan they really want. So, if you lay your caravan up for the winter by setting it on axle stands and removing the wheels, as an additional deterrent it's worth investing in a set of locking wheel nuts and inserting them back into the hubs.
Vic Wildish
Knebworth, Herts