habitation service

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Oscarsmum

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anyone recommend someone qualified yo do full habitation services............. live in staffs thankyou
 
This has always intrigued me. How can they justify charging £200 plus to check the gas for leaks, turn on the lights and taps, open the windows, check charging voltage and run over the van with a dampmeter!

Many people with motorhomes are of the older generation who value peace of mind and also have large disposable incomes. Thus an industry has grown up around relieving them of some of that cash.

Most habitation checks can be carried out oneself with a little common sense. The only really safety critical thing that needs checking over is the gas systems. If not sure oneself, you could probably just get someone experienced or qualified to look at that, and end up with a much smaller bill.
 
The cheapest place I found was a fixed price of £95 , but they were too far away I am afraid I have no knowledge of gas/electrics common sense tells me if I have any leaks but would I just apply a multi purpose sealant the m/h is in good shape so am wasting money maybe leave till next year.........
 
You can fit a Gaslow gauge next to your regulator on your bottle.

Then open your gas valve on the bottle to pressurise the system, The gauge should read full. Now turn off the gas valve and don't use your appliances for a day. If you have a leak in the system the pressure will go quickly down over a few minutes, and the gauge will read empty. If your system is tight, the pressure should hold over 24 hours. That's the way I do it - plus visually inspecting the condition of the pipes and hoses etc.
 
A wise man once said to me "doesn't matter if you have a gas explosion coz you'll be dead anyway".

No names mentioned, but he owns this site!
 
I believe they can check CO levels in a habitation check too but if you have a couple of CO alarms already installed this shouldn't be an issue.

As for electrics, I agree with above. I believe they also should check charging levels from 240v and from the engine charge if they do it properly. You can do this with a multimeter costing £10 from Maplins which is very useful piece of kit to have anyway. Put your leisure battery on charge/start the engine and measure the voltage across the top. It should read 14 to 14.5v if your charger/alternator is working OK.

Also on the electrics you can visually inspect all of the wiring that you can see for any signs of chaffing, missing insulation, loose wires, overheating, charring, and melting of insulation etc. And check all the fuses. I don't think the service guys would do much more, they'd probably even skip through it quickly.
 
Wow £200 that is extortinate but I am not surprised as it seems that sometimes when you have a MH everything is very expensive. I use a mobile service engineer from Milton Keynes (not much use if you live in Staffs) and he charges me £70 which I feel is ok and he spends 1 to 11/2hrs so no complaints I also get the van serviced at a local garage who service council vehicles and never costs more than £120.
 
i never gave the habitation test thing much thought beyond just another thing people do like insuring everything and servicing cars and changing the battery every year[some do,my mate does very well out of it!],just another con based on frightening people out of their cash,seems to work ok. its a bit like the mot ,in effect you're being reassured that today,at this time,all is fine.later or tomorrow who knows ?
 
Slightly different question but on the same lines- is a habitation certificate required yearly like an MOT or is it just a nice piece of paper to sell your van with when the time comes??

Only asking as we have just got one and don't remember seeing an actual 'certificate'??
 
We bought our motorhome brand new last Feb so to keep up the 3 year warranty with Swift we have to have a habitation check annually by either a Swift dealer at a rip off price of £200!!!!!!! or someone who is a member of The Approved Workshops Scheme. We found Albany Caravan servicing who are mobile and will come to our house & charge £119.
When the 3 years are up we will service the motorhome ourselves.
 
van coming up 2 years old, so habitation check time?

At 12 months old I decided to have a habitation check done by a local firm as I had installed a gaslow system myself (perfectly legal to do so) and wanted peace of mind in my competance. Also they were offering it at £99.
Last May we toured Scotland. During the trip, as the weather reached the high 20'sC, the fridge struggled. On return I searched the Internet for possible problems/solutions and found the small burner orifice semi-blocked. I cleared it with compressed air. No problems since. On the Internet it states that these should be serviced yearly. It was clear that this had not been done at the service, causing me a problem in Scotland. So the peace of mind from the habitation service was false. I'm now wondering if it is worth wile having one done this year!

As for electrics, I'm qualified, and I fitted a BM1 monitor so have a full readout of my charging system at any time.

Now my question.

My van is all steel, being a converted Fiat Ducatto panel van. Do I need a water ingress/dampness test? If not, then I'm not going to have a habitation service as, apart from the gas, I can perform all other checks myself. The previous advice on gas, fit a gaslow pressure gauge and check for leaks this way, sounds good, so will do this. I am capable of visual checks to the pipes. Am I missing anything?

Many thanks.
 
Habitation Service

Try Dave Newell in Telford, Diamond Dave in Practical Motorhome. 01952 587702
Elizabeth:)
 
I can recommend them.
I have used Simon Deans for mechanical work and MOT. they have a guy who does the habitation work and safety checks who travels to them.
they also have a facebook page if you want to check them out on there too.
They were very helpful, called me back when they said they would and kept me up to date with the work on the van and costings right the way through the job. They did no work without my permission.
I think I remember them saying to me that they can give you his number and he will come to your house or a suitable place?
 
I've just been reading through this thread as I'm hoping to look at an autosleeper talisman next Sunday (if it doesn't sell in the mean time) and I asked it it had a habitation check recently, the owner isn't sure but is checking, sounds like it probably hasn't had one. By reading this it doesn't seem too much of an issue?

If you were buying would you prefer to have one (judging by some of the comments they arn't always that thorough), I'm happy to check everything works myself, the only thing I can't spot is gas leaks or fumes getting in the van but even if there is a problem I can't imagine it costing a huge amount to fix, obviousbly depending on what it is!

As for damp, I don't think there is such a problem with the talisman as they are a monocoque construction but I could be wrong - I'm reading up on things and learning fast!
 
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I do all my own inspection and service (if that is what you want to call it☺☺☺)I change my own oil three times yearly. Oil and air filters twice yearly. Once before I hit the road. Second time, half way through my trip and third time when I return from my trip. Mileage is immaterial. Cheapest oil, but regularly changed. Cam belt as per manufacturers instruction. All rubber seals around the MH, wiped with a special oil for rubbers. The only thing I leave to the gods is: electricial and gas. If it works, don't touch it. Otherwise i get in somebody you knows. To date never had an expense., fingers crossed and touch wood.
 
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