We are hopefully picking our first van up today and driving it home 80 miles this is my first time towing a caravan and just looked outside and the trees are swaying and looks windy, do you have any tips to get me home safely?
Drive slowly is the main one around 45 if it is really windy. If the rig is balanced I've found that is the absolute key factor, you find a speed at which gusts and the general wind begin to make the van move just slow back from there,
Make sure you have a stabilizer on the car/van this will stop a lot of swaying,if the wind gets really bad and i mean bad stop,and also dont panic and hurry home as this might cause you to be involed in a accident..
as above , nice and steady .if you are on motorways or dual carriageways look out for large vehicles overtaking that can contribute to the buffeting being dished out by the wind , beware on exposed areas and coming out from under bridges / cuttings etc.
good luck
Just take it easy, and you'll be fine. A stabiliser won't make any difference. That's not what it's for. In any case, you need to feel what's going on behind. You will get used to what it feels like.
Jim
Avoid motorways which tend to more exposed and stick to A roads if you can .... we did this last Monday coming home just as the gales hit and were fine.
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Thanks for your comments, we was fine not bad at all apart from the sky light blowing off and it was shut I need to find out where in Leeds to get another from and also are they all the same size? Thanks
Quote: Originally posted by Greendemon315 on 28/5/2011
Just take it easy, and you'll be fine. A stabiliser won't make any difference. That's not what it's for. In any case, you need to feel what's going on behind. You will get used to what it feels like.
Jim
Jim ive got to dissagree with you there,a stabilizer will stop swaying in the wind to a point, just like it does when the van starts to sway due to trucks passing or when the van is loaded incorrectly.
Sorry Jeff, but this on'e been done to death already. Ten years ago, that might have been a valid point of view, but all caravan and stabiliser manufacturers and the major clubs will now tell you that a stabiliser is now regarded as a comfort device only, and is not a safety device.
It has never been suggested that a stabiliser could be used to correct a basically unstable outfit.
The very last thing a newcomer needs is to take away the sensations of towing, it's something you need to get used to, and a person with no experience needs all the driving feedback he can get.
if the van is loaded incorrectly, then load it correctly.
You cannot ever use a stabiliser to correct problems. The less experience you have, the more harm it will do. By all means, an experienced driver with a well balanced outfit can use a stabiliser to increase comfort.
Quote: Originally posted by jeff juke on 29/5/2011
Jim ive got to dissagree with you there,a stabilizer will stop swaying in the wind to a point, just like it does when the van starts to sway due to trucks passing or when the van is loaded incorrectly.
I can hardly credit it that anyone still believes that. It's dangerous nonesense. If you want the van to behave properly on the road then load it properly.
Quote: Originally posted by jeff juke on 29/5/2011Jim ive got to dissagree with you there,a stabilizer will stop swaying in the wind to a point, just like it does when the van starts to sway due to trucks passing or when the van is loaded incorrectly.
I can hardly credit it that anyone still believes that. It's dangerous nonesense. If you want the van to behave properly on the road then load it properly.
Andrew
I think my point here has been picked up wrong..a stabilizer will NOT correct a badly loaded van, it WILL keep swaying about the place,but a correct loaded van will benefit from it as far as crosswinds are concerned.I would just like to ask.whats the point of having one, old and the new alkco if, its just for to make the van look nice ?There is a difference in the handling without one and, i do NOT suggest that people Should load a van willy nilly and RELY on a stabilizer to corect the handling..I think its been the way i have worded my post and the way people have read it..
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Topic: towing in wind
I need to find out where in Leeds to get another from and also are they all the same size? Thanks 
