First time towing

[HomerMarge]

Hi All

We are first time caravaners and have purchased an abbey expression 500L. We pick it up next Saturday and I am a little nervous in anticipation of driving away from the showroom. We will encounter a dual carraigeway immediately, followed by motorway for a couple of junctions and then a country road for the journey home. Any advice of towing for the first would be gratefully appreciated. We have looked at doing the caravan club tow day but it does not run again until after we pick up the Van. We will be towing with a Rover 75 and the van is 22ft long. Look forward to seeing some responses, this forum looks a great place for us newbies...Thanks ;-)

 

[mark_5041120]

Hi Paul, Hope i can be of help. The key to towing is to relax, take your time & dont be rushed by anyone, even your wife!! You obviously have the courage to do it. Rememeber smooth axceleration & braking, not to cut in on left turns and if turning right remember that if close to anything on your left the back end of the caravan may swing out so give yourself plenty of room. (gate posts, traffic islands etc)Ensure you have extended mirrors, positioned correctly, get a second person to stand about 2-3ft away, left & right from the rear edge of the caravan you should be able to see them. try not to 'tailgate' any vehicle on any road as you need double amount of thinking time & braking time if anything happens. If you tailgate then try to overtake you could cause a violant swing as the caravan will react a second or so after the car. when overtaking on any road, forward plan more than you would when driving solo, remember you are probably towing over a ton in weight, ensure you have sufficient room & time to carry out the manouver. I could go on & on but hopefully these basics may be of help to you. ant questions feel free to ask

 

[mark_5041120]

Hi Paul, Hope i can be of help. The key to towing is to relax, take your time & dont be rushed by anyone, even your wife!! You obviously have the courage to do it. Rememeber smooth axceleration & braking, not to cut in on left turns and if turning right remember that if close to anything on your left the back end of the caravan may swing out so give yourself plenty of room. (gate posts, traffic islands etc)Ensure you have extended mirrors, positioned correctly, get a second person to stand about 2-3ft away, left & right from the rear edge of the caravan you should be able to see them. try not to 'tailgate' any vehicle on any road as you need double amount of thinking time & braking time if anything happens. If you tailgate then try to overtake you could cause a violant swing as the caravan will react a second or so after the car. when overtaking on any road, forward plan more than you would when driving solo, remember you are probably towing over a ton in weight, ensure you have sufficient room & time to carry out the manouver. I could go on & on but hopefully these basics may be of help to you. ant questions feel free to ask

 

[Gordon_5040464]

Congratulations in choosing a good combination of van to car.We have the same, albeit a 520L.Firstly be assured that the car can cope with the length and weight of the Expression.Secondly TAKE IT SLOWLY,allow plenty of time to make your exit from the dealership.When on the road try to position yourself equi-distance between kerb and centreline, and try not to brake too sharply, when you do need to do sne tip for when you are using the van, the Rover does like some weight at the front of the van,so try to ensure a fairly even load,better towards the front than the back.The Rovers 100kgs noseweight is just right for the 17ft 2in internal length Expression.Good Luck,enjoy your purchase.

 

[bones1]

Hi Paul I don't know if you have already picked your new caravan up yet, but the best advice I can give you is to take your time and don't worry about the cars trailing behing you. The caravan has cost a lot of money and you don't want to ruin it before you have had a chance to use it. I was very nervous the fist few times that we took ours out. Re mirrors i can't fit any on our car as the mirrors are a funny shape, but I have used them on our old car and I found them confusing as I was still looking in the cars mirrors. I think that they are a legal requirement but don't quote me on that. Reversing was the main difficulty that we had especially when arriving at a site after a long journey and then had to reverse the van into the pitch knowing everybody would be watching. It was funny looking back but at the time it was far from funny, the caravan ended up at an angle on the pitch (i blame the wife's instructions) and the car got stuck, so I unhitched the caravan and then pushed the damn thing back to where it should have been, but not before slipping over while pushing it back, I quickly stood up and had a quick look to see if anyone saw this!, so much for a relaxing break. Since then I have nearly mastered the art of towing and reversing but I think it comes with confidence and practice, take your time remember you are on holiday it is not a race to get to your destinantion and set up in record time, take the journey as part of your holiday and you will be fine. I would always recommend a course but have not done one myself. Happy holidays Paul.

 

[Pip1]

Paul , sounds like you are coming out of White Arches , then onto the A45/ M1.Dont worry just take it easy , and remember you will be a bit slower off the line from a standing start and to give your self a bit more room in left turns.When on the motorway if a truck or coach is overtaking you just ease yourself to the left a bit , basically put some space between you and the vehicle passing you ,and dont get too close to the back of car transporters as they kick out lots of dirty air.I think every trip out is a new lesson , the main thing is to enjoy , its not difficult to tow if you are sensible . rgds Pip

 

[Zbungle]

First of all, it's natural to be nervous. No point any of us coming on here and saying, "Don't worry," because we all worried the first time we towed. Obviously, give yourself plenty of time so that you do thing at your own pace and just ignore anyone who tries to hassle you. Make sure you have good mirrors on your tow-car as the better your all-round visibility, the more comfortable you will feel. My main tip (there will be hundreds of others before the end of the week) concerns overtaking. Don't pull back in until you are sure that you are well clear of the vehicle you are overtaking. If it is a lorry you are going past, get your passenger to watch in the nearside mirror for the lorry driver to flash his headlights. It's his way of telling you that the rear of your van is now clear of his outfit and it is safe for you to pull in. Believe me, after a few hundred miles you'll wonder what all the fuss was about but, until then good luck.

 

[Paul_5041248]

Paul, the irst thing to do is not to rush or be intimidated by other drivers. As your journey starts off with good roads then plan a route whreby you travel quite a distance along these roads - taking it easy, just stay in the inside lane. The dual carriageway should be useful, slowing down for roundabouts and traffic lights etc. If need be, get in between the two lans to stop others passing you on the roundabout. Once you start to feel more confident, head for home and the narrower roads. Very wide mirrors may help - give you a better idea of the width. Just remember when turning left hand corners that the van will 'cut' the corner, so swing out slightly to avoid hitting the kerb.

 

[lowfield]

Just take your time ..give out signals early,keep an eye on all mirrors and enjoy,after a short while you will wonder what all the fuss was about

 

[HomerMarge]

Just take your time ..give out signals early,keep an eye on all mirrors and enjoy,after a short while you will wonder what all the fuss was about

Hey everyone Thankyou so much for the good advice and tips. We actually pick up the van this Saturday so I will let you know how we get on. (and yes despite most places being booked we have managed to get a premimium pitch for easter @ Wellington Country Park) nice big space all on our own, ideal for that first time reverse with the new van with no curtains twitching!

Just out of interest I am a drummer and use a couple of forums for drumming on the net. I was pleasantly surprised to find this forum as useful and friendly in comparison to the drummer forum I use. I like the advice that in a years time I will look back and wonder why I was worried, becuase this is exactly how I find it on the drumming forum...it's seems like only yesterday when I was the newbie to that, and now I am the one giving advice to the new drummers.. ;-)

 

[Roz_5041467]

There is some really good advice that has been posted on the website. I can recommend doing a course. I had only annoyed my husband until I did a CC course which was excellent. After taking the course I towed our caravan home for the first time and felt a tremendous sense of achievement. This despite the fact that half way down the M6 a huge rumbling noise alerted us to the fact that our jockey wheel had dropped onto the road. Very nervewracking. I blamed my husband, it was his job to stow it and anyway I've seen loads of wives blamed for all sorts of imagined errors!

 

[its_a_twiglethotmail.com]

Hi there, I have to agree with the take it easy from every one else here, but also add that be aware if a large vehicle is going to overtake you as this can cause you to get "sucked in" to their airstream too. You will find that most lorry drivers will go on the outside of the lane when overtaking you. Good luck, and just build your speed up slowly until you feel confident.

 

[HomerMarge]

Hi there, I have to agree with the take it easy from every one else here, but also add that be aware if a large vehicle is going to overtake you as this can cause you to get "sucked in" to their airstream too. You will find that most lorry drivers will go on the outside of the lane when overtaking you. Good luck, and just build your speed up slowly until you feel confident.

Thanks for all the advice, I actually also ordered the CC guide to towing on DVD and it has just turned up today. We get the van on Saturday and are really looking forward to it having lost my job this week. I feel a bit more confident and have taken note of all the advice. I was also pleased to find such a friendly forum. I am also a drummer in a band and use a similar forum for drummers. Some of the advice about looking back in a years time and wondering what all the worry was about rings true if I think about my drumming, joined that forum 18 months ago no nothing and now find myself helping lots of new drummers, look forward to doing the same on this forum when we get a few trips in the bag! Thanks Again...

 

[Mike_5041089]

Paul - relax & enjoy, you'll be surprised that towing a van doesn't slow you down at all! I drive about 45000 miles a year - mostly motorways, and my car's computer says my average speed is only 48 mph, due to the enormous amount of roadworks on all M/ways & consequent 50 mph limits. Just get into a more relaxing mind set when towing & take your time, you'll soon catch up the boy racers who tear past you at break neck speeds at the next jam! I used to do a daily commute of 115 miles (50/50 M/way/A road), it took 2.25 hours solo on a good day, and 2.5 hours towing - what's 15 minutes?

 

[VIP2006]

Paul - relax & enjoy, you'll be surprised that towing a van doesn't slow you down at all! I drive about 45000 miles a year - mostly motorways, and my car's computer says my average speed is only 48 mph, due to the enormous amount of roadworks on all M/ways & consequent 50 mph limits. Just get into a more relaxing mind set when towing & take your time, you'll soon catch up the boy racers who tear past you at break neck speeds at the next jam! I used to do a daily commute of 115 miles (50/50 M/way/A road), it took 2.25 hours solo on a good day, and 2.5 hours towing - what's 15 minutes?

The only advice I will give anybody is go out and do it and yes you will be nervous the first few time. if your van and car are a good match you will soon nearly forget that your are towing. MY GREATEST ADVICE IS KEEP TO THE SPEED LIMITS AND DO NOT TRY TO MAKE UP TIME BY GOING FASTER DOWNHILL.

IMHO Reversing is a art and having towed for 25 years I still can make a mess of putting the van on the spot I have chosen. but sowhat I have now fitted a mover which makes moving the van a doddle. Regards and the next time a van passes me at 70 MPH I hope it is not you -

 

[Paul_5061519]

I shared your trepidation last year when I picked up our Abbey Freestyle 520. We bought an 'emergency' towcar (1995 Audi A6 2.0 8v Petrol) and it looked awfully small next to the 'van even though it was the biggest car I have ever had! Despite the cars relatively low weight (1600kg car vs 1400kg van MTPLM)I needn't have worried - the Abbey towed like a dream. We pulled out of the dealers onto a fast A-road and up to 50mph with no bother. You just need to anticipate things well in advance which is really just common sense. For example allow a longer braking distance and be a bit more gentle on the brakes than normal, don't accelerate down hills etc and you should be fine. As for manouvering it all when you get home, thats a different matter!

If your Rover is a diesel you should be laughing, a friend of mine tows with a CDT Auto and says its the best towcar he has ever had. All the best, hope you enjoy it.

 

[HomerMarge]

Well just to let you all know I towed it home and we arrived safely in one piece. I found it much easier than I thought, the car felt a little under-powered than I expected (2 litre V6 R75) so that was the only thing.

However to observations, I was approcahing a steep hill on a country lane, I saw a car waiting to pull out, he obviously saw me and thought 'i am not getting stuck behind that' so yes he pulls out and proceeds up the hill at 20mph which was slower than I was or could go....so I guess I need to get used to this

The other was on a roundabout indicating to move to the left hand lane well in advance, and a 4x4 still thinks he can undercut me eben though I was indicating and manourvering before he even arrived on the scene...

Any way the towing was fine, getting a 7ft 1ins van through a 7ft 3ins gap in the wall was a different story...oh well that's for another day!

 

[Steve L]

Don't worry at all about holding others up on the road. I tow a twenty foot twinaxle van at top weight for our Laguna estate and believe me, it is other car drivers that slow me down everytime by their lack of forward thinking and general stupidity. I have towed for over twenty years, anything from a box trailer to a 3500Kg trailer. All you have to do is take your time and think further ahead than usual.

We came back from Porthmadock Via Welshpool last weekend up the wonderful 1 in 8 two mile hill on that road. Sure we got into bottom gear, but that was because we got stuck behind a Range Rover towing an empty boat trailer that at best weighed 500kgs, and the car was a 4 litre petrol.

I had an idiot pull out of a side road trying to beat the "huge slow caravan" he thought he saw (Me) and I ended up having to overtake him to avoid an accident as he had pulled out so close to us.

These are the characters that are moree likely to cause concern, and not the caravan on the back of your car, because you are towing your hard earned and so you will be protecting your investment.

Have fun and relax caravanning is fun.

ATB Steve.