This month, we’re asking you, our readers, which item of caravanning or motorhome equipment could you not live without?

Is it technology and keeping in touch with the outside world whilst you’re away in your ‘van, or do you find you simply can’t live without the simpler things in life, like the kettle, toaster or microwave?

Cast your vote in our community poll on the left. If your ‘must-have’ item isn’t listed, feel free to tell is in the comments below!

The results are now in, and it certainly looks as though we get attached to our ‘vans and keep them for at least 5 years with an overwhelming majority of 63% of voters.

Over 90% of the people we surveyed keep their caravan or motorhome for at least 3 years, with just 2% splashing out every year!

Could this be down to the recession or are caravanners naturally a frugal breed? Comments welcome!

We’ve just seen March 13 plate registrations for new motorhomes. Figures not surprisingly show that sales of new caravans and motorhomes have slowed in recent years however, there were some positive signs of recovery in certain months of 2012 with sales topping same month figures from 2011.

Regardless of the current economic climate many owners often have a set pattern of how long they keep their ‘vans. Why not let us know how often you splash the cash and change your caravan or motorhome? Maybe you like to keep up with the Jones’ and swap every year or perhaps you’ve already got the caravan or motorhome of your dreams. Vote on the left today and then why not add a comment below telling us about your buying habits.

The results are now in and we are reassured to see that almost half (48%) of the caravanners surveyed have had Tyron bands fitted to their towing outfit.

It’s also good to see that another 26% see the importance of such a safety feature and are now considering having them fitted.

For the 16% of caravanners who we surveyed that had never heard of Tyron bands and the 10% who believe that they don’t need them, we urge you to read our recent article explaining how they can help you stay in control and avoid an accident in the event of a blowout. Better to be safe than sorry!

Plus, you’ll also benefit from a 5% discount off your caravan insurance when you have them fitted.

We recently wrote an article on the benefits of fitting winter tyres to motorhomes for use in wet, icy or snowy conditions throughout the winter months.

But we want to know how many motorhomers actually use winter tyres, and whether you think they’re worth the money?

Have your say by voting in our community poll to the bottom left, and feel free to leave your comments below.

In our recent community poll we asked “Are you going touring this winter or putting the ‘van into hibernation?”, and opinion has certainly been divided.

You voted almost equally between the three options of “Using regularly throughout winter” (35%), “Not using until spring” (33%) and “May use now and again” (32%).

But with 35% of the vote it seems using your caravan or motorhome throughout winter just nosed ahead and is the most popular choice amongst our readers.

Of course with the quality of caravan and motorhome insulation and water integrity improving year on year, combined with the more efficient and effective heating systems now available, there is no reason why you can’t enjoy year round touring in the UK.

We’ve written about winter motorhoming before, so if you would like to read more visit our winter wanderings article, there’s lots of advice that will be useful for caravanners too. Alternatively, you can read here how to prepare your caravan for winter storage, and here how to prepare your motorhome for winter.

We wrote recently about how to prepare your motorhome for winter storage and have written in the past about winterising a touring caravan, but we also know that lots of people like to use their ‘van throughout the winter months.

Our community poll this month is asking what you’ll be doing with your tourer or motorhome this winter, will you be wrapping it up for the winter or putting it to use?

Have your say below!

Scotland has been voted the favourite place to visit in the UK by caravan and motorhome owners who took part in our community poll.

With 27% of the vote Scotland just edged in front of the second most popular UK destination, the South West of England, which received the thumbs up from 25% of voters.

Also in the running was Yorkshire with 16%, Wales with 10% and the North West of England with 7%.

Greater London proved to be the least popular with caravan and motorhome owners, with just 1 vote meaning it recieved around 0.3% overall. That said, the bustling capital city and it’s surrounding areas are not particularly geared towards caravan and motorhomers, and it was by far the smallest area in the vote. So perhaps it was at something of a disadvantage from the off!

We’d love to know your suggestions for future polls, if you’ve got a good idea then please feel free to comment below, and also big thanks to everybody who took part.

Well the votes from our poll have been counted and the majority of our readers think that touring caravan MOT’s are a good idea!

206 of the 357 people voted in favour of MOTs, although that works out around 58% – so opinion was definitely divided.

As we reported in September, the European Commission has put forward proposals for changes to Periodic Roadworthiness Testing which includes the introduction of MOT style tests for caravans 4 years old and over. This could be adopted into UK legislation by December 2013.

We’ll be sending your feedback and poll results to the industry’s trade body, the National Caravan Council. We want to thank everybody who voted and/or commented!

We’ll keep people informed on if and when this proposal is adopted in the UK.

This month’s poll

We’re running a bit more of a light hearted poll this month that we’d love you to vote in too:

Where is your favourite place to visit  whilst touring in the UK?

The National Caravan Council (NCC) are currently asking for feedback on a proposal to introduce MOTs for caravans and we want to get your input.

We can see both sides of the argument on this one; on the one hand an MOT system will reduce the number of caravans on the road which may not be entirely safe, but on the other hand appreciate an MOT is another expense for customers and may even put people off buying a caravan for the first time.

We’d love to know what you think, so please vote yes or no in our community poll below on the left.