Towing Advice

CARAVANS – TOWING WITH CONFIDENCE
Thinking About Taking A Trip With A Caravan In Tow? Here Are Some
Handy Hints…
Towing for the first time can be daunting, so it is a good idea to talk to someone who’s done it before. A little advice can prevent mishaps or accidents which could take the edge off your holiday. Any ‘old timer’ will tell you that the driver needs to have good anticipation and the car needs adequate engine power and torque – and above all good brakes!
It’s also worth checking out whether your own car is suitable for towing, or whether you might have to consider investing in a more suitable vehicle. A glance at the side profile, according to Caravan Club writer Stuart Bladon, will give a clue or two to the car’s potential.
If it has a relatively long wheelbase and if the rear overhang – that is, the distance between the rear wheels and the back of the car, is short, then it should do the job. It helps, too, if the suspension, especially at the back, is fairly firm.
Pulling a trailer of any sort inevitably means more work for the engine, which in turn means higher fuel consumption. For this reason, many caravaners have opted for diesel engines, which give good economy figures even when towing. However, if you watch the speed limit (50mph off the motorway) and negotiate steep inclines carefully, then even your petrol-powered car shouldn’t notch up too high a holiday fuel bill.
Fitting the right equipment
Whatever car you choose to set off in, it’s important to fit a 50mm tow-ball and wiring socket. Your dealer will be more than happy to advise on how to equip your car for towing – it might cost about ?200 for the kit plus labour, but you will have peace of mind that your car is ready for the off.
You must also ensure that the caravan’s obligatory lights – stop, tail and rear foglamps as well as front sidelamps – are all wired into the car’s electrical system. And don’t forget your registration plate!
Your caravan will probably be wider than your car, so you will have to fit a long-reach mirror to enable you to see past the offside of the caravan -and if you’re planning to venture abroad, a mirror for the nearside would be handy, too.
Fitting the caravan onto the car is a job which can be done single-handed – but it helps if there are two of you, especially if this is the first time you’ve had to tackle this! The experts would suggest you use the following check-list as a guide:
* Check the tow ball and clean off any dirt/rust.
* Make sure it’s well greased (use oil if you have no grease).
* Reverse car up to caravan, deliberately off-centre, to bring the tow-
ball alongside the coupling; engage handbrake.
* Align tow-ball and coupling by hand and engage.
Once the car and caravan are connected it’s a good idea to run a check on all the lights – you will have more chance of replacing bulbs and fuses before you leave home than halfway up a Welsh hillside!
Loading up
It’s so very tempting to take full advantage of the caravan’s huge stowage space, but it’s important to give some thought to how you load up. It’s advisable to put very heavy items in the boot of the car, and to pack heavier foodstuffs – e.g. tinned foods – in the lower lockers. Bedding and clothes can also be quite heavy, to these should be stowed as far forward as possible.
A ride in a caravan can be pretty lively, especially if it’s windy, so do pack any breakables carefully. Heavy items in lockers should be wedged in to avoid damage to other things and doors should be firmly closed.
Before you set off make sure that all windows and roof vents are firmly closed and that the caravan door is locked. Check the mirrors too, so that they are set comfortably for you.
On the road
You will be very conscious of the extra length the caravan has added to your car, but it is crucial to keep this in mind. Avoid taking sharp corners too tightly – the caravan’s wheels are set further apart than the car’s, so could clip the kerb otherwise.
Don’t forget, too, that there’s extra width – and height – in the caravan, so perhaps some of the prettier routes along narrow lanes are best forsaken for the main roads!
If this is your first caravan holiday, you might feel that whatever happens, you will have no wish to overtake, but there will be slower vehicles on the road – in the summer, there will be plenty of tractors about! It shouldn’t be too difficult to get the hang of it, after a deep breath or two.
Pick a clear stretch and drop down a gear or even two to allow for the towed weight. Check your offside mirror, of course, to ensure that no one has crept up to overtake you and go for it as safely and swiftly as you can.
You’re probably aware that on the motorway the speed limit is 60mph, but on all other roads that drop to 50mph, so don’t be caught out. On three or four-lane motorways you are not permitted in the fast lane, but may overtake on two-lane motorways.
It’s a good idea to slow down as you approach a steep descent, as the caravan is in danger of ’snaking’ if you take it too fast. On motorways, too, be mindful that heavy trucks going by at speed can cause sideways movement of the caravan – but if you remain aware of what’s coming up behind you, you can allow for this.
It’s all common sense really. If you do your homework before you go, your holiday should be fun from start to finish.

It’s a brave or foolish individual who ventures out onto the road with a caravan on tow and no experience or training in how to handle one safely. Common sense dictates that attaching more than 1,000kg of caravan to the back of a car is going to have serious repercussions on the way the vehicle handles and performs. Then you’ve got the age-old problem of parking and manoeuvring your van around campsites and onto pitches. To the inexperienced tower with no clue as to the correct way to go about things, a tight parking space can represent an accident waiting to happen. Yes, towing a caravan successfully is not as straightforward as you might suspect and before you hit the highways or the byways, some sort of caravan towing course has got to be a sensible idea.
Fortunately, the Caravan Club run just such a thing on a regular basis at their 14 training locations around the country. In 2005, 1,600 prospective towers took part in the events and the Club reckon their courses have imparted the basics of practical caravanning to over 30,000 individuals since 1978 – just imagine getting stuck behind that lot on the M5.
In all seriousness, caravans and caravaners often receive a bad press that they simply do not deserve. Research by the Highways Agency and other bodies has shown that caravans are rarely to blame for long motorway tailbacks in holiday periods with poor lane discipline by car drivers in lanes two and three being a far more common cause. Many car drivers will point to the issue of slow-moving caravans blocking minor country roads but a properly matched caravan and towcar combination should be more than capable of maintaining a respectable speed and caravaners are advised to regularly pull over and let faster moving traffic through. Typically, far less than 1% of road accidents in the UK involve caravans and enhancing the image of caravanning through safe, courteous towing is a key part of the Caravan Club courses.
The courses are open to caravan club members and non-members alike and they are very popular so you may have a short wait before you can get on one. Once you’ve got your certificate, however, you’ll feel far more confident with your caravan on tow. After you book yourself onto a course, the Caravan Club will send you a course handbook entitled Practical Caravanning. It’s a thorough publication packed with advice and tips on how to caravan well. Keep this safe because it’s almost certain to come in handy at some stage, even if it’s only to stop the picnic table wobbling.
The courses themselves vary according to the experience and ability of the people attending. Inexperienced caravaners will find a Practical Caravaning course most useful while the Caravan Manoeuvring course might be more suitable for people who know the basics but would like extra tuition to hone their manoeuvring skills. All of the events are taken by professional driving instructors who, for the most part, are caravaners themselves. Typically, these tutors are brimming with helpful hints to make your caravanning experience safer and more comfortable – it may pay to have a pen and paper handy.
The towing courses tend to be undertaken in small groups with each individual getting as much time behind the wheel and as much one-on-one tuition with the instructor as possible. The instruction is tailored to the group’s needs, with the instructors happy to explore a wide range of subjects as required from the correct car-to-caravan weight ratios, load distribution and hitching up to road and motorway towing, reversing and steadying the caravan once you’ve got it on the pitch. The tutors also stress the importance of working as a team when reversing or hitching the caravan. Another pair of eyes can be the difference between a successful manoeuvre and a hefty repair bill, so it’s well worth dragging your partner along and making sure they pay attention.
The Caravan Club offers a one day caravan manoeuvring course for people who know the basics for £70.00 or a one and a half day Practical Caravanning course for £90.00. If you’ve got a motorhome and want to learn how to get it about more safely, there’s also a 1 day Motor Caravan Driving Course that’s available from £90.00.
Whatever your level of expertise, the courses should prove extremely handy and once you’ve taken them, you’ll feel much more confident about towing out on the roads and parking-up on site. The courses certainly make you wonder about people who buy a caravan and head off on holiday with no tuition or knowledge of how the use and control the vehicle safely. For more information on caravan towing courses, contact the Caravan Club Events Department on (01342) 336808 or (01324) 336779 – alternatively, visit www.caravanclub.co.uk.

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