Nissan and IAM issue towing advice to Caravan Enthusiasts

A new study suggests that increasing numbers of drivers are towing caravans without proper training.

The study undertaken by Nissan suggests that thousands of motorists in the UK could be posing a safety risk by towing caravans with no training.

It is believed that caravanning is growing in popularity once again, with a fifth of the 3,000 respondents surveyed planning on a caravan or camping trip this year. 

Unfortunately the research also revealed that 40% of those planning on towing caravans, trailers or boats have had no training.

As a result Nissan have teamed up with the Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) to give guidance to help novice towers.

Tim Shallcross, Head of Technical Policy for IAM commented:

"The results of the Nissan research highlight a key knowledge gap in towing legislation and safety guidelines. We encourage new and experienced 'towers' to ensure they are correctly informed as to their vehicle's towing capabilities and to follow essential safety guidelines."

IAM and Nissan have made the following recommendations:

1. Check that you are legally allowed to tow. Requirements may differ according to when the driving licence was issued and it may be dependent on your car insurance policy.


2. Check your vehicle's towing limit. It's equally important to check the maximum braked and unbraked towing weights - as outlined in the vehicle handbook.


3. Know towing speed limits. For motorway and dual-carriageway driving the speed limit is set at 60mph. For single carriageways the speed should not exceed 50mph (unless stated otherwise).


4. Give yourself more time and space for accelerating and braking. This will help you to avoid accidents whilst on the road and potential car or caravan insurance claims.


5. When approaching a hill it's important to select a lower gear in plenty of time. When going uphill this gives you more power. Going down reduces the strain on your vehicle's brakes.

Source: http://cdn.practicalcaravan.com/blog/nissan-urges-new-caravanners-stay-safe

Static Caravans - The Benefits To Holidaymakers

Do you have a static caravan? Maybe you're considering buying one for your annual holidays? If this is the case then you will no doubt want a little more information about static caravans and the benefits they offer.

The main benefit of a static caravan is that they offer a home, away from home at a portion of the price of a full sized holiday home.

However, they offer many of the same features of a full sized house – including: 

• Separate living and sleeping quarters,

• Double glazing on the windows 

• Quality fittings

The only real problem arises when you go to look for a caravan residential park to install your static caravan. However, there are so many of these around the UK you shouldn't have too much trouble finding one to suit your needs.

It's important to relax when you're on holiday and the vast majority of residential parks understand that. This is why they're setup with CCTV and community watch programs - giving you peace of mind that your holiday home is being well looked after whether you're there or not.

Buying a static caravan could mean that you don't need to blow the family budget on an expensive holiday abroad - saving you a substantial amount in the long-run.

The other thing to consider - if no one is staying in it the caravan can even be let out to provide you with an additional income. However, you may need to check with the residential park owners before sub-letting to ensure this is allowed.

If you already own a caravan check out Motaquote’s competitive motorhome and caravan insurance - quality cover at a reasonable price.

Motaquote Shows Caravan Enthusiasts The Love

The boys from Motaquote attended the South & West Wales Caravan & Motorhome Show in Carmarthen earlier this month, spending time getting to know local and national caravan and motorhome enthusiasts alike.

In typical Motaquote fashion we wanted to showcase our superb caravan insurance product – available for static, mobile and motorhomes. We’re pleased to say that it went down a treat (along with the bags of sweets the boys were handing out to all interested parties).

The Motaquote team thoroughly enjoyed themselves and were the talk of the show… yet again! With free gifts including bags of sweets and caravan tea-towels handed out to all and sundry!

With visitors gossiping about Motaquote’s excellent customer service and great free gifts we had a great influx of visitors clamouring to talk to us. In short - the event proved a roaring success!

Commenting on behalf of Motaquote, team leader Ceri Jones stated:

“The free gifts with the customers went down a treat! All the passers-by were talking about our free tea towels!!! I would definitely do the show again.”

If you missed us at the Caravan and Motorhome show you can still get a great deal on your caravan insurance.

Visit our caravan insurance page to find out more about the benefits that are included in the policy.

Motaquote takes to the road for the Camarthen Caravan Show

Motaquote are proud to be attending the Daffodil Events Caravan and Motorhome Show in Camarthen.

We offer comprehensive, affordable static and mobile caravan insurance as well as motorhome insurance. It's ideal cover for caravan enthusiasts looking to take to the road for that much needed holiday.

Motaquote also attended the event last year and enjoyed a lot of attention thanks to our exclusive Welsh caravan teatowels and our sunny demenour! 

If you're interested but still want to find out more please check out the video below to see the event in action. If you're lucky you might even get a glimpse of us!

 

Need to know more about the event? Please visit the official website for more information.

Need to know more about what we cover? Check out our caravan insurance policies.

Motaquote branch staff take to the speedway

Our Motaquote branch staff took to Cardiff's TeamSport Go-Karting track alongside the likes of GoCompare, Admiral, Confused.com and TheAA. But that's hardly going to faze us is it?! Well no - not when we outnumbered each team 3 to 1 - except for GoCompare.

With 2 iKube teams and 1 Motaquote team we were a force to be reckoned with... or so we thought.

Unfortunately it didn't turn out to be so... whilst our teams  did put up a valiant fight until the end of the race the final figures were in GoCompare's favour.

However, on a more positive note - I manage to wrangle a free cup of tea and GoCompare didn't bring Gio Compario.

But I digress - in the end it was a night to remember and everyone had enormous amounts of fun in spite of the freezing conditions (you should have seen them spinning out at all the big turns).

On another note - did you know that our branches are offering some great deals on home insurance, car and caravan insurance at the moment? If you're looking for cover then pop-in to your local branch and our friendly, helpful staff will be more than happy to help.