Friday, March 21, 2008

Travel Trailer Insurance Tips

So you have bought an expensive travel trailer and are now worried about its safety, right? Happens! Humans usually indulge first and then think later – that's human mentality. But with getting travel trailer insurance, the situation is not that bleak. There are a lot of options for getting travel trailer insurance and most of them would be quite suitable to you. But of course, you need to be vigilant, as with any other kind of insurance, and make sure that you are getting what you have bargained for. It is quite a cliché to say that you have to minutely read the fine print, but there it goes – YOU HAVE TO MINUTELY READ THE FINE PRINT! There is no way you can ensure you are getting what you want without that.

Now, here are some of the things you need to keep your eyes peeled for:-

Travel Trailer Insurance Tip # 1 – Check what coverage you are getting.

Make doubly sure what your travel trailer insurance will cover you for. These are the least types of coverage that you must get:-
  • Losses due to accidents and collisions
  • Destruction or damage due to fire and related perils
  • Losses due to natural calamities such as hurricanes, floods, landslides, hails, storms, lightning, etc.
  • Damage done due to animals
  • Damage done due to vandalism
  • Damage done due to roadside unavoidable perils such as low hanging branches and bad road conditions
  • Loss due to theft

Bad faith is not unheard of in the world of travel trailer insurance claims. Hence, it is important that you make sure everything you want is specified clearly in the insurance policy.

Travel Trailer Insurance Tip # 2 – Check the emergency expenses coverage.

Most travel trailer insurance policies must cover for the unexpected expenses that you might have to incur if your travel trailer broke down on the way. There are many such expenses that might happen, such as you might have to spend a night in a motel, you might have to pay extra for towing the trailer or making repairs, etc. If you want coverage in such situations, check that the insurance documentation explicitly mentions that.

Travel Trailer Insurance Tip # 3 – Check for fixtures coverage.

Do you have expensive gear affixed on your travel trailer? Your travel trailer insurance policy will, by default, cover for the permanent fixtures that came with the vehicle, but if you have done any additions later, see how you can cover them with the policy. You might have expensive awnings or even drapes on your travel trailer windows. Or there might be some antennas and satellite dishes you have connected. Such peripheral accessories can be covered for, but only if you specifically mention them. You might have to pay a little extra premium on that, but if you are traveling a lot in unknown places, you might as well equip yourself against their losses.

Travel Trailer Insurance Tip # 4 – Check for parked trailer coverage.

This coverage is different from the coverage you can get when the trailer is moving. In case your vehicle is parked at a campsite or such other place and you are using it as a temporary residence, you will get a different kind of coverage during those times. Be aware of that, and speak with the policy representatives about it.

Travel Trailer Insurance Tip # 5 – Check for distance conditions.

All travel trailer insurance policies have some restrictions about the claims they will pay depending on the distance of the trailer from the permanent residence of the person. Some insurance policies will have more coverage if the damage or loss is afflicted out of a particular area, which is mostly about 50 miles away from home in any direction. Check out what the policy conditions are based on these distance restrictions. See whether they will pay at all if the damage is done much closer home. If not, you better look out for some other policy.

Travel Trailer Insurance Tip # 6 – Check for other miscellaneous terms and conditions.

Like all other insurance policies, travel insurance policies also have a very long list of yeses and nos when it comes to paying out the claims. Some policies would be applicable only if the damage was done when the trailer is moving, while some will cover damages occurred when parked also. Such policies are called as full-timer policies, and even if they are dearer on the premiums, they are the wiser choice to take. You cannot imagine how many dangers lurk for your travel trailer in your own neighborhood. Take vandalism for instance. Make sure you cover your precious travel trailer every moment it is with you.

The final point that needs to be made is that you should go for travel trailer insurance coverage only from people who are experienced in travel trailer insurance. Check out some references and do an online search on their reputations. Most vendors of housing, car and other types of insurances may not be quite adept at managing travel trailer insurances, because this is entirely a different ballgame. See that you do not end up with the short end of the stick with a company that doesn't know what it is actually in the travel trailer insurance business for.

Camping Trailer Advantages

For many families that enjoy spending time in the outdoors, a camping trailer can be an answer to their needs. It can provide a place to sleep as well as store needed supplies and can serve as a travel trailer for all the gear while traveling to the campsite. Sizes vary greatly for a camping trailer and can be used to sleep one person or a dozen, depending on the size of the family as well as its budget. They can be found to hook to a hitch on a car or pick-up truck as well as to motorcycles and some even have a fifth-wheel hook-up to be pulled by larger vehicles.

Some of the advantages of a camping trailer include the ability to put it to use quickly, by pulling into a public campground or even by the side of the road in an emergency. Many have connections for electricity and plumbing, as well as to a sanitary sewer system to make being outdoors in a camping trailer almost as convenient as being at home.

In fact, when some people are recovering from storm damage to their homes, they may opt to stay in a camping trailer until their home is repaired or a new one is built to save money on motels and to avoid being an imposition to relatives or friends.

Using Trailers Allows More Mobile Freedom

Using a camping trailer not only frees the car or truck of all the camping gear usually carried while on the road, it also frees the car for other uses while the camping trailer is sitting in its spot at the campgrounds. Once camp is set up and the trailer is secure, the family can go shopping or to a local restaurant without the need to tow everything they have with them through sometimes tight city streets and parking lots.

At night, a small canopy can be set up on the side of the camping trailer to serve as an umbrella in case of rain and also create an outdoor area for eating, lounging or even sleeping bags for those who truly want to rough it while camping. It is especially useful for those who plan to get up before the sun for fishing or other camping activity without disturbing other members of the family.

For families with young children, they can also be used at home when the kids start clamoring for a sleep out with their friends. Being in the camping trailer in the backyard or driveway allows them the excitement of sleeping out without the parents fears of them in an unprotected tent.

Finding Travel Trailers For Sale

When most people retire, they slow down their lives considerably. They want more time to relax, and so they don't immediately embark on any great adventures. Rather than traveling around the world as they always thought they would, they sit around the house for a while and just unwind. In my case, however, I couldn't wait to get out. I had been waiting for this retirement for years, and I was not going to let a single moment pass me by. Almost as soon as I got the gold watch, I was out there looking for travel trailers for sale in Florida. Unfortunately, it wasn't as easy as I had thought to find the perfect one.

I was no stranger to buying travel trailers. I had done many different jobs in my life, and I had seen it all. I worked for several years in a construction firm, and during that time I learned a lot about what makes a great travel trailer. It is amazing to see the variety of different portable trailers available nowadays. There are travel trailers for sale for personal use, mobile sales offices for construction firms, trailers for promotion companies, and even portable classrooms that can be set up practically overnight. With all that I knew about it, I figured that finding a personal RV trailer for sale wouldn't be very hard. I was mistaken.

The problem is that buying used travel trailers for sale involves so many factors. If you are looking at a used car, it is pretty easy to evaluate what kind of shape it is in. You can simply take it to a mechanic, have them check it out, and listen to what they have to say. Buying travel trailers for sale, however, involves all the pitfalls of buying a house as well as those of buying a car. Not only do you have to check for automotive problems, but you also have to check for wear and tear in the walls, the roof, the furniture, and the doors and windows. Just to get an idea of what the market is like and what you should look for can take a couple weeks. Picking out the perfect travel RV trailer can take months. Fortunately, it was worth all the work. The trip across the country was amazing, and I am sure that it is just the beginning. There are many more adventures to come, and I can not wait.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Fifth-wheel trailers

A 'fifth-wheel' is a trailer which intended to be supported by the center of the bed of a pickup truck instead of a hitch at the back of a vehicle. The special hitch used for fifth-wheels is a smaller version of the one used on 18-wheelers and can be connected by simply driving the tow vehicle under the trailer. Because of the greater room available on the roads, these vehicles are more popular in North America than in Europe.

Popularity of caravans in the UK

. The growth in popularity of caravanning has been enhanced by improvements in caravan quality and caravan site facilities making caravan holidays possible at any time of the year not just summer months. Many of these improvements were suggested and driven by camping expert, Alan Rogers.

German Wohnwagen
German Wohnwagen

In the UK, The Association of Chief Police Officers estimates that some 4,000 touring caravans are stolen each year, nearly a quarter of all new caravans sold annually. As a result many caravan insurers (require additional security features to be purchased, as a general rule at least one wheel lock and one hitch lock example. The cost of insurance from specialist caravan insurance providers remains relatively low especially compared with other vehicle insurance premiums. The CRIS registration service has also helped track theft. The system operates much the same as the Vehicle Registration Service by the DVLA, but is voluntary and subject to a fee.

Some people make use of their caravans only during their annual holidays (vacations), whilst others take regular breaks at the thousands of caravan and camping sites around the world.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Travel trailer

A travel trailer or caravan is a trailer towed behind a road vehicle (or a horse or similar pack animal) to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent (although there are fold-down tent trailers [1]) . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation (holiday), without relying on a hotel, and enables them to stay in places where none is available.

Travel trailers and caravans vary from basic models which may be little more than a tent on wheels to those containing several rooms with all the furniture and furnishings and equipment of a home. They are used principally in North America and Europe and are rare elsewhere, so this article deals mainly with those continents.

In North America and Europe it is generally illegal for people to ride in a travel trailer or caravan while it is being towed on a public road.


Caravans (Europe)

Caravan
Caravan

In Europe, the origins of caravans and caravanning can be traced back to travelling Gypsies and showmen who spent most of their lives in horse drawn caravans. The world's first leisure caravan was built by the Bristol Carriage Company in 1880 for Dr. W. Gordon-Stables. It was an 18 ft design, based upon their Bible Wagons, which the Doctor named "Wanderer".

Modern European caravans come in a range of sizes, from tiny two-berth caravans with no toilet and only basic kitchen facilities, to large, twin-axle, six-berth caravans.