We often find that our prospective customers ask us similar questions, so here are a few that come up regularly! If your question isn’t covered here, just drop us an email on sales@croftonstorage.co.uk.
Can we come and have a look?
Of course. By prior appointment, we are happy to meet with you. You can meet us, see the buildings and chat about the storage arrangements and contract. We may ask to see photo ID such as a driving license or passport upon meeting you – we take security very seriously and we want to ensure we are dealing with a genuine enquiry and the person is who they say they are.
We don’t allow customers into the building, and the same applies to those making an enquiry. This is for safety and security reasons.
Do you offer Short Term Storage?
Our storage is usually offered on an annual basis, and is almost always ‘rolled over’ year on year for as long as you wish to have it. The spaces are usually oversubscribed with annual storage customers, so we do not tend to offer short term storage of weeks or months.
Do you offer Winter Storage?
Every year, around September/October, we start to take a few motorhomes in for winter only storage. This is for a minimum of three months and a maximum of six months. We can’t guarantee availability until we have a contract in place for you, but we do offer a number of spaces each year for motorhome owners wanting to keep their motorhome out of the worst of the weather!
What about my Motorhome or Caravan Battery?
Caravans – if your caravan has a leisure battery installed, and no alarm or tracker fitted, you may wish to remove the leisure battery and leave it at home on trickle charge over the winter or if you are not going to be using the battery for an extended period. If you need it to be kept charged for the alarm or tracker, please discuss this with us in advance of taking out the storage as we may be able to periodically charge the battery for you.
Motorhomes – your motorhome will be kept on a digital battery maintainer. This keeps the engine battery charged without stressing or overcharging it. We use AA branded chargers which have a digital charging profile. We can provide details of the exact model if you wish to confirm how the operate.
Some motorhomes will switch automatically to charge the leisure battery when the engine battery is on full charge, others do not. You will need to seek advice from your dealer or manufacturer. If there are specific settings to ensure the batteries are kept charged, we will need to agree these with you before contract signature. In most cases, this is not necessary, and the chargers we use keep the engine battery topped up.
Can I get my caravan serviced on site?
A number of our caravans are serviced by a local mobile caravan engineer, who has visited the site to carry out caravan servicing and minor repairs to many of our caravans since we opened in 2005. Our customers arrange this work directly with the engineer and pay him directly. We can provide him with keys and access to avoid you having to visit the site whilst the works are carried out, if you wish. Please contact us for his details.
Can I clean my caravan or motorhome on site?
The site is not equipped with a water or power supply for the use of customers, but many of our customers do bring their own caravan cleaning products, including dry cleaning products to give their caravans a clean. This is done at the customer’s own risk, and we ask them to remove the caravan from site for cleaning if a very thorough external clean is required that will need lots of equipment or take a long time, as it can take up space around the caravan that will be needed by other customers. See ‘repairs’ below.
Can I repair my caravan on site?
By prior arrangement, there is no problem to carry out minor repairs on site. Many repairs can be done with limited space and in a short time, e.g. changing a jockey wheel, replacing a tyre, checking caravan brakes or small electrical repairs to towing lights. If more extensive works are required where the tools and equipment needed would require a lot of space around the caravan or a lengthy repair, perhaps stretching over more than day, we would ask that these more significant repairs are done off site.
Whatever the scale of the repair, we can’t provide an electrical connection or water. We ask that you clear up any refuse and leave the area as you found it, and that no oil, fuel or other chemicals are allowed into our site drains. In all cases, we ask that customers respect the property of other customers around them and act with care.
Are you insured?
Yes, we maintain Public Liability Insurance for the site. Other risks, such as fire, theft, flood and so on must be covered by your own caravan insurance. We require all items stored to be insured, and we request evidence of that insurance each year when we renew your storage with us. We do not accept uninsured items, even older caravan of low replacement value must be insured.
Can I call you same day/last minute for access?
We need to know by 08:30 on the morning of the day before you require access to make your caravan or motorhome available. In most cases, our customers have had to make bookings with a site well in advance, so this doesn’t pose a problem.
In an emergency, for example, where needed prescription medications have been left in a caravan, we will try to provide access on an emergency basis to retrieve items you can’t manage without.
What times can I collect my caravan or return it?
Once you have requested access to your caravan, you can collect it from our collection/delivery area whenever you like. There are no restrictions on when you return it, and no notice is needed to return your caravan or motorhome to us. We ask that you are respectful of the fact that we live, work (and sleep!) here, so if you arrive later on in the evening or through night, that you try not to disturb us!
Can I book a space to keep multiple caravans/cars or motorhomes in as I need?
The spaces are assigned to a customer, and they are typically provided for one specific item. If you have, for example, a motorhome and a caravan that you use interchangeably, it may be possible to contract with us to store either item in your space, if we have details for both.
Are there any access issues?
Due to a width and weight restriction between our site and the A595, we insist that motorhomes and caravans access only from the A596. If you wish to travel in to collect your caravan or motorhome by car from the A595, or leave after dropping the caravan or motorhome off, that is fine.
Can I leave a car when we collect our motorhome?
Yes. If you are leaving for a short stay outside peak periods (bank holiday weekends, Easter or School Holidays) you can simply leave the car in the space vacated by your motorhome. As long as you have done so, your car shouldn’t prevent anyone else getting access, and you can lock it up and take your keys.
If you are collecting the motorhome during a peak period or are leaving for a longer trip, maybe a week or more, we ask you to prearrange leaving your car keys securely so that we can put it in your assigned space whilst you are away. In this instance, we would need to know when you were coming back to ensure your car was made available for your return.
Will VAT be added to my bill?
As of April 2022, we are registered for VAT. As a result, VAT at 20% will be added onto invoices raised after this date. If you are VAT registered, you can, of course, reclaim this. Our VAT number is shown on invoices and on the footer of the website.