I start towing next week for the first time and although an experienced driver I am wondering what to do when 'the tail wags the dog' so to speak. The advice given to me is to accelerate rather than slow down, obviously obeying the speed limit. Is this the correct course of action and what other types of pulling hazards am I likely to experience?
I do 30,000 business miles a year but have got into the 'mindset, that nice and steady with a get their when you get their attitude is best.
Remember to allow more room when cornering due to the extra length.
If you feel the van starting to snake, slow down. Accelerating will only make it worse. Excessive speed is one of the causes of snaking. Watch out for coaches, white vans and anything else bigger than a normal car coming up behind and slow down slightly before they pass you, then the bow wave will not have such an adverse effect. Watch out for downhills and exposed roads that may be subject to side winds; again, slowing down a little will make the caravan less likely to snake then.
"nice and steady with a get their when you get their attitude" is certainly a good starting point in your towing career, good luck.
------------- Caz
If you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, just keep going till you go round the bend.
All I can advise you to do Andy is to ensure that where ever you are & what ever you're unit is doing, just make sure that YOU are making it do it & YOU can stop it doing it. That way you can be confident that YOU are in control. Just take it steady & don't be intimidated by vehicles trying to overtake you. Let them go when they choose to go & never speed up to please them. Always keep the safety of you & your passengers uppermost in your mind.
I'd also advise that if you wish to pull into a layby for any reason, try & find one that's on either a level piece of road or on a downhill section of road. This will make it easier for your car when you come to leave the layby & rejoin the carriageway. Many times in my jb I see heavy lorries & caravans in laybys on hills & I often think about the danger & vehicle abuse of pulling out of them when there are safer laybys just along the way.
If you find you've either gone wrong or missed your turning & need to turn your outfit around, try & turn right into a side road & then turn around. This way you have to turn left to go in the right direction. Some people panic & turn left off of their route, then turn around & find themselves having to try & turn right onto what may be a busy road with the caravan in tow. Towing is a very different ball game but is no problem as long as you think ahead & remember the caravan is there.
Thank you everyone for some first class information and guidance. This site is brilliant and to say I only stumbled across it by accident.
I remember as a kid in the 70's when I went camping everywhere with mum & dad that there was a transient community within camping were people looked out for each other and gave good advice and how regular games of cricket or football initially involving maybe 2-3 kids grew to involve loads and loads of them and dads joining in as well. I maybe wrong about the latter these days, but in a time when it seems 'bugger you Jack I’m alright' seems to be the way many people live, this site has made me realise that the 70's helping each other attitude still exists in some part of modern life.
Andy if you look in the feature/tips area at the top of the page you will find some good lists that you can print off that come in handy the first couple of times you go away with your van. check every thing twice before you set off and don't forget to make sure the roof vent is down on the van David and Jenny
If you do not have a noseweight gauge a piece of 2x2 shaped at one end to fit into the hitch head and cut to the correct lengh so that when is is put under into the hitch head the 'van is level and a pair of bathroom scale is just as good anything and will enable you to acertain the correct noseweight and will or should help towards reducing your snaking providing the unit is loaded as others have said with all the heavy items over the axle and low down and light things in the overhead cupboards. I hope this is of some help.
Rob
I am also new to caravanning this year. I was debating wether or not to do one of the courses for beginners through the caravan club. I eventually decided to go ahead and it is probably one of my better decisions. It certainly gave me some good tips and hints and also confidence in towing and especially reversing. I would certainly recommend them. http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/Practical+Help/Courses+and+Videos/Practical+Caravanning+Courses/
I have just completed a towing qualification for my work and they say to keep the cars engine in control. by this i mean dont try and go everywhere in 5th or 6th gear keep the revs up and the car in control of the 2.
Also the nose weight is very inportant you can do this with bathroom scales by using a bottle jack set the scale to zero then jack up the hitch to see how much weight is on the nose
I towed for the first time a couple of weeks ago from Leeds to York, which fortunately, as you probably know is a pretty flat / straight run. I dropped a bit of a bollock in that I only wound up the jockey wheel as far as it would wind up (about 2 inches off the road when hitched up!) little did I know that the thing also unclamps so you can lift it right up for when towing. SO be sure to check if your jockey wheel does this too. As the guy above says the nose weight is important also, that is not to say you dont want any nose weight, If your car has a recommended nose weight of 75 kg then try and get your nose weight something close to this as its a factor in keeping your van attached to the cars tow bar. Also familiarise yourself with the hitching system as initially I couldnt work this out and i set off only to see my van bounce off the towbar and "nose dive" onto the ground, fortunately this was right outside my house and not on the A64! Its surprising that despite all the blurb about stabilisers etc and correct loading procedures that there isnt a whole lot of info on actually hooking up your van safely for your journey. Its certainly an experience your first tow of a caravan. I'd never even towed a trailer until a couple of weeks ago! Anyway I'd make sure you check and double check everything, plan your journey carefully, maybe even have a practise tow - reversing with a caravan is another story! The most nerve racking part of my first tow wasnt coaches / juggernauts passing on the dual carriageway it was getting my rig off the housing estate where I live without knocking off peoples wing mirrors / mounting kerbs on bends with the van. I'm sure by the time you get where you are going you'll feel like an expert on the subject!
Yes very good point about the jockey wheel, last year in cornwall a guy was towing his boat up the slipway but not raising his wheel enough caused the boat to unhitch and roll back and killing his young son which was a very tragic storey.
I think personally there should be a seperate test for towing when it comes to caravan and boat sizes as this can be very dangerous.
I see an area in Devizes, witshire, used by a training school for cars, lorries & Motor cycles. They have caravans sitting there as well so I presume they perhaps offer caravan/towing lessons. I've not seen this anywhere before but I'd guess this won't be the only centre offering it.
Not a bad idea for those who don't feel confident I suppose but to be honest, there's no substitiute for experience. Given time, we all get there.
I'd just advise anyone new to towing to take their time & thereby remain in full control of your outfit. If someone behind is pushing them, just let them sit there, their safety is in their own hands & you must think of the safety of the passengers in your vehicle.
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Topic: Towing For The First Time
