Does anyone actually reverse onto a pitch?

[DaveA1]

I have never reversed onto a pitch, only used a mover, I value my clutch

This is where an automatic gear box is a god send, reverse gently and slowly, very little wear and tear.

 

[Eatcustard]

I have never reversed onto a pitch, only used a mover, I value my clutch

This is where an automatic gear box is a god send, reverse gently and slowly, very little wear and tear.

That I agree, but at the loss of fuel economy.

 

[Keefanmaxx]

I reverse on whenever I can ..... it's all part of the fun and I have no shame in providing some entertainment for others!!
Mrs Keith is pretty good at guiding me ..... she's even better when she remembers to stand where I can see her in the mirrors!! :cheer:

I tend to use the movers to adjust and get up the levelling ramps if we need them.

 

[tenpole]

I reverse on whenever I can ..... it's all part of the fun and I have no shame in providing some entertainment for others!!
.

New boy here.

Is there no fraternity amongst caravaners. When I see a driver having trouble backing onto a loading bay, I get out of my cab and act as his banksman.

 

[Hutch]

Tenpole, yes there is a lot of comarardery between caravanners, a lot of the time I have found, its best to leave the pitcher and their partner to sort it out unless they are in real trouble, then offer help, it can cause friction to the couple afterwards I have been told, and I am always happy to help pull a motorhomer out of the mud,

 

[tenpole]

Ha my father was a motorhome enthusiast. He did not like caravans, but for me I think it makes more sense to have a caravan then you have a vehicle to go shopping/exploring and a larger living space.
You saying that about pulling motorhomes out of the mud reminded me of times as a child back in the 70's/80's and the camper bogging down in a field.

 

[DaveA1]

I have never reversed onto a pitch, only used a mover, I value my clutch

This is where an automatic gear box is a god send, reverse gently and slowly, very little wear and tear.

That I agree, but at the loss of fuel economy.

Not an excessive amount, in this day and age, more than balanced out with the relaxed drive, partially in heavy traffic and they are more forgiving than a manual gear box/clutch, I have never missed that third peddle.

 

[Eatcustard]

I have never reversed onto a pitch, only used a mover, I value my clutch

This is where an automatic gear box is a god send, reverse gently and slowly, very little wear and tear.

That I agree, but at the loss of fuel economy.

Not an excessive amount, in this day and age, more than balanced out with the relaxed drive, partially in heavy traffic and they are more forgiving than a manual gear box/clutch, I have never missed that third peddle.

The Mondeo has a huge difference from manual to auto (about 9mpg) for a 2l TDCI
That means I will stick the manual Mondeo for now

 

[Hutch]

When we were about to purchase our new car, a Sante Fe, I decided that we would go for the manual as it had a higher tow load 2500 kg, but whilst putting the caravan away into storage, with our auto Santa Fe, I thought do I really want to be towing with a manual. NO, Changed my order to the Auto, never regretted it.

 

[JonnyG]

I'm too tight and too lazy to have a motor mover

 

[Bluerocket]

We recently collected our new Hyundai santa fe auto from the dealers and went out with the van in tow at easter.This is our first auto box and I found it a lot easier to reverse the van onto the pitch on that occasion, but generally use the motormover for the fine movements needed to line up the Alko wheel lock

 

[Hutch]

Bluerocket, Hope you find your SF as nice as mine, a SE.. I had a problem with the Witter Towbar as fitted as Original Equipment, through dropping ,. But yes a nice tow car and great for reversing. Same with the Alko wheel lock.

 

[Bluerocket]

I asked the dealer to ensure the witter detachable towbar had the nylock nuts fitted to prevent it dropping and rubbing on the spare wheel when towing as I have known about this prior to purchasing the car. so far we have had no problems but best to keep an eye on it methinks

 

[Hutch]

Sorry mine was the fixed flange,
Yes, I eventually changed mine to a tow trust one, another forum member on his Kuga, after complaning to Witter about "Not looking right" Witter admitted the hitch from the cross member to the flange was wrong. See my posts on Caravan club about SF tow bars. After fitting new nylock nuts and thread lock , and higher torque as recommended, my Witter bar didnt drop. But the TT bar was 2 inches closer to the car and 1 inch higher.
But my car is now 18 months old . A mk 3 64 .

 

[Gagakev]

Normally reverse if site is suitable, have had to in the past use the mover on 3 sites as the pitch's were side on and there was no way to reverse on to it.

Reversed on to a pitch last year and the 15 year old lad on the next pitch was watching, and when I got out he said that was a good bit of reversing, you did it first time.......I then preceded to show him the camera......

DAD,DAD you want one of these... No you dont you NEED one of these

 

[tenpole]

I find reversing the caravan harder than backing up an 40' artic trailer. Maybe I should convert a container.

 

[DaveA1]

-I had the same conversation with a lorry driver when I was still working, he said a single axle van was harder to reverse than an artic, Mind you, when he did reverse a van, he could park the b----y thing on a sixpenny piece.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

-I had the same conversation with a lorry driver when I was still working, he said a single axle van was harder to reverse than an artic,

It's all down to geometry, a lorry cab unit has a short wheelbase relative to the long trailer length (and the pivot is within the cab wheelbase) whereas on a car the lengths are virtually equal meaning movements on the car are immediately echoed on the van.

 

[Thingy]

When i first passed my Hgv, an old timer gave me one piece of advice. It was good then for artics and it still works for caravans. Its this simple

DO ALL THE HARD WORK GOING FORWARDS.

In other words line it up first. Jacknifing into position, especially blind side is making your task harder than i needs to be.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

How not to reverse on a motorway in an artic, not your usual Eddie Stobart standard:

click here

 

[Thingy]

Seen it. Almost certain he will be an agency driver.

 

[saint-spoon]

DO ALL THE HARD WORK GOING FORWARDS.
.

Easier said than done in many cramped pitches with little or no room to manoeuvre in front of the pitch. I do however follow that mantra at the storage facility where I can have the car and caravan in a straight line and just go backwards.

 

[FrintonMike]

With a total length of about 40 feet for the car and van there is rarely enough room to reverse onto a pitch so it is mover 99% of the rime

 

[crazyguider]

I have done it several times, although I usually get hubby to do it. I call upon the Woosies as my witnesses!!
:woohoo:

 

[Hutch]

Whist at work I used to tow and push Helicopters and Aircraft, but using tractors and Tugs from the front, dead easy but reversing a short trailer, very hard the shorter the coupling the harder it gets, but still fun.