seasonal pitch in France

[3.0ghia]

Hi does anyone leave their van over in France for the season ?
i am toying with the idea for next year, the site i have used last year and again this year seems to me to be a decent enough site
gates are locked at night ect plenty of tourers coming and going and there are a few locals who use their caravans throughout the year for commuting to work during the week which i met last year and are very accomadating, the owner also stays on site next to the entrance.
wyen you add up the cost of several wet weekends away in britain and two to three weeks holidaying + a couple of weeks in France
the cost is quite scary, i recon i could use the van for 5- 6 weeks during the summer for far cheaper than towing and using in Britain
the cost from march to november is only 220 euros and they can also store the van over the winter for 100 euros, and have their own insurance for 180 euros per year these charges alone are nearly what i pay for storage!!
Any info would be great, fors and against

thanks Chris.

 

[ValA.]

We don't have our caravan on a site but in indoor storage in France - right down in the south. Like you we worked out that it would be cheaper, as we don't use the van in this country, we'd save on ferry costs, fuel for towing, and the cost of indoor storage in France is around half the cost of our outdoor storage in this country. We think indoor storage offers another advantage - our van is likely to last much longer and not be subject to the dreaded 'water ingress' if it's inside for forty weeks a year rather than outside on a wet and windy hilltop in Yorkshire.
Where is the site you mention? That price seems incredibly cheap for a whole season - and I'd be biting their hand off! Would you be able to take it off and still 'tour' because that's what we enjoy in France? Is it an area that you'd be happy going back to year after year. I'm not sure that I'd like to be in one place all the time - but if you can take it off and still tour then you'd have the best of both worlds. We have found that whilst the south is the area we love, we actually wish to see other bits of France too, and are considering moving the caravan to half way down France - so that once picked up we can head off in any direction. Somehow once you get all the way south there's a big reluctance to go north again!
The downsides often mentioned are servicing, and insurance - but our storage depot has a visiting caravan engineer and we had no problem arranging insurance. I understand that strictly speaking caravans left in France, strictly speaking should be 'registered' as French but I'm not sure how anyone would check up on this and it's a risk that we're willing to take.

 

[NickinFrance]

I understand that strictly speaking caravans left in France, strictly speaking should be 'registered' as French but I'm not sure how anyone would check up on this and it's a risk that we're willing to take.

Like all the ex-pats who drive UK registered cars & vans around here, le Flick is unlikely to do anything but you can bet the insurance company will investigate if you have a accident & they are faced with a massive payout because you have maimed someone.

 

[ValA.]

Yes, probably, although the circumstances when it would be the caravan which maimed someone, whilst unattached to the tow car, are very small - and any other insurance risk would surely be carried by our car insurance which covers the van for third party risks whilst being towed.