What actually needs maintaining on a converted van
A converted van or motorhome is really two vehicles bolted together: an ordinary base vehicle, serviced like any van, and a living compartment with its own damp, gas, electrical and water systems that a normal garage never looks at. Here is the distinction, the annual schedule, and what an owner can and can't do without a certified professional.
Two jobs, not one: chassis and habitation
The base vehicle — engine, brakes, tyres, suspension — is an ordinary commercial chassis and is serviced through the same manufacturer dealer network as any van, on the same schedule. It is also covered by the national roadworthiness test (MOT in the UK, TÜV in Germany, ITV in Spain, contrôle technique in France) — but that test only checks the vehicle, not the living area built onto it.
The living compartment — often called the 'habitation' — is a separate system: damp, gas, 12V/230V electrics, water and ventilation. It isn't covered by a standard vehicle service or by the roadworthiness test, and it's the part most owners under-maintain simply because no single check catches it by default.
What a habitation check actually covers
- Damp — body panels and floor tested with a damp meter
- Gas system — leak test, regulator, hose condition and locker ventilation
- 12V and 230V electrics — RCD, leisure battery, sockets, breakers
- Water system — pump, taps, tanks, toilet
- Ventilation
- Fire safety — smoke alarm, CO alarm, fire blanket, extinguisher
- Bodywork and floor — delamination, cracked panels, seals
This is the scope that AWS-approved workshops (and habitation-check specialists more broadly) work to. Most manufacturers recommend a habitation check every year.
The damp threshold: a trade norm, not a regulation
Why skipping a year can cost you
The strongest financial reason to keep up an annual habitation check has nothing to do with comfort: a number of manufacturers make a long water-ingress warranty (commonly 10 years) conditional on a documented annual habitation check. Miss a year, and that warranty cover can be void by the time a damp problem actually shows up — often years after the missed check, when it's too late to fix the gap. Keep the paperwork, not just the memory of having had it done.
EICR: the electrical check most owners have never heard of
Separate from the annual habitation check, the NCC recommends a full EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) on the fixed 12V/230V habitation installation every 3 years for NCC-badged UK vehicles. It's a longer interval and a deeper test than the electrics section of a standard habitation check, and it's one of the least-known items on this list. This is a UK/NCC-specific recommendation — check what applies in other markets.
What it costs (UK, indicative)
This figure comes from a single workshop's own pricing, not an industry-wide tariff — treat it as an order of magnitude to budget against, not a quote.
What you can do yourself — and what needs a certified professional
| Who can do it | |
|---|---|
| Visual check for damp, cracked seals or panel damage between services | Owner |
| Testing/re-gassing the gas system, changing gas hoses or regulator | Certified — Gas Safe registered engineer (UK) |
| Full annual habitation check | Certified — AWS-approved or manufacturer-approved workshop |
| EICR (electrical installation report) | Certified — qualified electrician / approved workshop |
Vehicle test ≠ habitation check
It's easy to assume a passed national roadworthiness test means the whole vehicle has been checked. It hasn't — MOT (UK), TÜV (Germany), ITV (Spain) and contrôle technique (France) test the vehicle: brakes, tyres, lights, emissions, structural safety of the chassis. None of them look at damp, gas, habitation electrics or water. A van can pass its roadworthiness test and still have an expired or failed habitation check — the two are independent, and both matter.
Key takeaways
- Chassis/engine maintenance and the habitation check are two separate jobs — a vehicle service or roadworthiness test does not cover the living area.
- A habitation check covers seven areas: damp, gas, 12V/230V electrics, water, ventilation, fire safety, bodywork/floor.
- A damp-meter reading up to ~15% is a trade norm, not a legal threshold — investigate above it, and re-test ~3 months after a repair.
- Manufacturers commonly tie a 10-year water-ingress warranty to a documented annual habitation check — skipping a year can void it.
- The NCC recommends an EICR (electrical report) every 3 years for NCC-badged UK vehicles — separate from, and less frequent than, the annual habitation check.
- Gas work is not DIY: in the UK it requires a Gas Safe registered engineer.
- MOT/TÜV/ITV/contrôle technique test the vehicle, not the habitation area — passing one says nothing about the other.
Sources
What this page is based on — every source is verified and links out so you can check it yourself.
- Verified / official
- Provisional
- Out of date