we bought out 1st caravan earlier this year on out 1st trip out the caravan detached from the car and ended up written off ( badly advisesd re suitabilty of towbar with Alko hitch)
WE have gone through the pain of insurance claims etc, been paid out, had the tow bar changed and now purchased another caravan. Collected the new to us van last week a friend came with me everthing seemed ok, put in storage. Collected this weekend to take home to clean and i was a bag of nerves towing, kids were in a state listening for every single noise an aksing if it was going to come off again and the wife was even worse!!
I did all the checks prior to setting off this time like raising the back of the car etc but still felt very apprehensive on the journey back home, hope our caravan adventure is not over before its begun!!
Stick with it, you will be fine, as they say if you fall off your bike get back on again. You will find most caravanners get a bit if nerves before they set off, wondering if they have done everything right but after a short distance when they know eveything is ok you can relax and enjoy the journey.
I think its gonna be one of those things now that every time you hitch up your thinking is it going to come off.If youve done all the checks and did them again i dont see a prob its just a psychological thing now.Go ahead and enjoy your new van and look at it as a one off..
Do you actually know the full reason why it detached itself? If you were using an Alko stabilizer hitch with a short(incorrect)flange ball it could have only smashed the hitch at extreme articulation, ie going around sharp bend with wheel dropping into pothole. If this happens it does not normally detach hitch. Was the front of hitch smashed on one side?
You state you have had towbar changed? All that would actually have been required would be for the flange ball to be changed to Alko type.
You need to learn about how the hitch actually attaches to the ball, if you have an understanding of this you will see that once connected it is actually impossible for the caravan to detach itself.
Once hitch is on the ball you then need to wind down jockey wheel onto ground & watch back of car rise up with hitch to ensure it is connected. If you look underneath hitch you will see the tang underneath bottom of ball. Properly connected, it cannot come off unless something actually breaks, which it won't.
If you can get a technical understanding of what is involved then you will know, you won't have to hope.
Please don't worry ! You are doing the right checks. The main one being, you have already mentioned.Have it checked/serviced every year for piece of mind....Enjoy your caravanning
Tentz- Yes it was the incorrect short flange ball, i have just had the ball changed to an alko ball.
We were 5 mins into the journey turned a tight left and when straightening up we went one way the caravan went the other straight into a wall!! i now check the back of the car is raising before setting off althought only had 2 journey's.
After you have hitched up, reverse the outfit about 1m and brake sharply, then drive forward about 1m and brake sharply. If your not hitched correctly you will soon know.
Hi, understandably you are nervous, it must have been very disturbing... but.. you have identified root cause of the failure and rectified it...on this basis as long as you load the van correctly and have ensured that the weight ratios are correct.. and that you take your time, both in terms of hooking the van up..and when driving... you will be fine...enjoy your new van.....and try to relax!!
Where we live we have to drive across the our local airport runway to get to the other side, A friend of ours was towing his van across the runway when it came off and ran away up the runway, you can imagine the fuss after that.
Stick with it, do your checks before moving off and youll be fine, as Tetz says have a look at how hitch works it will reasure you.
Quote: Originally posted by Rob2011 on 16/10/2011
we bought out 1st caravan earlier this year on out 1st trip out the caravan detached from the car and ended up written off ( badly advisesd re suitabilty of towbar with Alko hitch)
WE have gone through the pain of insurance claims etc, been paid out, had the tow bar changed and now purchased another caravan. Collected the new to us van last week a friend came with me everthing seemed ok, put in storage. Collected this weekend to take home to clean and i was a bag of nerves towing, kids were in a state listening for every single noise an aksing if it was going to come off again and the wife was even worse!!
I did all the checks prior to setting off this time like raising the back of the car etc but still felt very apprehensive on the journey back home, hope our caravan adventure is not over before its begun!!
Really sorry to hear of your experience, Rob. I imagine everyone who tows is a little cautious and should alway us keep an ear/eye open for anything that doesn't sound quite right - it wouldn't be natural not too. I can imagine that you will be over cautious especially because of your earlier experience, but it sounds as if you have solved your original problems now. Even as an experienced tower, I do still read through and check the guidelines for towing for time to time. This booklet may appear a bit daunting, but I think it is a useful guide. The more you tow, the easier it gets and the more your confidence will grow - you'll be fine. Enjoy your caravanning.
Sympathies to you, Rob - but at least no-one was hurt.
We were returning home on the M5 three years ago when we discovered our caravan overtaking us on the inside before crossing the motorway and parking itself in the central reservation. It turned out that the towball bolts had sheared - the ball was still in the hitch. Just goes to show you can't foresee every possible malfunction. As someone said above, jump on yer bike again and rebuild your mojo!
hitch up and take it round the block a few times ,on youre own ,before setting of ,the chaces of it coming off are very slim ,if not impossible , it will help to get youre confidence back ,and assure the family, all is ok ,It happend to me many years ago ,i had traveled 5 mile called in to a gararge for air in the tires and pulled the air line around the hitch ,i assumed the line had detatch it ,luck,y for me the road was quiet ,and all was ok ,this has never hapend to me againe in therty years of towing ,couple slowly ,take it easy ,and get there ,late,ly , enjoy youre caravanning ,
------------- May the roof of your camper
never fall in ,and the couple inside ,never fall out,
Not quite the same but nearly. We were travelling between Oban & Dingwell CC&C sites and along by Lock Ness on a hilly part our Esteral detached itself from our towing ball. The reason was my brother in law had a caravan that you hitched it kind of side ways on so he thinking he was helping us pack up to leave hitched ours but the way he usually did his. If it had not been for the safety chain pulling the brake on and the FC & it gradually stopping gorging a deep rut in the road via the hitch itself it could well of carried on down the road straight into my brother in laws car behind us. But it stopped just before getting to his.
Many things it taught Bob that day.
1) never allow another person to hitch your unit do it yourself.
2) always make sure your safetly chain is not only on but is a good one & ready to do its job if necessary.
3) Check your own work when you think your have finished give it the once over to make sure.,
Be safe, careful. But my Bob was nervouse of his at first but after only a few times he realised if he checks to make sure it is done properly it will be fine.A few journeys and you will be okay and going everywhere enjoying yourslef. The kids will soon forget when they realise nothing is happening and you will relax also. It will quieten down you'll see.Just a few more outings of possibly listening to them be concerned and it will be all over. You'll remember but that is not a bad thing to keep in mind the checks you have to do. Maybe incorporate telling the children what your doing so they to not only learn but in their minds; seeing it made sure it is safe will be fine for them also. Two jobs done at the same time by teaching your youngsters at their age. Show them what must be done. It will help them to see and you will be doing your job as dad teaching them. Not just sit in the car till it is all hitched up. Time to show them how to.
Make sure your break away cable is attached as this will pull the brakes on if the caravan does become detached. It is also well worth pulling a few feet up the road and stopping to double check everything is hitched up correctly. If nothing else it will give you piece of mind.
I had a folding camper which had the wind get inside it and lift the top up a few years ago. I went about two years of being completely terrified every time I towed anything after that, so I can sympathise. Fortunately, your confidence will slowly recover after a few trouble free trips. I found that I would relax a bit after a few miles, but for a couple of years I dreaded our first trip in spring. It's now about 6 or 7 years since that happened and we have had a trailer tent and two caravans since and only now am I starting to enjoy towing again.
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Topic: Lost my confidence
