Hi I'm Liz from Caravan Guard insurance we're here at Panelworks in Yorkshire
and in this video we're going to go through what to expect when your caravan
comes in for repair.
Unfortunately accidents do happen and caravan panels
can be easily damaged both on or off the road. Caravan Guard deals with many
claims each year for damage to caravan panels, whether that be small dents, holes
or scratches.
As part of your caravan insurance policy we will pay for this
kind of damage to be repaired, and we regularly work with approved repair
specialist, Panelworks, to carry out this kind of work.
Panelworks specialise in
repairs to caravans and motorhomes and aim to get you back on the road as
quickly as possible.
So let's start by asking Jon Goulden, the chairman of Panelworks
what you should do if you do damage your caravan or motorhome.
First thing to do if you damage your caravan is make yourself safe and in a safe position.
Obviously if you can, drive on, then drive on. If you feel that it's not terrible then
contact your recovery agent. Also contact your insurance company.
Contact your repairer, such as like Panelworks by either email or telephone.
if you've got panel damage, the best thing for that is high tack duct tape to keep the water out.
Take photographs, ideally from about three foot away so we can see the extent
of the damage and we can quote accordingly,
At Panelworks we repair simple scuffs, dints, also splits, holes. We can do just
about anything that's wrong. In the event of a blowout we can obviously deal with
the scuffed alloy wheel as well as the wheel box damage. And generally on
caravans behind the wheel box is your wiring and your plumbing and we can deal with all
that - no problem whatsoever - and also floor damage.
Unlike other repairers whowill take an entire panel off, in most cases the panel
doesn't need to be removed which means you're not upsetting the seals that
don't need to be upset. We deal with solely what the problem is on that panel
We can rectify it with the panel in situ on the caravan, which will actually shrink
the time yourt caravan's going to be off the road and get you back on the road a lot
quicker.
Obviously the biggest delay in caravan repairs is actually the length
of time it takes to get parts, so we try and minimise that by repairing just what
is damaged. In older caravans as well, parts are not available anymore and our
aim obviously is to get you back on the road as soon as possible so you can go
out and enjoy more holidays.
To understand repair process at Panelworks let's look at this Swift that's come in.
This has been detached from the car. It's quite a common issue. It's damaged
the front panel and we need to strip parts off it. There's not a great deal to
remove, but in this case, we do need to remove the gas locker door, gas locker
door hinge and the grab handle.
And then we pull out the fibreglass
to release the pressure that its been put under and then it will start to go
through to be re-fiberglassed. Obviously in this case we actually repair the panel
from behind and from the front. So it goes through two
processes. We put some density on the back of it to give it strength and then
we refinish from the front to make it smooth again.
So once the outside has been prepared we will then primer it. It will then be
rubbed back and then it will be sent through to our
state-of-the-art paint booth for its
refinishing. To get the perfect finish we spectrometer the panel. That way you
can't see new and old paint it'll just look like it's supposed to be there.
Once the paint process has been finished it comes out for final polishing and
then it goes through for final valeting.
Average repairs take anything from two to four weeks.We try to cater for
everybody's deadlines really. If you're going on holiday and we can meet that
deadline we'll pull all the stops out to make sure you do meet that deadline.
Caravans are here on site. There's numerous caravans on site so your caravan
will be worked on in systems, as well as everybody else's. We're always busy, we've
always got something being painted and something being collected and something
being stripped so it's a it's never-ending process really.
One of the benefits of using Panelworks for a repair is whatever panel we repair
comes with a 24 month no quibble warranty.
Now if your caravan's under the
manufacturer's warranty it'll be unaffected because we're
approved by all the UK manufacturers and also if your caravan ask to have a new
panel, which you'll only get a one year guarantee, so having a repair on what is
actually damaged is more beneficial to yourself.
So there you go and a huge
thank you to the team here at Panelworks. And I think you'll agree what an
impressive job they've done of getting this caravan quickly repaired and back
on the road again.
And remember in the unfortunate event that you do have an
accident in your caravan or motorhome, or you do suffer any damage, remember
first of all to make sure that you're safe and then take steps to prevent
any further damage. You can then call our claims line to register your claim
and then remember to take some photos so that they can be then sent to the
repairer.
As John said you don't always have to fully replace a panel but quite
often scrapes, holes, and small cracks, can be easily and quickly repaired by a
specialist such as Panelworks.
For more hints and tips and useful video guides
why not head on over to the Caravan Guard website.
Thanks for watching