A static caravan spends most of its life unattended. Even a well-used van sits empty midweek, and from the end of October to March — when many parks close entirely — it stands in a quiet, dark park with the electricity to the pitch often switched off. That closed season is precisely when break-ins, tool thefts from verandas and storm damage happen, and precisely when owners are a hundred miles away wondering. A camera on the pitch turns that wondering into a thirty-second app check.
The three problems a caravan camera must solve
- No power in the closed season. Parks routinely isolate hook-ups over winter. A camera that needs the pitch supply goes dark exactly when you need it. Solar power — a proper panel and battery, not a trickle-charger — is the fix.
- No WiFi worth using. Park WiFi rarely reaches pitches reliably, and it's often off out of season anyway. A 4G camera with a multi-network SIM (EE, O2, Three or Vodafone — whichever is strongest at your park) carries its own connection.
- The park's rules. Your pitch licence almost certainly requires permission for additions, and cameras must respect neighbouring pitches. Get the operator's OK first — in our experience parks say yes to a camera angled at your own van and veranda, because it makes their site safer too.
What to buy
The right spec for a static is the same as for any off-grid site: solar powered with a winter-sized panel (the Solar 360 Mini pairs a 26W panel with a 15,600mAh battery — sized so British winter light keeps it running), 4G connected with a multi-network SIM, and local recording to a memory card so there's no monthly cloud fee on top of your site fees. Person and vehicle detection matters more than resolution: you want a phone alert when someone steps onto the veranda in December, not ten thousand hours of empty decking.
Where to mount it
- On the van itself, high on the gable end or above the veranda, angled along the front — covers the door, the steps and the parking space in one view.
- Panel with open sky, ideally south-facing; a veranda post or roof edge usually works. Low winter sun is the constraint — avoid spots shaded by neighbouring vans or trees.
- Your pitch only. Angle away from neighbours' windows and decking, and add a small CCTV sticker — it's both the polite thing and half the deterrent.
What it does all winter
Owners use the same camera three ways: security (a person alert from a closed park is worth acting on — phone the warden or site security with a live view in hand), storm checks (after a named storm blows through, look at your roof and veranda from the sofa instead of driving three hours), and arrival checks (see the van's fine before you set off for the first weekend of the season). Insurers increasingly ask what security an unattended van has; a recorded camera is a concrete answer — check your policy's requirements.
Park operators: the same logic, site-wide
If you run the park rather than a pitch, the same cameras cover barriers, storage compounds and far corners with no trenching — we've written a full guide to holiday park and caravan park CCTV, including the owner-upsell angle for park shops.
Not sure whether your park's signal or your pitch's aspect will work? Send us the postcode and a photo of the pitch — our UK team will give you a straight answer before you buy, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee if the site proves us wrong.