Do whatever you think is necessary. If you are not going inside then no steadies are necessary. To go inside you need a minimum of one rear steady down to stop it tipping up backwards. If you are going in quite a bit then all four is a hood idea. Mine sits on the sloping front of my house with one rear steady and one front steady down, chocks in front of the wheels and the handbrake off. For 22 years it stood there with the handbrake on and no chocks, that changed when my service engineer asked me to leave it with the brake off. Why two steadies only, simple really I am too blooming lazy to do all four and for what we do it makes no difference.
------------- Bill
For a licence dated 1997 or later you must add together the plated max weight of the caravan and trailer, if the total is 3500 or less you can tow it. You may even tow a caravan with a MAM greater than the cars unladen mass the restriction was removed in 2013
I've always stored it with all four down with the handbrake on, but only because that's what I thought had to be done. Our vans are very close together, but I just nip in the van when stored. Why do you advise for the brake to be off?
2016
February C&CC Theobalds Park
March C&CC Salisbury
May C&CC Adgestone IOW
July Le Clos Auroy, Auvergne France
August C&CC Polstead
August C&CC Oxford
October C&CC Lauder
Caravan stored at home. All 4 steadies down to steady van as we get strong winds living on the coast.
Steadies just touching ground as you would onsite, not to take any weight.
Handbrake off and both wheels chalked front and back.
Will occasionally put handbreak on if gale force winds are forecast.
------------- It is a wise man who has something to say.
It is a fool who has to say something.
If the caravan is little used or during winter storage then leaving the hand brake off is advisable to avoid the brake shoes ceasing up against the brake drums.
Regarding the four corner legs, the advice is to leave them down when stored as it helps to sturdy the caravan in windy conditions.
Our van lives on the drive. Jockey wheel supports the front and both rear steadies down. Chock under the wheel as drive is on downward slope and caravan brakes don't work backwards.
Plugged into mains the whole time and no probs ever experienced with either this van or the first one.
Quote: Originally posted by checkley1973 on 18/8/2015
I just put front two down to take weight off the jockey wheel. Don't do rear ones as its a twin axle so doesn't tip when i go inside anyway.
Having seen several vans including twin axles tip up backwards when someone goes. And goes to the back of the van without steadies I decided it was not worth the chance. Twin axles do tip up to the rear if the weight placed in the rear has sufficient moment to be greater than the nose weight.
------------- Bill
For a licence dated 1997 or later you must add together the plated max weight of the caravan and trailer, if the total is 3500 or less you can tow it. You may even tow a caravan with a MAM greater than the cars unladen mass the restriction was removed in 2013
If you are not going to enter the caravan you don't need the legs down but then you will need to keep the handbrake on to stop the van rolling away.
If you just use one leg front or back you could end up twisting the chassis or the floor if you walk on the side where the leg is not down.
I would follow the safest advice already given...jockey wheel down, all 4 legs down, and handbrake off (unless on a slope of course). It is not a big job to wind the legs down (5 minutes at most?) and if you need to manoeuvre the caravan in storage just raise the legs by a few inches to give you clearance.
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Topic: Up or down????
