When you purchase a static caravan, the expenses for caravanning don’t wind up here. The costs of running a static caravan are not included in the price you pay for buying it. So, if you’re wondering, “what are the running costs of a static caravan?” then this thread is for you.
Much like the costs and fees involved with touring caravans, the costs of running a static caravan vary from park to park and depend upon the facilities you choose for your holiday home.
Water, electricity, pitch fees, and gas bills can’t be excluded from the expenses. But there are some other things too that add up to increase the annual costs. So, you can’t get a fixed annual cost for running a static caravan.
To give you an estimate of the running costs of a static caravan here is all you need to know.
Running Costs For A Static Caravan
In this section, you’ll find all the things you’ll have to pay for when you own a static caravan. These costs collectively give you an amount that is the total cost of running a static caravan. So, let’s plunge into the details.
Caravan Pitch Fees
It’s also known as the static caravan’s site fees and is the amount you have to pay to the park every year to give you a space for your static caravan. The biggest amount you’ll pay for running the static caravan is the pitch fee or rental fee. It’s not a fixed figure every year but increases from year to year.
The pitch fees usually include the amount required to make water and electricity available to your static caravan. Moreover, it also includes the charges for the winter storage for the parks that are not available for a 12-month season.
The pitch fee depends upon a lot of factors, such as:
• Location of the static caravan
• Location of the holiday park
• Length of the season
• Inflation
• District and regional rates
On average, you can expect to pay £2,600 to £9,294 per year as pitch fees. Some holiday parks have specific areas with piped gas; the pitch fees will increase if you own that area.
Before you own a static caravan in a park, you can ask the owner about the expected pitch fees increase each year. Although he won’t give you an exact figure, he’ll be able to list down the factors that can cause the increase.
You’d be charged a higher pitch fee if you purchased the caravan directly from a person selling his caravan and leaving the caravan. To avoid this, it’s better to purchase the caravan from the park owner.
You’ve to pay the pitch fee in the first quarter each year. However, you can get a discount if you pay the fee before the due date.
Caravan Electric & Gas Prices
The costs you pay for the electricity depend upon the usage. The total costs for electricity are calculated after taking readings from the meter of your static caravan. The holiday park owner sells the main electricity supply to you and can’t make a profit from this. You only pay for the electricity or gas you use.
If your static caravan’s appliances run on gas, you can buy gas bottles from the park. Again, the costs depend upon the size of the gas bottle. If you don’t want to purchase the gas bottle from the park, you can also have it from outside. But make sure that you don’t do a violation of the pitch license agreement.
The bill you pay is also based on the meter readings or the average consumption by your static caravan. The costs are calculated according to the supplier’s recommended retail price.
Static Caravan Insurance Price
You must consider insurance as a part of the running costs of a static caravan because many holiday parks make it compulsory. It’s crucial to protect your static caravan against risks such as fire, flood, theft, etc.
You must ensure that your caravan insurance covers the following:
• Third-party liability
• Public liability
• The caravan for the whole year, including the duration when the holiday park is closed
The amount of the insurance will differ depending upon the size, condition, and level of cover required by your static caravan. However, it could range from £80 to £500+
Miscellaneous Caravan Expenses
Apart from the costs mentioned above and not including servicing or spares/repairs that you’ll need over time, there are some other things too due to which you’ll have to pay additional costs. In addition to the maintenance and repair costs, these include:
Rates, water, and drainage
The costs for these vary from park to park. The facilities, size, and location of the park can affect these costs. You should be prepared to pay anywhere between £340 to £1500 per year.
Caravan Cleaning Service
You can avoid these costs by cleaning your caravan yourself. But, if you use the cleaning service at the holiday park, you must know that it’s not free. The costs are different for different caravan parks, and you can ask about this from your site owner before availing of the service.
Caravan Winterisation Fees
It’s a once-in-a-year expense, and again you can avoid this by doing it yourself. But if you get it done, you’ll have to pay at least £65 for both drains down and reconnection.
Caravan Decking
Any add-ons you’ve made such as decking will also need cleaning and some level of maintenance if you want to keep them looking in good condition and prolong your decking lifetime.
Summary
Caravanning is expensive, and therefore you must have an idea of the costs. In the case of the static caravan, you’ve to pay a significant amount for purchasing. But the costs don’t wrap up here; you’ve to pay running costs annually or throughout the year.
You can’t have a fixed figure of the amount you’ll have to pay, but you can have an estimation. The total costs for a static caravan include the basic costs and the additional costs.
You pay for the caravan pitch, gas, electricity, and caravan insurance in the basic costs, and the price for these vary for different holiday parks. You pay for the rates, drainage, water, cleaning service, maintenance, repair, and winterisation in additional costs.
A sum of all these expenses gives the total of the costs required to run a static caravan.
