Are you ready for summer? Get your caravan ready now – check out these handy tips to help prepare your caravan for the season:

• Clean the fridge with a mild detergent and leave the door open to dry.
• Refill the water system and test for leaks (just in case any water was left in the system and the pipes have burst).
• Run water through the system to flush it out and through the drain. Use a proprietary cleaner to sterilise the water system.
• Reinstall the toilet cassette and check the rubber seals. You can smear Vaseline or similar around the top seal if it has dried out.
• Recharge the leisure battery and make sure it takes a charge and keeps it. You can use a voltmeter to test it - immediately after a full charge, it should read at least 12.5 volts and should stay there. "Intelligent" charges such as Optimate can help bring back a battery that is low on charge.
• Check for damp over the winter - if there are leaks, you can often reseal with Mastic or a similar sealant.
• Replace the soft furnishings that have been removed over the winter.
• Check your wheel clamp and hitch-lock - lubricate and re-grease.
• Re-grease the corner steadies so they wind up and down smoothly.
• Give the caravan a good wash down to remove any lichen and moss that may have built up. If you have the time to polish the outside, it'll help keep green build-up at bay.
• Unless you feel confident about doing it yourself, consider getting the caravan serviced and the gas heating system checked. You can often find mobile firms who will do it on site and charge around £100.
• Check the battery in your carbon monoxide detector and smoke detector (and if you haven't got these - buy them!).