I was thinking along the line of an AI-generated image showing my van with a fixed hob.... should the need ever arise.
Thoughts about removing gas hob / sink combo
- Thread starter icn05
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See you in about 3 weeks then.
I’ve actually just checked with my insurance company (Caravanguard) - and they won’t provide cover if there is no permanent fixed cooking facility.
They also wouldn’t cover if I did the work myself, only if it was done by a professional approved converter. Like the one who did my conversion originally (and is named on their list) who basically messed up pretty much every aspect of the conversion and then wound up the company.
So my little idea is on hold for now as I’ve not long renewed my insurance and can’t be bothered with the messing about trying to find another company.
Maybe a useful heads up for anyone who has done this or is thinking of doing - to double check with insurance. It’s something that didn’t really occur to me.
A microwave or induction hob would both be acceptable as a means of cooking but they must be permanently attached to the vehicle.The legal side is likely only to be an issue if your V5 defines you as a Motorcaravan as having fixed cooking is part of that definition.
There is no legal definition of "campervan" and some of the most publicly recognisable ones (VW California Beach) are actually registered as MPV - it's a mess.
It's worth checking the latest version as a sink is no longer included and the wording has been updated so that the "permanent cooking" can be interpreted as an induction hob or a microwave.
Internal features for motor caravans
www.gov.uk
Sterling Power seem to do a very basic induction cooker that sets in to a worktop, even if you only had it wired into the EHU and only used it occasionally for a kettle on campsites that that looks like it would meet the spirit, potentially be useful but would just be "worktop" if you never used it...
Sterling Power- Induction Hobs (IH1) | Camper van conversion electrics | Leisureshopdirect
Buy a Sterling Power- Induction Hobs (IH1) | Camper van conversion electrics | Leisureshopdirectwww.leisureshopdirect.com
We take a small microwave away with us and rest it on top of the sink/hob when camping, or if we take the awning it lives in there. There’d be little to no chance of ‘permanently attaching’ it to the vehicle though
Some insurers will, some insurers won't...
Interestingly, my broker only wanted to know the name of the convertor and the name of the design - the possibility that I could have (and did) vary the convertor's standard offering by replacing the sink/hob with a hot water tap & drain never seemed to enter into the equation.
To be fair Caravanguard did say there’ll be other companies who would cover what I asked about, its just they won’t. Which is fine I’ll wait until renewal time and maybe revisit the idea againSome insurers will, some insurers won't...some insurers need a lot of loving, and some insurers don't.
Interestingly, my broker only wanted to know the name of the convertor and the name of the design - the possibility that I could have (and did) vary the convertor's standard offering by replacing the sink/hob with a hot water tap & drain never seemed to enter into the equation.
Correct - if the van meets the definition of a Motor Caravan or of a Dual-Purpose Vehicle (as defined within the C&U regs), then car speed limits apply.
I never said there was no legal definition of "Motor Caravan", I said there is no legal definition of the term "campervan". The only alternative term mentioned is "Motor Home"
Part of the mess is that there is more than one definition of "Motor Caravan" depending on why you need one.
For the DVLA V5 body type they have the definition I linked to before.
For Construction & Use Regs (1986) the definition, as amended in 1987, is considerably more open to interpretation:
motor caravan means a motor vehicle which is constructed or adapted for the carriage of passengers and their effects and which contains, as permanently installed equipment, the facilities which are reasonably necessary for enabling the vehicle to provide mobile living accommodation for its users;
The word permanently is clearly there though, so if you are using something like a Slidepod... that's not permanent.
So what to do away from the fun of wording in legal documents?
I'd suggest that if your V5 doesn't define your vehicle body type as something clearly legally entitled to travel at 70 mph on that evidence alone then you need to rely on the wording above if you wish to argue you are a "Motor Caravan". And that probably means making sure you can argue you meet the spirit of it with permanently installed equipment for living. For me that means a sleeping arrangement, a cooker and likely a table.
There is another angle of arguing that you are a "Car Derived Van" (Transporters clearly are not) or a "Dual Purpose Vehicle". Rather than going into that, as there is even more nuance, it's better to point folks towards the very good summary written by @Ads_Essex here:
It has to be said this was a significant consideration to me of going with a Carvelle though, ironically, I tend to drive everywhere at 60mph for less stress and better economy!
Come on guys, I explicitly stated, "without resurrecting the whole DVLA V5 campervan discussion! 
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@roadtripper, I think we're in broad agreement, but there's only one definition of Motor Caravan that's relevant to insurance and to traffic enforcement - the one in the C&U regs.
Your comment that Slidepods don't satisfy the requirement for permanency raises an interesting question - given that all internal additions can be removed, what specifically does the legislation mean by "permanent"?
Your comment that Slidepods don't satisfy the requirement for permanency raises an interesting question - given that all internal additions can be removed, what specifically does the legislation mean by "permanent"?
My vans conversion isn't finished (hopefully soon), but when I was looking for insurance last time a number of companies asked if it had hob + sink. Its food for thought, I'd rather not bother with a sink in particular but needs thinking about.
Doesn't this depend on unladen weight? Think the max is 2040kg, which mine exceeds.It fulfils the MPV status though, so still car speeds
I haven't got a sink or hob in my self conversion and don't want them, though I was blissfully ignorant of the requirement for a fixed installation in order to be a campervan
Put me down for a realistic electric hob sticker.
Put me down for a realistic electric hob sticker.
Sorry - drink + being thick = I don't get it???African or European?
We have a self converted campervan, small sink , fixed microwave and no hob.
Reclassified by the dvla back in the day before they got all funny about it
Never been asked whether it has a sink or a hob by any insurance company only 'some' don't cover self conversions .
Interesting point you make though over checking things with your insurance before undertaking such work
I'd have thought removing gas from your would make it safer and therefore less risk for an insurer....but what do I know?
Reclassified by the dvla back in the day before they got all funny about it
Never been asked whether it has a sink or a hob by any insurance company only 'some' don't cover self conversions .
Interesting point you make though over checking things with your insurance before undertaking such work
I'd have thought removing gas from your would make it safer and therefore less risk for an insurer....but what do I know?
