Packing up and returning the caravan

The short answer

Pack up in the reverse of the order you set up: services off, inside packed, outside packed, then the full hitch check, the same one you did on collection day. Canvas first, because it takes the longest to dry. Last of all, a slow walk around the outfit before you pull off.

Check the weather the night before. If rain is coming in the morning, drop the awning in the evening while it is still dry. Fighting canvas down in a gust is worse than one night without it.

Disconnect the services

Everything that ties the caravan to the campsite comes off first. That way nothing is still plugged in or open when you start moving things around.

No national law says where grey water and cassette waste go. The site rules are the rules, and every park has a dump point. Use it.

Inside

Think about what happens at 100 km/h. A cupboard that pops open on the N1 puts the coffee mugs on the floor first, and on the owner's inspection form second.

Outside

Corner steadies are the thing people forget most. A steady grinding along the tar for 200 km before anyone notices is the classic pack-up failure, and you will hear about it at handover. Wind each one up until it is hard against its stop, and pin it if the caravan has pins.

The hitch check, again

You did this at collection with the owner standing next to you. Now you are on your own, so go slower. The full walk-through is on the collecting your caravan page. Here is the sequence.

If you had a caravan wheel off during the trip, for a puncture or any other reason, re-check the wheel nut torque after the first 50 km of the drive home.

The drive home

Nothing changes from the drive out, except that now you are tired. Keep the 5 to 6 second following distance the AA recommends when towing and stay at or below 100 km/h as Kampi advises. If the caravan starts to sway, ease off the accelerator and hold the wheel straight. The detail is on the towing for the first time page.

Stop about every two hours or 200 km. Put a hand on each caravan hub and compare them. Warm is normal. One hub hotter than the others is the warning. Look at the tyres, confirm the coupling is still locked and the breakaway cable still clipped, and check that nothing inside has shifted.

Handing it back

The return is the collection handover run backwards. Kampi sends both of you a post-trip form that mirrors the one you signed at collection: condition photos, damage notes and the equipment inventory.

Your photos matter more than you think. The owner will photograph anything they find. If you have a shot of the same panel from the same angle on collection day, the conversation is short.

If something broke on the trip

Things break on caravans. A latch gives up, or the water pump packs in. Owners know this. What they remember is whether you phoned.

1. Tell the owner as soon as it happens. Stubborn awning, leaking pipe, flat tyre, it makes no difference: Kampi's advice every time is that the owner is your first call.
2. Photograph it before and after any temporary fix.
3. For anything that stops you driving, use the roadside assistance included in your Kampi booking. Call the number on the Kampi roadside assistance page, not a tow truck you found yourself, because a self-arranged tow may not be covered.
4. Put it on the return form. A fault you reported on day two reads very differently from one the owner finds at handover.

What most people forget

• The corner steadies, one side or both.
• The step, still folded out under the door.
• The mains lead, still plugged into the pedestal.
• The chocks, on the grass behind the wheels.
• The gas valve, still open.
• The cassette, still full, discovered by the owner.
• The handbrake, still on for the first 200 m.
• Their own charger, in the socket by the bed.

Keep a printed checklist in the cubby. Nobody is sharp on the last morning of a trip, and that is exactly when you need it.