I have just returned from a 2 hour M6 run to Cake wholesale place.
Dangerous combinations of outfit, wobbling there way down the motorway at well over 60mph, countless examples.
Bless em...
------------- Regards
Chris
Caravanning for 22 years
1997 Toyota Land Cruiser 3.0TD & 2004 Avondale Mayfair 510-5L
Previous towcars:
2002 Nissan Primera - sold
2002 Ford Galaxy - Died & scrapped. Good riddance.
1998 BMW 525TDS SE - PEx
1998 VW Passat SE - Crashed into & scrapped
1997 Peugeot 406 GLX - PEx
I would rather be safe than sorry. We spent hours researching our tow car and now in process of buying a new van hours making sure well within safe tow limits etc etc. Im just gobsmacked what some people tow with and then empty out of their vans!!!
Thats because caravanners are, in the main, sensible & calculating characters; always making good judgements of outfit & taking care when towing.
Its the bad or inexperienced & c0cky ones who give the rest of us a bad name.
See all too many family estates, weighing around the 1600kgs kerb mark, towing vans up to 95% of this, happily charging down the motorway at over 60mph happily ignoring the caravan bobbing and weaving everywhere.
Spend enough time on the motorway, eventually one flips in front of you. Trust me, a truly HORRENDOUS site; belongings and outfit scattered rapidly in a cloud down the motorway.
Last to go over in front of us, with the other half driving, was a Discovery & twin axle on a windy M74; came past us at 70mph or so, wobbled twice, snaked, and over the car & van went. Not good. Over confidence in a big 4x4, not knowing how a high CofG towcar can still flip if provoked...
------------- Regards
Chris
Caravanning for 22 years
1997 Toyota Land Cruiser 3.0TD & 2004 Avondale Mayfair 510-5L
Previous towcars:
2002 Nissan Primera - sold
2002 Ford Galaxy - Died & scrapped. Good riddance.
1998 BMW 525TDS SE - PEx
1998 VW Passat SE - Crashed into & scrapped
1997 Peugeot 406 GLX - PEx
We went to the LMA weekend at Elvington Airfield, and behind our unit was a fairly big caravan well bigger than our 1996 Mayfly being pulled by Renault Clio, number plates matched on car and caravan. Surely this must have been illegal ( maybe ) and surely miss matched.
"The I can tow anything as I have a towbar " attitude
Unfortunately you see these badly matched , sometimes illegal outfits every holiday season without fail .
I really would like to see prosecutions and regular weigh bridge checks during the summer .
It's about time it happened but then if the proposed MOT for caravans comes into force then the caravan fraternity may well be scrutinized on a more regular basis
They make it worse by putting everything in the car so that the car weights more than the caravan but then the car is overloaded and the rear of the car is on the floor with the nose of the caravan and the rear of the caravan up in the air.
Think I am up to witnessing personally 4; the mrs has seen a couple. Not pleasant, and I suspect a bit of a spoiler for the holiday.
We travel from Lancashire to Fife to see her family quite often; as we live in an area near the Lake District, the pitfalls of towing on an open, exposed, high cross wind section of the M6 does catch a few people out, particularly when going downhill.
Obviously, like everyone else who spends hours travelling for work on motorways, we have seen the aftermath & lane closures of a lot more scattered across the motorway; and this time of year, many become a 'Sally Traffic' on Radio 2 statistic.
I agree with you at neil and lena; I also dont think the caravan fraternity are scrutinised enough; nor are the things that people tow and what they tow with. Weights, balance, tyre pressures and lighting seem to be the common let downs for failures.
I am by no means perfect; but I do test everything before we go anywhere, including the noseweight, tyre pressures, lights, spare wheel, production dates on my tyres etc. Its not worth chancing anything. I have also checked the fully loaded weight with the van loaded up with my usual 2 week checklist (borrowed some digital scale pads from a motor racing friend). Bit OTT, but wanted to be sure for any Police checkpoints.
------------- Regards
Chris
Caravanning for 22 years
1997 Toyota Land Cruiser 3.0TD & 2004 Avondale Mayfair 510-5L
Previous towcars:
2002 Nissan Primera - sold
2002 Ford Galaxy - Died & scrapped. Good riddance.
1998 BMW 525TDS SE - PEx
1998 VW Passat SE - Crashed into & scrapped
1997 Peugeot 406 GLX - PEx
It also makes me wonder how many caravan towers have actually done their homework first and know exactly what their related weights and measures are by memory. Basically if you got stopped by the traffic Police and they undertook checks on your outfit I wonder how many of us could actually tell them what they are before they conducted their own legal test. Each car I have owned I know the kerbweight, the towbar weight limit, the outfit percentage match, the front and rear fully loaded tyre pressures, the BHP and torque output plus the caravan's MIRO, MTPLM, noseweight and tyre pressures also. I think if you responded by saying 'I haven't a clue' then I think the Police would be more inclined to go over the outfit with a fine toothcomb basically but in all honesty I think this is what is required to reduce the amount of overturned outfits. Anyone caught for not adhering to the legal requirements should be banned from towing a trailer for ten years very much the same as people convicted of being cruel to animals not allowed to keep pets in the future.
People think its boring; I just say its always best to err on the side of caution!!
Its not just handy for a Police stop; I often wonder how the insurances would react if you had flipped your car and caravan owing to a bad match/ dangerous loading/ dangerous driving etc. Suspect it would be tricky, dependent on what any witnesses would say.
Mine is a 63% match of caravan MTPLM & car kerbweight.
Max tow is 2800kg. Max train is 5450kg. Noseweight limit is 120kg. Caravan MTPLM is 1250kg. Caravan noseweight is 50kg.
Toyota state 29PSIG for all driving & towing conditions.
Caravan wheels get 65PSIG cold. Both tyres made week 30, 2011. 8 ply, rated to 800kg each.
All my kit got weighed one afternoon by the weights lad at work, so I know what it all weighs when packed. Also checked van weights on scales.
Simples...
Post last edited on 31/08/2013 23:10:18
------------- Regards
Chris
Caravanning for 22 years
1997 Toyota Land Cruiser 3.0TD & 2004 Avondale Mayfair 510-5L
Previous towcars:
2002 Nissan Primera - sold
2002 Ford Galaxy - Died & scrapped. Good riddance.
1998 BMW 525TDS SE - PEx
1998 VW Passat SE - Crashed into & scrapped
1997 Peugeot 406 GLX - PEx
I did ponder the 65PSI; however, that is the guideline in the Avondale manual for those exact tyre sizes, and as you say, that is also the pressure quoted on the sidewall for max load conditions.
I did think of bringing it down, 60PSI say, but who am I to go against guidelines??
------------- Regards
Chris
Caravanning for 22 years
1997 Toyota Land Cruiser 3.0TD & 2004 Avondale Mayfair 510-5L
Previous towcars:
2002 Nissan Primera - sold
2002 Ford Galaxy - Died & scrapped. Good riddance.
1998 BMW 525TDS SE - PEx
1998 VW Passat SE - Crashed into & scrapped
1997 Peugeot 406 GLX - PEx
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Topic: Outfit Matching
