Why we break caravans on site: what the £500–£850 actually pays for
The moment towing stops being an option
Every job starts the same way: can this caravan survive being towed? If the wheels are seized, the chassis has rotted through, or the walls are visibly parting from the floor, the answer is no. At that point there are only two routes left. This is why we break caravans on site in most cases: either we break it up where it stands, or we lift it onto a tow bed and take the whole thing away in one piece. Both end with the same outcome (the caravan is scrapped), but they are not the same job, and they don't cost the same.
Why you can't just tow it away
A caravan that isn't sound enough to tow is a hazard at 60mph, not just to whoever's driving it. Panels can peel off, an axle can give way, or a wheel can detach entirely. All of this has happened on UK motorways to caravans that looked fine parked on a drive. We won't put a crew, a customer, or other road users at risk to save a job twenty minutes. If a caravan can't be towed safely, it doesn't leave the site in one piece. It gets broken up instead.
What if I get it towed to you myself?
Yes, in theory. But it rarely changes the outcome. If the caravan genuinely is towable, you'd be paying for a straightforward collection anyway, priced at £350–£450. If it isn't towable and you tow it regardless, you're taking on the exact risk we won't take on your behalf. A caravan that comes apart on the road becomes a police matter, not a scrapping one. It's very rarely worth it.
What breaking a caravan on site involves
The order it happens in
Once a quote is confirmed, the crew arrives with the right cutting and lifting equipment for the job. They work through the caravan section by section (roof, walls, chassis), clearing the waste as they go, so a site isn't left half-stripped overnight.
How long does it take?
A single tourer usually takes a crew half a day to break and clear, start to finish. A static caravan can take a full day or more, depending on size, condition and how the site is accessed. Awkward access adds time on top of that: narrow gateways, soft ground, a pitch that's a long carry from the road.
Is it noisy or messy?
Yes, while the crew's on site. There's cutting equipment involved and it isn't silent. It's not left messy, though. Every panel, frame section and fitting that comes off the caravan leaves with the crew the same day, not stacked at the side of the pitch for someone else to deal with.
What's left behind when we're done?
Nothing of the caravan itself. You're left with a cleared pitch, ready for whatever comes next: new decking, a fresh static, or just an empty space where a problem used to be.
Static caravans: the same job, bigger scale
Everything above applies to static caravans too, just at a larger scale. A static caravan can't be towed under any circumstances, so breaking it up on site is the only route from the outset. There's no tow-bed alternative to weigh up. A static breaking job runs £1,800–£3,980, depending on size, construction and access to the pitch. If the wood from the static can be burned on site rather than hauled away as waste, the price drops by a few hundred pounds. Worth asking about when you get your quote.
The tow-bed alternative costs more, not less
Loading a non-towable caravan onto a tow bed sounds like it should be simpler than breaking it up. It isn't cheaper. It needs specialist transport built for the job and careful loading of a caravan that's already structurally compromised. Once it's off site, it still has to be broken up somewhere else. You're paying for an extra step, not skipping one, which is exactly why most customers in this position choose on-site breaking instead.
Where the £500–£850 goes
It isn't a fee for the inconvenience of a difficult job. For a non-towable tourer, £500–£850 covers the crew's time on site and the cutting and lifting equipment they bring. It also covers the waste that leaves with them at the end of the day. One thing it doesn't cover: the skip. If you want the material kept on site rather than taken away with the crew, you'll need to arrange your own. Most jobs need a 6–8 yard skip, booked and paid for separately.
If a quote for a non-towable caravan sounds like a simple collection, ask why
A caravan that can be safely towed is a £350–£450 job: a driver, a tow hitch, a straight run to the yard. A caravan that can't be towed is a different job entirely, with a crew, equipment and site time built into the price. If someone quotes you a collection-style price for a caravan you already know isn't towable, be wary. Either they haven't understood what you've described, or the quote won't survive them actually turning up. Quotes vary for a lot of reasons (we've written about why elsewhere), but the towable/non-towable split is the biggest one by far.
What we need from you before we can book it in
Clear photos, including the damage
We'd rather see the problem than guess at it. Send clear photos of the caravan from outside and in, including anything that's damaged, rotten or missing: a wheel that's gone, a floor that's soft, a wall that's separating. It's the difference between a quote that holds and one that changes the moment the crew arrives. If you're not sure what to photograph, this covers it properly.
Access details
Tell us how the crew gets to the caravan: gate widths, ground conditions, whether it's on a park that needs notifying, whether there's a long carry from the nearest access point. None of it rules a job out, but it does change how long the crew needs on site.
We're heavily booked most of the year. Once your quote is confirmed, book within 24 hours. Leave it longer and the next available date can slip by several weeks. Get your quote and we'll tell you honestly whether you're looking at a collection or a breaking job before anyone sets foot on site.