What to Do If Your Caravan or Motorhome Breaks Down on Holiday

There are few worse feelings than a breakdown or a fault when you're away from home. The fridge stops cooling on the hottest day of the year, the water pump falls silent, the electrics die, or you're stranded at the roadside far from anyone who knows your vehicle. It's stressful, it's inconvenient, and the temptation is to panic.

Don't. Most holiday faults are fixable, often on site, and knowing what to do — and in what order — turns a potential holiday-wrecker into a manageable hiccup. This guide is your action plan: the immediate steps, how to decide whether you need a mobile engineer or a recovery service, a fault-by-symptom troubleshooting guide, what your insurance is likely to cover, how to vet an emergency engineer when you're stressed, what it's likely to cost, and how to prevent the most common breakdowns in the first place.

Immediate first steps

Whatever's gone wrong, start here.

1. Make sure everyone is safe. If you're at the roadside, get everyone out of the vehicle and behind a barrier, away from traffic. If you're on a pitch, there's no urgency — take your time. 2. Position the vehicle safely. Roadside: get as far off the carriageway as possible, hazards on. On a motorway, follow the standard breakdown advice — get behind the barrier, well away from the vehicle. 3. Assess calmly what's actually happened. Is this a safety problem (gas smell, brakes, something unsafe to move) or an inconvenience (fridge, water pump, awning)? That distinction drives everything that follows. 4. For any gas smell: turn off the gas at the cylinder immediately, ventilate, avoid any ignition source or electrical switches, and don't use the system until a registered engineer has checked it. Treat gas as urgent.

Once everyone's safe and you've assessed the situation, you can work out who to call.

The decision tree: roadside, on-site, or manageable?

There are really three situations, and they need different responses.

Roadside breakdown (the vehicle won't drive safely)

If your motorhome won't drive, or your tow car/caravan combination has a mechanical or tyre failure on the road, this is a recovery situation, not a repair-on-site one. Call your breakdown/recovery provider. Do not attempt to limp on with a vehicle that's unsafe to move.

On-site failure (you're parked, something in the living area has failed)

If you're on a pitch and the problem is in the habitation side — fridge, water, electrics, heating, gas appliance, awning — this is the classic mobile engineer situation. The vehicle is safe where it is; you need someone to come and fix the fault.

Minor fault you can manage

Some faults are annoying but not trip-ending — something you can work around until you're home, or fix with a simple action. Not everything needs a call-out. The troubleshooting guide below helps you tell which is which.

When to call recovery vs a mobile engineer

The simple rule:

• Call your recovery service when the vehicle can't be driven safely — mechanical failure, serious tyre damage, an accident, or anything that makes moving it unsafe. Recovery gets you and the vehicle to safety or to a garage.
• Call a mobile caravan/motorhome engineer when the vehicle is safe where it is but a habitation system has failed — fridge, water, 12V/mains electrics, heating, gas appliances, awning, motor mover. These are exactly the faults a mobile engineer handles on site — see emergency / breakdown callout.

A good emergency engineer will also tell you honestly if what you've got is actually a recovery job, rather than taking a call-out fee for something they can't fix on site.

How to find a mobile engineer fast (without panicking)

When you need help quickly:

1. Search for a local mobile caravan or motorhome engineer in the area you're touring — not back home. Browse by region to find the area you're in, look for emergency / breakdown callout cover, and flag your enquiry as urgent. 2. Have your details ready: vehicle make and model, the exact fault, your precise location (campsite name and pitch, or road and nearest junction), and your phone number. 3. Ask the campsite or holiday park. Sites in touring areas usually know the local engineers and can point you to someone reliable. 4. Be ready for a call-out fee and, out of hours, a premium — that's normal for emergency work (more below).

Clear, well-located enquiries get the fastest response, especially in busy season when engineers are stretched.

Common faults by symptom

Here's a practical, calm run-through of the faults that most often strike on holiday — what's likely causing each, whether you can do a temporary fix yourself, and who to call. None of this replaces a qualified engineer, especially for gas; it's to help you understand and triage.

Fridge not cooling

• Likely cause: Three-way fridges run on gas, 12V or mains. The commonest holiday culprit is the gas side (if running on gas) or simply being on the wrong power mode, plus poor ventilation in hot weather.
• DIY temporary fix: Check it's set to the right power source for your situation; on mains, check the hook-up; on gas, check the cylinder isn't empty and the gas is on. In heat, make sure the external vents are clear and shade that side of the vehicle. Give it hours, not minutes, to recover.
• Who to call: A mobile engineer if it still won't cool. Gas-side faults need a registered engineer.

Water pump silent / no water

• Likely cause: A blown fuse, a flat leisure battery, an airlock, a microswitch fault in a tap, or an empty/disconnected water container.
• DIY temporary fix: Check the obvious — water level, connections, the pump fuse, and battery charge. Listen for the pump trying to run.
• Who to call: A mobile engineer for a genuine pump or wiring fault.

Electrics dead (12V or mains)

• Likely cause: 12V failures often trace to a flat or failed leisure battery or a blown fuse; mains failures to a tripped RCD, a faulty hook-up lead, or the site bollard.
• DIY temporary fix: Check and reset the RCD; check the hook-up lead and the site supply; check the leisure battery charge and the relevant fuses.
• Who to call: A mobile engineer if it's not a simple reset — and don't poke around inside the consumer unit yourself.

Gas not igniting

• Likely cause: Empty cylinder, regulator or changeover fault, or an appliance issue.
• DIY temporary fix: Check the cylinder isn't empty and the gas is turned on at the bottle. Stop there.
• Who to call: A Gas Safe registered engineer. Do not attempt gas repairs yourself — and if you smell gas at any point, shut it off and ventilate.

No hot water

• Likely cause: The water heater runs on gas, mains electric, or both. A gas-only heater won't fire if the cylinder is empty or the gas is off; an electric heater needs the hook-up and the right switch on; many heaters also won't heat until the system is filled and primed.
• DIY temporary fix: Confirm the fresh water system is full and the pump is running (no water means nothing to heat). Check you've selected the right energy source — gas, electric, or both — and that the hook-up is live for electric. On a gas heater, confirm the cylinder has gas. Give it the manufacturer's stated warm-up time.
• Who to call: A mobile engineer if it still won't heat; gas-side faults need a registered engineer.

No heating (cold weather)

• Likely cause: Caravan/motorhome space heaters (Truma, Alde and similar) run on gas, electric, or both. Common holiday culprits are an empty cylinder, the wrong energy mode selected, a tripped supply, or — for blown-air systems — a fault in the fan or controller.
• DIY temporary fix: Check the energy source selected and that gas/electric is actually available, as with the water heater. Make sure vents and outlets aren't blocked. Never run the engine or any non-flued source to keep warm overnight — that's a carbon monoxide risk.
• Who to call: A mobile engineer, urgently in genuinely cold conditions, especially with young children, older travellers or pets aboard. Gas-side faults need a registered engineer.

Damp surfacing

• Likely cause: A failed seal letting water in during wet weather.
• DIY temporary fix: There's no quick on-trip fix beyond keeping the area dry and ventilated; note where it's coming in.
• Who to call: Not usually an emergency — book a damp survey/repair when convenient (see our damp guide), unless water ingress is significant.

Awning damage

• Likely cause: Wind damage — torn fabric, bent or broken poles, a detached canopy.
• DIY temporary fix: Take the awning down if it's a safety risk in wind; secure or remove a damaged roll-out canopy so it can't deploy while driving.
• Who to call: A mobile engineer or awning specialist; for storm damage they can often make it safe on site.

Motor mover dead

• Likely cause: Almost always battery-related — movers draw huge current and won't work on a low battery — or a fuse or connection fault.
• DIY temporary fix: Check the leisure battery is well charged and the connections are sound.
• Who to call: A mobile engineer if the battery's fine but the mover won't engage.

Insurance: what's typically covered

This is an area where details matter and policies vary, so treat the following as general guidance and check your own policy.

Breakdown/recovery cover for a motorhome, or for the tow car and caravan combination, typically covers recovery — getting you and the vehicle to safety or a garage — when the vehicle can't be driven. What it commonly includes:

• Roadside assistance and recovery of the vehicle (and, for a caravan, often the tow car and caravan together — check the caravan is named/covered).
• Onward travel or overnight accommodation if you're stranded, on higher tiers.
• A set number of call-outs per year, sometimes with a mileage or vehicle-size limit (large motorhomes can exceed standard limits — check the dimensions your policy allows).

What it usually does not include: repairs to the habitation side (a fridge, pump or heater fault), wear-and-tear failures, or the cost of parts. Recovery gets you moving; it doesn't fix your appliances.

Caravan/motorhome insurance is a separate policy and covers damage — storm, accident, theft, fire, malicious damage — but not wear-and-tear failures. So storm damage to an awning may be a claim; a fridge that simply stops working is not.

European cover is a separate consideration if you're touring abroad — confirm it's included, the countries and duration covered, and how recovery works overseas before you travel.

The claim process, step by step

If something happens that you think is covered, a calm, methodical approach protects your claim:

1. Make the scene safe first — people before paperwork. 2. Contact your insurer/breakdown provider as early as you can. Many policies require you to notify them before authorising significant work or recovery; paying first and claiming later can jeopardise the claim. 3. Document everything — photograph the damage and the scene, note the date, time and location, and keep the campsite or pitch details. 4. Keep all receipts and reports — the engineer's written report, parts invoices, any recovery paperwork. These are your evidence. 5. Get authorisation before non-emergency repairs where the policy requires it; for genuine emergencies, document why immediate action was necessary. 6. Follow up in writing and keep a record of who you spoke to and when.

The key distinction to hold onto: insurance and breakdown cover deal with recovery and damage; the cost of fixing a failed habitation appliance usually comes out of your own pocket unless it's accident damage. Knowing this in advance avoids a nasty surprise — and means you call the right number first.

Seasonal pitch issues: who's responsible?

If you keep a caravan on a seasonal pitch, responsibility can be split between you, your insurer and the site operator. Broadly: your own insurance covers your vehicle; the site operator is responsible for the pitch and site infrastructure (the hook-up bollard, the hardstanding). If a fault is on the site's side — a faulty electrical bollard, say — raise it with the site. If it's your vehicle, it's yours to sort. When in doubt, check your pitch agreement and your policy.

How to vet an emergency engineer when you're stressed

Being stressed and far from home is exactly when people skip the checks that matter — and when the rare rogue trader does best. A few quick questions protect you without slowing things down much:

• Check for accreditation — MCEA, AWS, or the right Gas Safe registration for any gas work. You can verify a Gas Safe registration in moments online or by phone, and a genuine engineer will give you their number without hesitation.
• Confirm they actually cover your area. A touring engineer's whole job is travelling to you, but check they'll reach your specific location and roughly when — not next week.
• Ask for the call-out fee and likely costs upfront, before they travel, and whether that includes the first hour or just the journey. Get it clear so there are no surprises on the pitch.
• Look at recent reviews if you have a moment — this directory shows ratings alongside accreditations, so you're not relying on a single voice.
• Be wary of red flags: no verifiable credentials (especially for gas), no written quote, pressure to pay cash upfront in full, or a reluctance to put anything in writing. A genuine professional won't mind any of these questions.
• Trust the site's recommendations — established touring parks deal with the same local engineers season after season and know who's reliable. When you're far from home, the site's local knowledge is one of your best filters.

You don't have to choose between fast and careful: the checks above take a couple of minutes on the phone and are exactly what a reputable engineer expects to be asked.

What to expect to pay

Emergency work is priced differently from a scheduled service:

• Call-out fee: covers the engineer's travel and time to reach you — expect this before parts and labour.
• Out-of-hours premium: evenings, weekends and bank holidays — when many holiday faults strike — usually carry an uplift.
• Parts: urgently sourced parts may cost more than on a planned job.
• Indicative total: emergency call-outs commonly run from around £80 to £250+ depending on time, distance and work involved.

It's more than a scheduled visit, but it's the price of getting expert help to your pitch quickly — and far cheaper than a ruined holiday.

How to prevent the most common holiday breakdowns

Most holiday faults are predictable, and a pre-trip check prevents a good share of them:

• Have your annual habitation check and service done before the season — it catches gas, electrical, water and damp issues before they strand you (see our habitation check guide).
• Check tyres and pressures (including the caravan's) before you set off — age and pressure matter more than mileage.
• Test the leisure battery and, if you tour off-grid, your charging/solar setup.
• Check the gas — a full cylinder, a spare, and appliances working before you leave.
• Inspect seals and the awning for anything that won't survive a windy week.
• Pack the basics: spare fuses, a known-good hook-up lead, a tyre gauge, and the details of how to find a local engineer (bookmark this directory).

A little preparation turns most potential breakdowns into non-events.