Habitation Check - How Much? (1 Viewer)

[Roryboys Dad]

It's probably been discussed on here before, point me in the right direction of any relevant threads please, but how much do you pay for a Habitation check and are they worth having done?

We go to France in a few weeks time and the last thing we want is problems with Dometic fridge/freezer, Gaslow system, Truma boiler and heating (or anything else!) and hope that a habitation check would hopefully ensure a trouble free month in France.

Any of your experiences of the checks would be appreciated.

 

[scotjimland]

hopefully ensure a trouble free month in France.

you may be disappointed , the normal hab check does not include servicing of fridge, boiler or anything else.. it's a bit like an MOT.. they test that they work.. and that the van is 'safe'..

if you want these items serviced you will need to ask for that when you book in, and it will all be at extra cost .

sorry..

didn't answer the question.. I do my own, but I think a normal hab service is in the region of £120 .. + any other work or servicing you ask for

 

[Deleted member 29692]

If you're van is still in warranty then a check will be a requirement of the warranty, if not then it's up to you I suppose but
a habitation check will only include a quick check that the appliances are working. There won't be any servicing carried out and there's nothing to say that they won't fail the next day. That isn't to say that they are a bad thing but they aren't designed to give you a guarantee that everything will keep working. I know a lot of people buy a decent damp meter carry out their own checks. This is a sample checklist of what should be covered:

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[Stroppy Bird]

I tend to do my own hab check but am intending on booking in with Dave Newell to do the gas side of things as I don't have the appropriate equipment to do that properly. When I enquired the price was very reasonable and included a fridge service, and so although I would have to travel a bit to get there the price easily offset fuel costs and we would simply make it part of a few days away. Must get a date sorted to get booked in.

 

[Hydrocell]

The last habitation check I had at Highbridge cost £240, three weeks later whilst in Spain my wife was complaining, which is not un common sorry ladies anyway she could smell a sooty paraffin sell found out it was coming from the fridge, I turn every thing off and decided that the only way to continue with are trip was to solve the problem.

Took out the fridge which is not an easy task on your own with a large fridge freezer, anyway the flew on the gas burner was full of soot, took it all apart cleaned the jet and flew, reinstalled the fridge all been fine since.

I naively thought that this was part of the habitation check but they only do a drop test to fine out if there is any gas leaks, damp test and check that every thing else is work.

So my advice to anyone that has purchased a van for new is to have your fridge serviced after at lest 18 months old if not before for your own safety if however you can’t carry out this task your self take it to a gas service engineer.

I now have the relevant equipment my self to carry out my own habitation check, as my van is nearly 4 years old and no longer under warranty.

Please do not attempt to carry out any servicing if you are unsure about the task you are about to undertake, I’m lucky enough to have a member of family how has the relevant qualifications in Gas & Electric best practice to help me if I have a problem.

 

[Roryboys Dad]

Thanks for all the helpful replies.

I've decided against the full habitation check but I am having the Fridge/Freezer serviced and the Gaslow system checked.


I've had a very useful chat with a local Caravan and Motorhome Service and they would carry out the servicing and checking – they quote £125 for a Habitation check but just having a relatively quick gas and electric check will be considerably cheaper.


I've bought a Damp meter and I know that there's very little wrong with the items they would normally look at on a Habitation check, the MH is only just over three years old, so spending £125 for something I can check myself seems a bit over the top.


Your point about gas and electrical items having a specialised engineer do the work rather than a complete amateur such as me is very valid and worth noting to anyone who attempts to do it themselves.

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[MikeandCarolyn]

Our last hab check by a local mobile guy was £135 including blowing out all jets on oven and rings,also fridge burner etc.

 

[makems]

There are a couple of Funsters who do hab checks
@dave newell lvs is one
@Ash is another who will come to you to do the work
Both attend some of the Motorhome shows and will carry out work there if you have pre-arranged it. I've had work done by both of them in the past and can recommend them.

 

[dave newell]

There are a couple of Funsters who do hab checks
@dave newell lvs is one
@Ash is another who will come to you to do the work
Both attend some of the Motorhome shows and will carry out work there if you have pre-arranged it. I've had work done by both of them in the past and can recommend them.

Thanks for the comment but I'd just like to point out that while we can service a fridge at shows (assuming it can be done in situ, removing a fridge in a field in a camper full of "stuff" is a nightmare) we don't do a full hab inspection at shows as its too time consuming and I can't realistically get undeneath to check chassis, floor etc. By the way, our hab inspection does include servicing the fridge if it can be done without removal.

D.

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