As a complete newby to caravaning, my wife & I are thinking of buying a van, we are trying to gain as much info as possible, however there are a lot of useful posts & comments. But some of them include acronyms which we have no idea what they stand for. Could there be a place for newbies like us where we can look up this info. Apologies if this has already been done and we haven't found it.
Acronyms
- Thread starter David P59
- Start date
Mel
Moderator
Found this
www.caravantimes.co.uk
But please keep asking questions here. Folks are very helpful ( as well as having a sense of humour)
Mel
Caravan Slang Dictionary: a complete glossary of terms
Don't know your MTPLM's from your MiRO's? We demystify the confusing world of caravan acronyms and camping terminology in our handy caravan slang dictionary.
www.caravantimes.co.uk
But please keep asking questions here. Folks are very helpful ( as well as having a sense of humour)
Mel
I expect one you've seen could be ATC (which doesn't appear in the Caravan Times linked glossary)
ATC stands for Automatic Trailer Control. It’s an electronic anti-snaking system for touring caravans.
The device was developed in Germany by the AL-KO Kober Group, which is best known in the UK caravan industry for making caravan chassis.
ATC stands for Automatic Trailer Control. It’s an electronic anti-snaking system for touring caravans.
The device was developed in Germany by the AL-KO Kober Group, which is best known in the UK caravan industry for making caravan chassis.
Many thanks for all the replies. Much appreciated. I have another question, is there a free online guide for matching car to van.
Try Towcar.info which I’ve always found to be quite accurate and allows you to vary a number of parameters such as caravan payload, car payload or noseweight and assess the effects. It used to be totally free with donations requested. But I think now you get one free go.
Can I be so bold as to suggest you tell us the year make and model of the car and whether manual or auto and we could give you guidelines the maximum towing capacity of your vehicle?
Many thanks for the replies. I have a VW golf estate 1.5 petrol 2020 with an auto box.
The Towcar.info results do more than assess the suitability of the match wrt weights and towing limits. My petrol Subaru non turbo 150 bhp had all the attributes of a good match towing a 1300 kg van well within the cars 2000 kg tow limit. Yes it towed fine if you could live with the engine revs rocketing up and down every time load came on. Yet the subsequent Subaru 238bhp petrol turbo drove just like diesel albeit not as frugal. Towcar.info assessment was remarkably accurate. As it was with two previous cars.
I should say in my defence the 150 bhp was bought in my non caravanning period and I did not want to sell it. But it wasn’t a relaxed drive even though all normal matching requirements were met.
Although it can tow up to 1500kg to be safe as a newbie I would say maximum MTPLM of 1200kg for a caravan.
Why do that, go for a heavier caravan, but tow it light until you are confident at towing. Otherwise you are going to cost yourself lots of money changing caravans and cars.
I think an issue here is that the gross weight of the vehicle is low so with a family of four plus luggage you will be very close to the gross weight of the vehicle. I think many of us having bought our first caravan have then changed it within the first year or to to something more suited so have lost money anyway, but good suggestion for OP to consider?
Welcome to the Forum David.
How many of you will be using the caravan ?
Both Clubs run caravan towing courses. I recommend you go on one with either
CAMC or C&CC.
How many of you will be using the caravan ?
Both Clubs run caravan towing courses. I recommend you go on one with either
CAMC or C&CC.
The leader of the opposition also known as she who must be obeyed, has said she would prefer to have a motorhome rather than a caravan, so we will look at both options. Many thanks for all the advice & help.
There are pros and cons for both options. We preferred the caravan because it gave us more freedom to explore areas especially country lanes for walking in the more remote areas. But good friends of ours have a motorhome and absolutely love it as their recreational interests are completely different to ours. Good luck with whatever you choose.
I have often wondered that I when asking a friend they said that they don't like towing a caravan. No answer when I pointed out it was the same thing as they are still towing!
A small car being towed by a motorhome even if on a trailer is different to towing a large flimsy wind sensitive box. We met one couple in France who had an A class motorhome which they lived in throughout spring - autumn and worked from. But they also hired a small rental car in some areas so that the two of them, and Ruby the Pyrenean mountain dog could explore the area. Not a bad lifestyle.
We have seem medium to large cars being towed behind motor homes. Sometimes you wonder if the car being towed is bigger than the mobile caravan that is towing it! Another problem being is that you are restricted to UK unless you buy a car trailer.
Although it's possible to get braked A-frames, I have a strong feeling that most motorhomers use an unbraked A-frame which is of course illegal (unless the car is under 750kg maximum, which none are) - the clue is the rigidly bolted hitch rather than the over-run type with a concertina bellows.
The legality of the A frame tow system is an ongoing chestnut and Im not aware that any Government organisation has actually declared its position when asked , or if there have been any prosecutions. But better not go there.
A-Frames and Towcars for Motorhomes in the leisure industry
Whether you know them as Towcars, Motorhome AFrames or simply A-Frames, the TOWtal A Frame makes towing a car behind your motorhome easy. Hook up & tow it away. So easy and much fun!
towtal.co.uk
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Another newbie needing towing weight advice sorry!
- Started by birty
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