Caravan came away from car on M5 s'bound

[kay4]

We were travelling on the M5 South bound last Wednesday when to my horror I witnessed a rather large caravan just come away from the car and plough into the verge. What a shock to see this happen and it was a twin axle van and it looked very new. Luckily it looked as if nobody was hurt but it could have been so much worse if that grassy verge wasn't there to cushion it.

How on earth could this happen?

 

[lunar2000]

Hi Kay,

The usual reason why the caravan becomes detached from the towing vehicle is the caravan was not hitched up properly and this usually happens just after you move off and moving slowly.

I have witnessed three cases of unhitching of the caravan and it has always been when the car/caravan either hits a bump,goes downhill and,in one case the driver stop on a incline to open the security gate on the caravan site.It took three men all their strength to stop the van rolling back down hill.

It pays to double check the caravan is hitched correctly by winding the jockey wheel down so that it lifts the tow vehicle slightly. That way you can be almost certain that the hitch has grabbed the towball.

I hope this explains why it is best to take your time and double check every thing,

Best wishes,

Pop

 

[allen1]

hi Rod

we have spent a few winters in Spain and enjoyed every minute of it ,we used campingcheque as most of the sites down through France are closing for the winter around October and the campingcheque shows the sites and there closing dates.

Which way do you intend to go ?The first time we went to La manga and drove down through France,it took about 24 hrs only stopping for fuel and food and a short break, but then we were in a hurry. The second and third times we took the slow route taking a couple of weeks as we had picked up some german and dutch friends and took our time getting down there.We stayed in La Manga, and Torre Del Mar near Malaga both are very good for the long stayer

you will love it all the best Allen

 

[allen1]

hi Rod

we have spent a few winters in Spain and enjoyed every minute of it ,we used campingcheque as most of the sites down through France are closing for the winter around October and the campingcheque shows the sites and there closing dates.

Which way do you intend to go ?The first time we went to La manga and drove down through France,it took about 24 hrs only stopping for fuel and food and a short break, but then we were in a hurry. The second and third times we took the slow route taking a couple of weeks as we had picked up some german and dutch friends and took our time getting down there.We stayed in La Manga, and Torre Del Mar near Malaga both are very good for the long stayer

you will love it all the best Allen

Sorry about that it shoud have gone to overseas parks and touring ( its my age you know)

 

[colin-yorkshire]

hi kay

apart from not hiching up properly the only way the van can come adrft from the towing vehicle is some sort of mechanical failure obviously if the person you describe got as far as the m5 then it was probably this that caused the problem

being a newish van it most likely had an alko hitch fitted and and was either not locked into position corectly or the handle was lifted by something else possibly the cables

this happend to me once about ten mins after leaving a site luckily as I was pulling away from a junction and was almost stationary

the break a way cable applied the van brakes and made one hell of a bang when it snapped so I knew what had happend

under investgation I realized that because the cables came out of the right side of the a frame but were plugged into the left side of the tow ball the cables had be come tight and got under the handle lifting it

may be this happend to them

 

[MalcolmL]

But the cables lifting the stabiliser shouldn't cause the caravan to come off the hitch if the hitch was properly on the tow ball. I had the misfortune to have my Oklahoma come off the hitch two years ago. I had been distracted when hitching up and hadn't completed the task properly. I drove about half a mile from the site and something didn't feel right. I stopped to check but the Alko stabiliser seemed to be in position. A further half mile down the road, there was a slight dip in the road which caused the 'van to lift off the ball (the hitch had only been resting on it), the 'van careered across the road, tried to climb a small wall and fell over. The breakaway cable wasn't effective. I came to the conclusion thet the hitch was only sitting on the ball and that the Alko stabiliser probably hadn't been pushed down into the locked position. I think the handle had vibrated into the down position when I drove away from the site (no tension as hitch not on ball!) and when I looked, I assumed everything was OK. Nowadays, I am ultra careful to ensure that the hitch is on correctly and that the stabiliser takes a great deal of effort to apply. Then I am happy to drive off.

We were insured with the CC who were brilliant. Claim sorted within 11 days and a new 'van delivered in about two weeks.

 

[colin-yorkshire]

I dont know which model of alko you had but mine is the type that has the flat handle on the side and you dont have to be "big arne" to lift it once its above the half way position the only thing holding it to the ball is the friction pads I now use the spindle type of hich lock so its locked onto the ball and cannot come off

colin

 

[MalcolmL]

But the hitch still shouldn't come off the ball if it's properly connected as there is a "finger" that locks under the bottom half of the ball.

 

[colin-yorkshire]

of course there is but when the handle is lifted it is released thats how you disconnect it

connecting up put hitch on ball tighten wheel untill it clicks push down handle it's on

disconnecting lift handle unwind wheel it,s off simple as that unless of course the van over run brakes on then it wont come off

 

[WatsonJohnG]

On the Alko 2004/3004 hitch there is a green indicator on top of the hitch that shows that you are coupled correctly.

Its nothing to do with the stabiliser which operates via the red friction lever.

There is no wheel to tighten on those stabilisers---it might make unhitching easier if there was one

 

[Stephen_5122599]

Hi All,

Or the tow hitch could have come off the car. In my line of work I have seen numerous loose tow hitches, tow bars and a few fractured hitches.

regards

Steve

 

[Cerbera]

Was this near J23? I saw a Bailey Senator TA up the bank with the gas locker all stoved in. Looked like it had jack-knifed badly. Was being towed by a Nissan X-Trail which I would have thought was a bit of a dodgy match up myself - approaching/over 100%??