FAQs
If you can’t find the answer you’re looking for, please contact us.
Quite! Drover is offering customers the opportunity to book:
- 4×4 vehicle hire (with associated camping equipment)
- Private campsites (with off-grid shower and composting loo)
- Bolt-on accessories and services which can be found on our ‘Additional Services’ page.
Options 1 & 2 are not mutually exclusive. You may book a vehicle only, a campsite only, OR both! But please continue reading our FAQs for further information on vehicle hire and campsite hire.
Easy. Select your hire dates & times, add items to the cart and checkout.
*If you are booking a vehicle hire then you will need to meet our insurance requirements. After checking out you will be directed to our document upload page. Please see our Car Hire FAQs for further information.
*If you are hiring a vehicle you will be redirected to our “document upload page” to upload your documents to meet our insurance requirements.
You will receive an email with a booking confirmation* and subsequently an (electronic) hire pack.
*If you have hired a vehicle, we will need to verify your eligibility. Once completed then your booking will be re-confirmed.
After your booking confirmation(s), we will send you a hire pack via email which includes details of your hire, the exact location of your campsite (if you’ve hired one) and defined access. If you have hired a vehicle it will include general guidance of how to use your vehicle & kit. It will also confirm our terms of hire. This pack is intended to help you get ready for your trip.
Nearing your hire start date, we will pre-authorise your credit card to hold the security deposit amount. The hold on your credit card will last until the hire items are returned in line with our terms and conditions.
If you didn’t pay by credit card, then we will send you a credit card payment request. Remember, your card details much match the details of the main driver (it’s an insurance requirement we can’t budge on).
Please note that whilst the hold is in place, an amount equal to the security deposit will be temporarily unavailable to use. So you should ensure you have sufficient funds to fulfil your travel ambitions.
Unfortunately, we cannot accept debit card payments as standard. Doing so means we have to physically hold your money.
Please inform us as soon you know you are going to be late and we will try and accommodate you. We occasionally make delay-based charges for our staff’s time, but try not to.
Our handover takes about 30 minutes if you’ve hired one of our vehicles. We will show you basic operation of the vehicle and the opening/closing of tent and awning. You will also need to sign our hire agreement.
We will refund:
- The security deposit in full
- With reference to the booking fee
- 100% if within 3 months off the hire start date
- 50% if within 1 month of the hire start date
- 25% if within 2 weeks of the hire start date
It is possible that Drover will need to cancel your booking because you have not met our insurance requirements or due to unforeseen issues at our end. In which case we will refund 100% of your booking fee and release any security deposit.
Defender 110 – manual transmission.
INEOS Grenadier – automatic transmission.
Anyone..
- who has paid the booking fees and security deposit. The details of the payer must match the main driver and their licence.
- with a valid full UK, EU, AU, US, CA, NZ & SA driving licence (held for more than 2 years).
- between the age of 25 & 70.
- who has not been involved in more than one accident in the last 3 years.
- who has not had a motoring suspension within the last 3 years.
- without any unspent motoring convictions.
- not exceeding the following:
- two 3 point convictions are acceptable.
- single 4 point offenses are acceptable.
- single 6 point SP30, SP50 & CU80 convictions are acceptable subject to paying the additional excess of £1000 on the security deposit.
It is a condition of our insurance that the main driver (and any additional driver) provides the following:
- driving licence (copy of)
- driver sharecode
- passport (copy of)
- bank statement (copy of and within 3 months)
Document upload is a portal in which you will be re-directed to after making a booking. If documents cannot be uploaded they should be sent by email to hello@drover.life
Yes. One additional driver is included as standard. Additional drivers also need to pass our insurance requirements and sign the rental agreement. Please provide their information on our document upload portal
No. Crack on.
Our vehicles can be driven in the United Kingdom. If you wish to drive our vehicles in the EU, you need to let us know so we can issue you with the relevant certificate (otherwise you may get stopped at port).
You can only drive our vehicles off a public highway with the landowners’ permission, otherwise it is illegal to do so.
If you have hired one of our campsites, then you have permission to drive on the defined access route(s) and campsite.
We will provide you with a full tank of fuel. Please return our vehicles accordingly. But no worries if not, we will simply deduct the (pump) price from your deposit.
The security deposit is a bond to cover any damages (or other liabilities arising from the hire of the vehicle). Assuming all goes well with your hire, we will return 100% of the deposit back to your card shortly after your hire period has ended.
The amount of the security deposit is driven by our insurers and largely depends on the cleanliness of your driving record.
Should they arise during your hire period; the following excesses will be taken from your security deposit:
- Accident, malicious or vandalism – £750
- Fire & theft – £750
- Collision damage – £750
The security deposit itself will be more than the excess shown above. This is to cover uninsured eventualities, equipment that is not covered by our insurance & misuse of a campsite (getting bogged down).
If you agree to hire one of our cars, you will be responsible for the safety and reasonable cleanliness of the vehicle. You are also responsible for the congestion charges, road tariffs, speeding tickets, parking tickets or similar charges arising at the time of your hire period. We may deduct charges from your deposit accordingly if we have reason to do so.
We love all animals, especially dogs. However, whilst some are better trained than others, unfortunately we cannot accommodate them in our vehicles.
We don’t permit smoking in our vehicles or tent. You are welcome to smoke outside. Please don’t leave any trace and be mindful of fire risks.
We will meet you at the location(s) stated on your booking confirmation. The default location is our offices in Nidderdale but we also offer meet & greet for those travelling by train. This can be booked in ‘Additional Services’.
Please note we can only handover the vehicle to the main driver and hirer.
Our website is designed for you configure your vehicle as you wish. If you wish to hire a vehicle for non-camping purposes, that all breezy with us. Whilst other options may be bolted on our additional services page, standard items include:
- Free roadside motor breakdown cover
*roadside only, not in a field!
- Rooftop tent (with foam mattress)
*sleeping bags not included
- 270 degree awning
- Water tank (affixed to roof rack)
- Back up battery (powered by vehicle & solar)
- USB Charging points
- Camping chairs (x2)
- Camping table
- Solar lanterns
- First aid kit & fire extinguisher
Campers tend to prefer their own sleeping bags and so we do not provide them as standard.
We have an additional services where customers can book extra comforts for an additional fee.
If you’re not planning to eat out, our culinary camping package can also be added, which includes:
- Portable fridge / freezer
- Camping stove (Ikamper Discada) & lighter
- Kettle, chopping board, scissors, knives, vegetable peeler, can opener, corkscrew, cutlery, plates, bowls, mugs, plastic glasses, salt & pepper, white sugar.
- Washing up box, liquid, dishcloths, scrubbing brush and tea towels.
Approximately 20 seconds (once you have unclipped the 4 latches). Our tent opens and closes electronically at the click of a button. Simples
The tent is designed for two people.
The tent is tested to withstand winds up to 50mph.
Pretty good, but best not to test it in a hurricane!
In the unlikely event of lightning during your vehicle hire, we would strongly recommend getting out of the tent and into the vehicle, stowing the tent ladder safely inside the car.
Like most car hire companies; we do not offer a recovery service. In the agreement you take responsibility for the vehicle, its safety and your own safety.
If you have hired one of our vehicles, please contact our breakdown insurance as standard. You must also inform a representative of Drover.
You take responsibility for the vehicle, its safe return and your own safety. It is your responsibility to assess where you are driving is safe and to drive at a slow and respectful speed.
Sensible checks are undertaken that our defined accesses and designated campsites are safe to drive on. If you are using our campsites and get bogged down, we will try to get a local tractor to come and pull the vehicle out. However, if the vehicle becomes stuck outside of our designated campsite or its defined access route then there is a £300 penalty charge, payable to the farmer for his time (and as a deterrent to driving irresponsibly).
If you are driving off an unsealed road, it should be legal or you should have the landowner’s permission. If you become bogged down on land not operated by Drover, then you are responsible for the vehicle’s safe return. We suggest seeking help from the local farmer.
Please call or message a representative of Drover.
Private. If you choose to hire one of our campsites, we will not book that campsite to another person (although it is possible you will see the odd farmer or wildlife ranger!). You won’t be able to see or hear anything from another campsite from your own campsite.
Our goal is to draw benefits of wild camping (awesome settings, privacy, being off the beaten track), but without the hassle. This means:
- Legitimacy: You won’t need to worry about the local landowner turfing you off late at night, or having to leave at first light. You relax in your secluded setting for the duration of your stay. You’ve earned it.
- Luxuries: A few basics from modern day life… so you’re not quite so beaten off the track.
All our sites include:
- composting loo (& toilet roll)
- heated shower
- a large water tank
Some of our water supplies come direct from the river. Others are supplied by water tanks.
There is no wifi – this is a time for a digital detox! Signal is intermittent; some campsites may have signal, others may not.
Yes, to an extent! We want you to feel relaxed in your private setting.
That said, there are various potential hazards that exist in rural settings (livestock, cliffs, potholes, rivers, forestry etc.) which we need to protect customers from. Similarly, we need to protect the existing farmers and foresters who interact with the landowners we work with. For this reason there is a strict boundary to each campsite. This boundary will be confirmed to customers when we send our hire pack closer to your hire start date. These boundaries should not be crossed unless entering or leaving the campsite.
After your booking we will send you a GSX file/link which will open with the phone App OS Maps [link to the app]. OS Maps will map any “off-road” route you need to use to enter and exit the campsite.
On our website, we do not display the exact location off our campsites. This deters unauthorised persons accessing our campsites and ruining your own experience.
Our campsites are designed to be driven to in 4×4 vehicles only. The access routes can be challenging terrain which is NOT suitable for ordinary vehicles. You may park anywhere within the campsites defined boundary.
You could also walk. But it might be a long walk and this will vary from site to site.
We love all animals, especially dogs. However, some are better trained than others & we cannot permit them in our vehicles or on our campsites. This is due to protect other livestock.
We’d recommend:
- Sleeping bag & pillow
- Flashlight
- Towel
- Toiletries
- Food & water (if not eating out)
- A raincoat & fleece
- Outdoor boots
- Bug repellent/suncream
- Sunglasses
We’d recommend bringing all of the above + your tent