Has anyone towed a large caravan on the North Coast 500 route? We are novice towers but are intending to do the NC500 next September with friends who are very experienced. We both have large caravans, we intend to stay 2 or 3 nights in each site then tour with the car. Are the roads suitable for large caravans?
Can you reverse a caravan with confidence?
If you can't then the answer is no as the advice states as follows:
If you cannot accurately reverse your vehicle several hundred yards on a narrow single track – you cannot safely drive over this road.
i would take that advice with a pinch of salt.. but such roads are entirely dependent upon a very low traffic volume so the more such advice keeps people away the better.. :)
i travelled up to durness last year,without caravan to visit a friend and i would not tow my 8 metre caravan on the single track roads, there are so many motorhomes on the roads traveling in convoys, it makes passing them difficult in any direction. my friend that we went to visit had towed her wee lunar up there with a corsa by the way, ps i have been driving trucks for 40 years so not afraid of narrow roads.
It used to be a route travelled mainly by cyclists and motorcyclists. It was sublime.
Now the tourism people have advertised it as a "thing" travellers have discovered that there aren't enough hotel beds. Not that it matters because it is too full of motorhomes to enjoy.
i travel such roads very often.. in fact i seek them out.. my van is only a two berth bought for real touring..
there are few basic rules to follow.. do not bunch up.. always be aware of where the next passing point is.. stop and let anything that has caught you up pass.. never follow anything and never let anything follow you.. dont be shy of pulling into a passing place if in doubt..
i have used single track roads often (thousands of miles) without any real problems.. and i have never once had to back up more than a few yards usually the vehicle without a trailer on the back does the backing up and its never very far just few yards..
i have also never seen large motor homes traveling in convoys.. they would never get far if they did..
but with little to no experience and a large van i would say dont do it.. i also rely on the fact i could disconnect and swing my motor mover equipped van around in its own length if i had to..
many parts of the NC 500 are very twisty road and you can't see the next passing place,you often meet hired motor homes driven by people with no experience of driving such vehicles and can't reverse. even the locals are getting fed up of the tourists and the carnage on there roads, well publicised in local press
I live up here and travel these roads all the time with my work. I also drive HGVs and have a caravan, but I wouldn't take it round the NC500. A lot of the route is not suitable and a part of it is impossible, where caravans are banned.
The problem has arisen now as the route has become very popular and as stated earlier it's mostly intended for cyclists and motorbikes.
The other problem is completely inexperienced drivers, who I'm afraid to say are mostly motorhomers - many who can't reverse!
I would suggest traveling to/staying around Ullapool (good road to there) in the caravan and use your car to go South and North from there, and/or travel up the A9 to the far North to use as a base and explore Westwards from there.
------------- I came into this world with nothing and I've still got most of it left.
Sorry, Soozy, but I agree with the advice that it's a NO with a big caravan, even more so for someone who is new to towing (although no doubt you'll have done several trips in your van before next September)! I appreciate that you'll be travelling with experienced friends but you won't be in convoy, so if you do meet oncoming traffic and you're nearest to a passing place, you will need to reverse. You also need to bear in mind that a long caravan and car combination will not necessarily fit in all passing places.
macquatic has made a sensible suggestion.
If you look on youtube, there are plenty of videos on the NC500, some of which are more helpful than others. You cannot take a caravan on some of the roads such as the Bealach na Ba as macquatic says.
------------- " When I die I don`t want my life to flash before me in an instant, I want it to be a 3 hour epic !"
Thanks so much everyone! I think the going to Ullapool suggestion is a good one. Im not so fussed about the east side so will search out some Caravan Club sites and start a plan. I just want to enjoy the experience and not worry about what the next corner will bring LOL. Thanks again, you have all just confirmed my concerns about the roads :-)
most of the large motorhomes are hired which is why the drivers dont have much idea.. i met a couple earlier in the summer on the isle of Mull..
Mull is one place suffering from an excess of tourists brought about by cheap ferry fares.. i literally drove around it towing my small van for four hours before giving up on the idea of staying overnight and headed back to the ferry..
during the entire time i could not find one single place with enough space for car and van to stop even to brew a cup of tea.. in the end i did find one place and did stop..
the guy in the motor home told me exactly the same thing.. driven right across the island and could not find one single place to stop..
See you stopped at the viewpoint at the Dervaig hairpins! Glad you found somewhere to park but you're quite right in your first paragraph. You were lucky you only met a couple of the large hired motorhomes! You can only imagine what it's like to live with!!
Were you looking for somewhere to camp informally with the caravan?
------------- " When I die I don`t want my life to flash before me in an instant, I want it to be a 3 hour epic !"
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Topic: North Coast 500
