I never bothered with CRIS with the two 540s I owned. Eriba UK and AL never bothered registering the vans with them when new and I had issues with them when my my current Lunar was new.

I know some storage facilities require owners to have membership, but I've been around caravans since birth, and even after extensive European travel and elsewhere we have never knowingly had our VIN checked anywhere!

Someone said ANPR (Automated number plate recognition) thats fine but if the van wears the same number as a "legal" vehicle it won't get stopped

Thank you for your replies and I am still confused, But I will put the lock on and leave the key on car key ring, which I think is a good idea, just to comply with the insurance.
😕😕😕

Are you sure the insurance actually requires the hitchlock to be fitted whilst travelling, which would be a nonsense requirement, or is it covered by a phrase that would limit its fitting to when parked/pitched? Just because they ask if you use a hitchlock doesn't mean you have to use it all the time, there has to be a specific requirement in the policy terms.

Yup !! I'm with Randa on this with the hitch locks.........If it ain't fitted at all times, it gets lost/misplaced, or even left behind. and its always my fault or is it the red stuff ? If it can't get unhitched in event of an accident, its the insurers fault for stipulating its fixture at all times not my problem so far, so good. p.s. keep the van insured at all times Ian.

I have just checked the policy and it states " the hitch lock shall be fitted at all times except when hitching or unhitching the caravan from the car,"

I agree it is ludicrous to keep it locked at ll times when driving , and I agree it is the fault of the insurance company if the hitch has to be cut off in the case of an accident, I just hope I am not trapped in the car.

Sorry I raised this subject but it must have been done before I joined the forum.

Has the subject of the best wheel clamp been raised, and what type do you used?

🔒🔓🔒🔓

The two little Hitlers on the Devon DA meet we were forced to leave because of one UNFRIENDLY member of the Friendly C&CC were adamant it's illegal to drive with the hitch lock on.

I never had a strong opinion about this one way or the other, towed with the lock on many times. When we had our accident in Germany for some reason the lock wasn't on. I'm still not sure what happened after the Eriba was hit, a lot of spinning seemed to be involved. The Eriba flipped over and slid on it's side coming disconnected from the car, we're convinced (our opinion only I know) that if the lock was on the car would have been tipped over too. Then we might not have walked away from the accident.
No more hitch lock in transit for us.

Julie, beause of your experience, we no longer drive with the lock in place. We never leave her alone when we stop en route and it goes straight on when we get to the campsite.

We always put it on, when we had the accident the caravan came off the tow ball even with the lock in place.
Dave

Thanks folk. I will check but I am sure it's an insurance issue rather than a legal issue.

Thanks especially Julie as I was going to ask you about the lock following your most recent experience

The plot thickens though, Dave's came off the car with the lock on so maybe travelling with the lock is not the end of the world. Having said that ours will be staying off, mind you at the moment we have no car and no hitch lock so its not relevant yet.

I leave mine on and have done for years. However, I do not have an obsession about it. Personal choice thing. I certainly would not want to have to leave somebody to guard the van every time we stopped.

Stewart