# Do you take things out for a service?



## cabby (May 14, 2005)

talking to a fellow motorhomer yesterday and he said he has it booked into dealer for service and mot and habitation check. Mine is not due until after Christmas I said, oh that must be difficult getting everything out in the cold and wet.
Well I leave everything on board, unless a locker needs emptying to allow access.
What does everyone else do.

cabby






site helper note - more detail in title


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

Same as you Cabby.

Emptying our van would be as bad as moving house, Alan.


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## pippin (Nov 15, 2007)

Habitation check?

Biggest rip-off and waste of effort in the life of a MHer!

You can do virtually all of it yourself.


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Thank you to the site helper, I do appreciated it, however I often do short headings to entice a quick look. :lol: :lol: Also it does not show the extra in the main headings page though.so one has to open it to see what it is about.

cabby


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## brynric (Oct 17, 2009)

We would remove anything likely to get in the way of whatever work needed doing. 
Having said that we remove valuables anyway between trips as we store it away from home. And we tend to vary what we carry according to circumstance. If we are likely to have friends visit us then we'll take extra chairs and perhaps a larger table. We don't take the windbreak onto the continent. It all helps keep the weight down.


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## 747 (Oct 2, 2009)

My tip for anyone needing an MOT with a tag axle Alko chassis would be to take everything heavy out of the back end of the van.

The reason being that it will be more likely to pass on the handbrake if it is lighter. The brakes will lock up earlier (which is a pass).


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## Blizzard (Sep 21, 2009)

Mine's going in tomorrow for its first service and I have emptied it, as I don't want them to be able to claim that they could not get to a wall or floor area to check for damp, which of course with it being a Swift, it won't have any :wink: 

I was surprised at how long it took to clear out and at how much stuff we've accumulated.


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## EJB (Aug 25, 2007)

I trust my local man who did my MOT the other day....if it was a main dealer I would have to think about it :roll: 
Hab check is by a mobile company.....so I can stand and watch 8O


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## Mark993 (Jul 1, 2007)

We even leave the whisky stock in there!


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## GerryD (Sep 20, 2007)

The van is always kept ready for use, irrespective of the type of servicd.
Like others, hab service is always at home.
Gerry


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## TerryL (Feb 19, 2009)

We always empty ours out;

1/ So a full and proper inspection can be carried out

2/ We can find that little bit of equipment that "got lost"

3/ We only repack items we have actually used - apart of course from emergency stuff. (So far we haven't rejected very much, must be getting good at this!)


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## Easyriders (May 16, 2011)

We always empty ours entirely after every long trip (usually 2-3 months away in Europe), so we can give it a good clean, and check everything is working correctly (our own, regular, habitation check).

We only reload it when we're heading off again, so it is empty when it goes for service. Each time we reload it, we seem to put less in than the time before. It's a small van, and I hate clutter!


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

I can see no advantage in emptying the MH for a habitation service.

I also do not see the benefit of a hab "service" as all they appear to do is check and see that everything works. Well I do THAT everytime I use the vehicle !! So they are certainly not going to tell me anything that I dont aleady know are they???

I would ALWAYS however have an annual damp check carried out and I would expect the person carrying out the check to move anything that they felt was in the way of them carrying out said check.


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## Blizzard (Sep 21, 2009)

Mrplodd said:


> ....
> 
> I also do not see the benefit of a hab "service" as all they appear to do is check and see that everything works....


Not exactly Mr Plodd, my dealer has gone above and beyond checking everything and even checked stuff that I haven't got !!

I've now got ticks in the 'checked and passed' boxes for the following;-

1) In the underbody section - Corner steadies & folding steps (Of which I have neither)

2) In the 12v electrics section - Electric awning & step (Of which I have neither)

3) In the fire safety section - 
i) DIY additions (Of which there are none), 
ii) Smoke alarm (Which was empty as the new 9v battery was still at Sainsburys, but passed anyway)
iii) Fire extinguisher (Which is aftermarket and was in my garage)

4) In the mains electric section - Hook up cable (At home with my fire extinguisher)

5) In the body work section - Rising roof (They must have forgotten it from the optional extras list when we bought the van)

You can't appreciate the comfort and peace of mind thay my well earned cash has bought today, with all those items that I haven't got, passing all those tests !!

On a serious note, the only tick that I'm really annoyed at is the one for the smoke alarm and can you imagine how much faith I now have in the accuracy of all the ticks against the items that are actually fitted.

Service manager had conveniently gone home when I rang to give them an NIC (Notice of Intended Complaint)

Not a happy bunny tonight.

Ken.


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## dovtrams (Aug 18, 2009)

I had my habitation check yesterday to keep the warranty intact. Vehicle service and MOT today and we always empty the MH out. Makes it easier for the inspections. No need to worry about anything going missing. Chance to give the MH a good and thorough clean and finally make sure only things that are needed are put back. 

With a little help from a few friends it takes about an hour to empty and the same to put back, not a problem.

Dave


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## nukeadmin (Oct 10, 2003)

> Habitation check?
> 
> Biggest rip-off and waste of effort in the life of a MHer!
> 
> You can do virtually all of it yourself.





> I also do not see the benefit of a hab "service" as all they appear to do is check and see that everything works. Well I do THAT everytime I use the vehicle


back in the day I might have agreed with you, but now we do them and have the requisite "proper" equipment I couldn't disagree more

I assume you both then have a kane gas analyser (circa £500) to enable you to check flues and carbon monoxide readings, and a protimeter damp ingress kit (with extension lead circa £150) to enable you to accurately measure levels of damp even in hard to access areas. You also have the kit to do safety checks such as tightness test / leak test on your entire gas system, safety checks on your electrical setup (test RCDs etc)

Secondly you may have the knowledge to do the test effectively but the majority of motorhomers are not trained in plumbing / electrical work or have the experience to interpret the results of equipment correctly.

A proper habitation check should take around the 3hrs mark and test all the above plus as you mention that everything else works as desired. What tends to happen unless you are very conscientious is that niggles are apparent and you mentally log to do something about them one day but they get overlooked etc and sometimes you miss them altogether and bypass around them without even knowing. There are of course very cheap ebay chinese versions of gas analysers and damp meters which are much less accurate / ineffective. Do you want to risk your safety by skimping on an annual £150 test done correctly and professionally ?

Talking as someone who conducts hab services I can tell you it is very helpful when gas lockers, spaces around boilers and RCD / electrical boxes are free of kit, but conversely I also know the pain it is to move things around, if there is gear there the service engineer should just move it around to go about their tasks, but conversely it may take them a little while longer to finish the work. This could be reflected in you hanging around longer for them to do it, or in the worst case some dealers may charge by the hour for hab service and so it could even cost you more so its probably in your self interest to just rejig a few cupboards prior to work


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## nukeadmin (Oct 10, 2003)

> I've now got ticks in the 'checked and passed' boxes for the following;-


Are there no N/A column tickboxes on your form ?


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## Blizzard (Sep 21, 2009)

nukeadmin said:


> Are there no N/A column tickboxes on your form ?


No.

Only "P" or "F" and every single "P" , except one, had a tick in it, whether relevant or not.

The only cross was against the "Fire blanket" (which wasn't in the van).

This makes me think that whoever did the work, does what they normally do in the van and go down the check sheet without referring to it.

I couldn't agree more with your previous comments about critical safety checks, of which I have printouts containing combustion figures for both the boiler and the fridge.

There are also figures provided for the RCD checks.

Ken.


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## nukeadmin (Oct 10, 2003)

looks like whoever did your check had omitted the N/A column from their checksheets !

They are part of the NCC template so weird they removed them


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## Blizzard (Sep 21, 2009)

No sign of NCC on the paperwork, but there is a line which states "Work must be carried out in accordance with the latest AWS Standard Working Procedures"


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## nukeadmin (Oct 10, 2003)

Approved Workshop Scheme (AWS) = NCC


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## Blizzard (Sep 21, 2009)

nukeadmin said:


> Approved Workshop Scheme (AWS) = NCC


Cheers Nuke.


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## Glandwr (Jun 12, 2006)

Nuke do you think personally that the hab check should be conducted annually barring the necessity of warranty conditions 

Dick


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## nukeadmin (Oct 10, 2003)

Hi Dick, yes I do, think about it, we have an MOT to test to some degree the mechanical safety of the vehicle we drive in, but as motorhomers we spend vastly more time in the leisure part of the van using gas / electric etc that can go untested for years if in fact ever.

Seemingly the older the van the less chance of the owner having hab servicing done as well, when a van is new it is usually part of a warranty condition that hab servicing be conducted by the supplying dealer for 3-5 years, but after that only the most conscientious owners have them done. Many vans we have in for alternative work (satellite / solar etc) come in and we often suspect possible damp due to bad accessory installations / visible damage to windows / seals etc so we usually without being asked whip out the meter and spend some time quickly checking but otherwise many owners would never notice the onset of an issue which could cause untold damage and costly repair work needed because damp wasn't detected earlier on.

They are talking about making MOTs mandatory for caravans and tbh I think this is also a good idea having seen some very dodgy looking setups in our workshop !


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## Glandwr (Jun 12, 2006)

Gas appliances are probably the probably the most important element of it wouldn't you agree? I would guess that they would not on average used for more than a few weeks a year. Are you saying that is all they are capable of before being checked?

Dick


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## nukeadmin (Oct 10, 2003)

a standed hob / boiler / gas pipework in a house i would say no, but remember a motorhome is mobile, over speed bumps, grounding out on kerbs etc, its a pretty brutal environment for gas joints.

Also during the course of that year even withut use a gas hose might come to the end of its designed lifespan and need checking and replacing.


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## ChrisandJohn (Feb 3, 2008)

In future we won't take _everything_ out when we have a hab check. Last winter we stripped the van completely and set off in the snow, arriving late at the dealer's because of poor traffic conditions. Now, one of the things I enjoy about having a motorhome is knowing that we're self sufficient if caught up in a long traffic jam or road incident. As the day wore on though the snow got heavier and we thought how ironic it was that we had no bedding, food, or means of making a hot drink if we got stuck on the way home. Fortunately the accessory shop had sleeping bags, and we also bought a milk pan and water carrier (things we actually wanted) and we bought some sandwiches from the cafe, who also let us have some tea bags and milk.

Fortunately, there were no real problems getting home and we were reimbursed for the unused sleeping bags next time we called by. I don't think we'd take it anywhere now though without the basics.

Chris


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## oldun (Nov 10, 2005)

pippin said:


> Habitation check?
> 
> Biggest rip-off and waste of effort in the life of a MHer!
> 
> You can do virtually all of it yourself.


A very sweeping statement.

You may be able to do a thorough check of the water, gas and electricity etc and replace broken items but most of us cannot.


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## nukeadmin (Oct 10, 2003)

> You may be able to do a thorough check of the water, gas and electricity etc and replace broken items but most of us cannot.


Exactly oldun, most people aren't proficient at motorhome servicing so if you aren't it's best left to those who are.


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## Ozzyjohn (Sep 3, 2007)

At the risk of bringing this back to the original topic - I empty ours at least once a year - and align that to the annual habitation check. It's a good way of de-cluttering.


Regards,
John


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## Grizzly (May 9, 2005)

This beggars the question of where you put it all if you do empty it ?

5 years ago ours had to go back to Swift for a new roof so we did empty it completely. Being over Christmas we had a full house so had to rent a storage room. It surprised me how big a room we needed and we don't travel over weight and do reckon to be fairly sparing in what we take. Even the seasonal stuff that doesn't come with us every trip takes up a significant chunk of the garage at home.

We don't do more than empty the lockers that are to be worked in before it goes for service

G


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Blizzard said:


> Mrplodd said:
> 
> 
> > ....
> ...


Ken I hope you did not pay for that 

Geoff


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## peaky (Jul 15, 2009)

on brand new motorhomes when it comes to first service do dealerships do the hab side and the base vehicle ??im unsure what my dealer will do in grand canaria or wonder if I will have to book it at the local ford garage, the service book I think only goes on about habitation side I think(its all in Spanish ) wonder what to expect, ive got a 5 year water ingress on it apparently.


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