A caravanning holiday offers much-needed respite from the monotony of busy life. For the duration of those glorious, sun-kissed days on the road, you can safely forget about meetings, deadlines, progress reports, peak-hour traffic and everything else that contributes to your hectic lifestyle. Just so that nothing comes in the way of the pure bliss of your next camping holiday, here is a handy checklist of documentation that you and your fellow travellers should be carrying with you on the road.
Original documents (in hard copy):
- Passports or birth certificates (for every traveller)
- Driver’s license (for whoever might take a turn at the wheel)
- Caravan insurance documentation (CIL, etc.)
- Medicare and personal insurance certificates
There is a distinct possibility that you don’t need to produce any of these over the course of your caravanning holiday. But in the interest of enjoying a worry-free break from your city life, having these originals handy is always a good idea. Also carry at least 2 sets of photocopies of these documents in separate folders and create a digital backup as well.
Other documentation (in soft copy)
- Relevant medical records (for every member of your group)
- Receipts of items under warranty (motorhome components, appliances, gadgets, etc.)
- Your latest tax returns
- Bank statements (of all adults in your group)
- Wills
- Social security documents (for every member of your group)
- Vaccination records of your kids
- Vaccination records of your pets (required by certain pet-friendly caravan parks)
- Emergency contacts list
Not all of the above documents seem really necessary. But again, their purpose is to keep you geared to face any unexpected or emergency situations on the road. Scan all the above paperwork and keep a copy in your laptop or tablet. Also back them up in at least one other device (if you’re travelling as a group) and if you really want to be safe - have some one back at home have access to them as well.
Important documentation storage tips:
Caravans don’t allow us the kind of storage space we’re used to at home. As such, you would need to be smart and efficient in how you go about storing your important documentation.
A simple way to avoid this, is to create an online cloud storage option for your group (DropBox or something similar). Share the folder’s link with every member of your group so that each one of you can independently upload important information as and when it’s convenient for you. Once all the digital documents are uploaded, download the entire set into each of your laptops or tablets, so that they are readily available even if you’re offline. If you don’t have a scanner at home, install a handy scanning app in your smartphone. This will allow you to quickly take a snapshot of any document, and send a copy to your email or cloud storage folder.
As far as storing hard copies of important documents in your caravan is concerned, buy good quality folders where you can organise everybody’s paperwork into separate sets without the entire bunch becoming too bulky. It is always a good idea to maintain a separate folder for each one of you and to limit its size to an A4 or less. This will enable each member of your group to carry his or her individual documents in a backpack or the like.
Before you head out on your upcoming caravanning trip, spare a couple of days to get all your documentation sorted. Create separate checklists for original hard copy documents and photocopies or scans. It may be boring, sure, but a little bit of organisation will go a long way in leaving you free to enjoy your holiday to the fullest!
DISCLAIMER* Please note, this advice is general in nature and we strongly recommend consulting the product manual and where relevant, a professional installer.
