I'll start by saying I'm not normally nervous about any form of driving but for some reason I'm worry about towing a caravan for the first time.
We have previously had a motorhome and travelled Europe pretty much after picking it up. We had that for 4 years with no issues. We sold when kids came along to buy a bigger house, we then had a couple of years away and then brought a trailer tent and sold that last week (I never liked it and was spoilt by the motorhome).
We now pick up our caravan tomorrow. Both the length and pulling into junctions is beginning to worry me. I'm sure once we are going I'll be fine and will adjust naturally but any advice will be gratefully received.
It's not much different to driving a motorhome in terms of length, the only difference is there's a noseweight to check and to load the caravan sensibly for stability reasons. The rest such as checking the tyre pressures should be mandatory the same as any other vehicle.
Once you have had the experience of towing for the first time you will realise that it's not that bad providing you don't exceed the 60 mph. speed limit. A motorhome has a fixed chassis with 4 wheels so has more stabilty at speed but a caravan only having two and a hitch will affect the way the outfit performs at higher speeds.
If you have had a trailer tent, you have already done some towing. I have a small trailer as well as my caravan, and I much prefer to tow the caravan. Reversing the small trailer is almost impossible, as I can't see it until it has jacknifed, but reversing the caravan is no problem. Take your time, don't rush anything, and you'll be fine.
Main thing to remember is to take your time and don't worry about the traffic around you. A lot of mistakes are the result of the driver feeling pressured to move quickly/get out of the way.
Take it easy, expect to feel the van on your car and make sure you take corners and junctions wide enough to keep your van off the kerbs
I would recommend going to a quiet place with your caravan in tow,i.e:- Industrial estate on a Sunday when most businesses are closed.
There you will be able to practise your reversing skills rather than waiting to arrive at your first outing and feeling a bit more pressure to get it right.
It will make a difference and take a lot of the pressure off until you hone your reversing skills. which with practise will become easy.
------------- It is a wise man who has something to say.
It is a fool who has to say something.
Having never towed anything before, even a trailer, my first towing experience was with my son, when I bought my diddy caravan. I was also very nervous, but actually, once out on the road, it really was easy. By the time I had drive a mile or so, I realised how easy it actually was, although I had been very nervous before actually doing it! So much so that I decided to do a bit of the motorway, only from one junction to the next, but I found that easy as well.
The first tow after a long winter break usually makes me a bit nervous, then once again, I remember how easy it is, and relax.
I have to say despite the size of the overall unit the roads and users were kind. The initial road was a little bumpy but once on better roads the ride improved, the M25 had very few lorries but those we did overtake or overtook us didn't make the caravan sway. M1 was also good and the minor roads at the end.
Even getting down our road and parking behind our gates was pretty straight forward although we wouldn't have completed the latter part without a motormover.
Happy travels everyone and here is to a good season.
I tow a 3m long trailer and would love to have a go at towing a caravan. The Volvo V70 is sustantial enough for the job. However I don't know of too many people who would volunteer their vans just to let me try it out.
It will be a priority should I, as I will, convert to a caravan from my beloved Awaya.
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Topic: First time towing a caravan
