For many years there has been a virtual monopoly for the supply of LPG to the caravan market, but over recent years a little more competition has crept in, but still few suppliers have the network of dealers that Calor have. I am sure that this has been to the consumers disadvantage as with virtually no compettion, refil prices are at a premium.
On the face of it, it may seem strange that bottled LPG costs so much more than LPG from a garage for cars! But to be fair there are some additional costs associated with the supply of bottled LPG. For a start the bottle is actually owned by the supply company, The owner of the bottle is obliged to maintain and periodically test it, all of which cost some money, though you also pay a significant sum to actually rent the bottle which should go a long way to cover those costs. It costs more to fill lots of small containers than large garage tanks. Even so, it is difficult to see the justification for the premium cost for bottled gas, especially as it dosent carry the road fuel duty element. which adds appox £0.4 to the cost per litre for pump LPG.
I have looked at the Safefill website, and it is impresive, and given that the bottle is designed to be filled from a garage forecourt, and at forecourt prices the system may be competivie in the long run. But short term the vaiability of the product may depend on where you live:-
According to the website map (11th May 2011) my nearest refilling point is a round trip of 18 miles compared to less than 1 mile to find my normal LPG dealer. So with the capital outlay to purchase the bottle, and the costs incured to travel to refill it, for the amount I use it could take several years to break even, and dont forget that at least every ten years the bottle will need to be retested and certified - I see no costs posted for that at the moment.
Many caravanners go abroad. You need to check the availability of refilling points on your itinerary.
When (and if) more refill sites become available the situation may change but until then I will stick with my local builders merchant bottled gas supplier.