Mandat de remise en forme, immatriculation et location de camping-cars

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Confirmez les dates d’inspection et d’expiration des licences avant le départ. Un WoF vérifie les éléments de sécurité spécifiés à la date de l'inspection ; ce n'est pas une garantie contre une défaillance mécanique ultérieure.

Demandez à l'opérateur d'expliquer tout certificat d'aptitude ou tout affichage de redevance routière pertinent pour le véhicule.

Les contrôles des conducteurs sont toujours importants

Inspectez les pneus, les phares, les rétroviseurs, le pare-brise, les liquides et les témoins d'avertissement. Signalez les dommages avant de quitter le dépôt et photographiez l'état convenu.

Sécurisez les armoires, les bouteilles de gaz, les tables et les objets en vrac. Un véhicule légal peut toujours devenir dangereux lorsque l'espace de vie n'est pas préparé pour la circulation.

Quand quelque chose change

Arrêtez-vous en toute sécurité en cas de voyant d'avertissement, de problème de pneu ou de nouvelle vibration. Contactez le loueur ou le prestataire routier avant de continuer d'une manière qui pourrait aggraver les dommages.

Ne modifiez pas les sièges, la plomberie, le gaz ou les raccords structurels sans autorisation qualifiée. Les modifications peuvent affecter l’inspection, la certification et l’assurance.

What a WoF actually covers

A Warrant of Fitness is a periodic safety inspection covering brakes, tyres, lights, steering, structure and glazing. It is a snapshot on the day of inspection rather than a guarantee of condition, and the legal responsibility to keep the vehicle roadworthy sits with the driver at all times.

Driving a vehicle with an expired WoF is an offence and can void insurance. Check the label on the windscreen when you collect a rental, and check that the expiry covers your entire hire period rather than just the pickup date.

Registration and road user charges

Vehicle licensing, commonly called rego, must be current and is displayed on the windscreen. Diesel vehicles additionally require road user charges purchased in advance per thousand kilometres, and running past the distance purchased carries a penalty.

For a rental, ask whether RUC is included in the daily rate or billed separately at the end, because on a long trip in a diesel campervan it is a meaningful amount that can arrive as an unexpected charge.

Self-containment is a separate certificate

Self-containment certification is not part of a WoF and proves nothing about roadworthiness. Equally, a current WoF says nothing about whether a vehicle may be used for freedom camping. They are independent requirements and you may need both.

Check the self-containment warrant against the vehicle registration on the public register rather than trusting the sticker, and confirm the certified occupancy matches your party.

Checks worth doing yourself

Before a long leg, check tyre pressures and tread including the spare, the oil and coolant levels, the lights and the windscreen washers. Rental campervans are frequently handed over with underinflated tyres, which costs fuel and handling at once.

Confirm the spare, jack and wheel brace are actually present and that you know where the jacking points are. Discovering they are missing on a gravel road on the West Coast is a considerably worse time to find out.

If something goes wrong on the road

Rental agreements set out who to call and what you may arrange yourself. Getting repairs done without approval frequently voids reimbursement, so call first even when the fix seems obvious and the delay is irritating.

For a breakdown in a remote area, stay with the vehicle. It is shelter, it is far easier for rescuers to spot than a person walking, and on many South Island roads walking out is considerably worse than waiting.

Carry the roadside assistance number written down rather than only in a phone, and be able to describe where you are. A road name and the nearest identifiable landmark is usually enough for a tow operator to find you.

Returning the vehicle

Most disputes at return are about cleanliness, fuel level, tank emptying and undeclared damage. Photograph the vehicle inside and out at pickup and again at return, with the odometer and fuel gauge visible.

Empty and rinse the waste tanks before returning, because cleaning charges are high and easily avoided. Read what condition the agreement requires rather than assuming a reasonable standard.

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