Overturning your caravan when towing?

[jwa]

Out of interest really, with a hint of concern, I have been twoing for three years now, the furthest and longest a tour around the Loire Valley which involved towing through Paris. I feel that I am a competent tower, indeed, from being petrified at first I now actively enjoy it! I pay great attention, due to advice from this forum, to noseweight, payload and and go through a series of checks before setting off. This I enjoy and feel it is part of the whole "caravan" experience. I tow within my capabiltities, rarely getting much above 55 and have never had so much a twitch from the caravan behind me.

Yet again I hear on the radio of congestion on whatever road due to an overturned caravan and wonder how does this happen so regularly and why? Is it an easy thing to do or are there other factors involved as I'm wondering if I'm missing something in my general approach to towing?

 

[Dustydog]

JWa
Relax.

Clearly you paying heed to weights and loading .

IMO the ones you see spread eagled over the motorway are not the likes of you but the now and then towers whose tyres are " ten years old " , never had a service and are grossly overloaded.

 

[Gagakev]

There was one last Thursday on the M5 just down from Bridgewater, daughter got caught up in it and our off was delayed by an hour.
Hope no one was hurt.

 

[Parksy]

As Dustydog mentioned, by paying attention to your tyres, tyre pressures, loading etc and staying at a speed which will allow you time to detect the smallest hint of instability and take corrective action you are unlikely to feature on a radio report by 'Sally Traffic' to warn others that you couldn't keep your caravan shiny side up.
Sometimes novices are caught out by either overloading their caravan, with too much weight at the rear which induces a pendulum effect or with no weight at all.
Not enough noseweight can sometimes be worse than slightly too much in terms of caravan instability and I've read of newbies towing very lightly loaded caravans, often with 4x4s, which have become dangerously unstable on rutted sections of motorway, especially on long downhill stretches. Some self levelling suspension systems and car stability aids iron out early tell tale signs of caravan instability until it's too late.

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

Out of interest really, with a hint of concern, I have been twoing for three years now, the furthest and longest a tour around the Loire Valley which involved towing through Paris. I feel that I am a competent tower, indeed, from being petrified at first I now actively enjoy it! I pay great attention, due to advice from this forum, to noseweight, payload and and go through a series of checks before setting off. This I enjoy and feel it is part of the whole "caravan" experience. I tow within my capabiltities, rarely getting much above 55 and have never had so much a twitch from the caravan behind me.

hi jwa, you seem to be doing all the right things just keep it up and enjoy your caravan towing.
the more you do the easier it gets just remember not to get complacient and treat every trip like it is your first then you cant go wrong, as others have said there are many reasons why some outfits become unstable and there isn't just one reason why this happens I would think it is a combination of things that added together makes the problem worse!! combined with driver error or inappropriate action at the wrong time and the van flips over,
in all the years that I have been towing 40+ I have probably sinned on every item mentioned above by other posters. including speeding . none of which has ever caused a problem, because I allways took account of some aspect, and reduced the effect on the other things that may have caused futher problems, as of yet "touch wood" the trailer has allways been kept shiny side up. and no it's not just luck, it is being aware of whats happening behind the tow ball all the time,
don't forget out of the thousands of caravanners out there how many will have never, a, been on a forum, b. been on a tralier course, c. never read a magazine, and d. have any idea about weights, legistlation, loading, and maintainance, yet the occurances of over turned caravans is still relatively rare,
just carry on doing what you have been doing and you will be fine, probably for a very long time.
regards colin.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi jwa,

I think there are three reasons that conspire to make caravan incidents highly reportable.

It's difficult to be absolutely accurate but I strongly suspect the percentage of caravans that are involved in traffic incidents is probably much lower than just solo cars. So the rarity is one aspect.

The second is that when a caravan outfit does misbehave the consequences can be rather dramatic.

And thirdly, as most caravanners will attest, there seems to be considerable intolerance towards caravans by other road users and the media. Just listen to the road reports, and in most cases you will hear about delays caused by a crash, but they don't tend to identify the type vehicles involved, yet they almost always mention caravans when they are involved. This leads to the perception that caravans area bigger problem than they actually are.

I'm not advocating being cavalier about towing caravans, they do require proper care and attention, not only to the condition of the vehicles, but to the way we drive and behave.

 

[otherclive]

Looking at outfits as they arrive on site I never cease to be amazed at what comes out of some them. They must have special 'lightweight' bikes' awnings, bbq's etc that make my 250kg payload look pathetic! On the M ways you'll see the majority of oufits driven sensibly but there will be one or two driving well above the 60mph limit, and swopping lanes quickly. I suggest out of this small number you only need one to have a bad accident and the media cannot wait to headline it.

 

[jwa]

Thanks for the informative replies, I do notice a certain animosity towards Caravan owners I suppose and it is true that the media love to highlight an unfortunate incident when a caravan is involved. I have seen many outfits rush past me at what must be close to 70 at least and weaving in and out of traffic with no regard for other road users, so it is hardly surprising, like any walk of life, that a few give the rest of us a bad name. Having been stuck behind a caravan in my youth it can be be annoying when you are are in a hurry, but age mellows you and I'm in no particular hurry nowadays! Certainly I aim to enjoy the experience of getting there in one piece to set up in the shortest period of time and settle down to some well-deserved rest and relaxation.
My payload is a long way from 250kg, that would be a luxury, but at just over 180kg I have weighed everything and it all comes in at just under a 100k without our clothes and food, so I'm not unduly worried. Furthermore I have found our latest outfit far superior for load space and it has been relatively easy to pack without having anything on the floor of the van and nudging close to 100kg noseweight. This means when we tour France again this summer we can pull up and just get in the van for a drink and a rest without having to clmb over awnings, poles, bags etc.
I do feel as if I am doing all the correct things and as a newcomer to caravan holidays I have learnt an awful lot about the whole towing process. The Freelander2 certainly helps and is a joy to tow with, but I am never complacent and can only assume, as many of you have mentioned, that the reported incidents of overturned caravans are due to a lack of attention to the basics of towing?
Anyway, excited now for the first trip of the year, off to Longleat on Thursday with the new outfit and spent yesterday organising our tour of France. Five sites now planned and I will probably be posting on the touring section for some information on the sites we have chosen.

 

[otherclive]

Your doing all the right things and have a nicely matched outfit. Enjoy your spell at Longleat, our van was serviced late Feb but we haven't been out as it has a hard to diagnose electrical fault that drains the battery with everthing switched off.

 

[jwa]

Thanks Clive, (other Clive?) it does seem to be well matched on the short tow I have done. Sorry to hear about the eelctrical fault, that must be really frustrating for you, hope it gets sorted soon.

 

[emmerson]

Like Colin, I too have been towing for more than 40 years, and have only ever had one "snake", caused by a slowly deflating tyre. On this very limited excperience, (hopefully never to be repeated) the lesson I learned from it was NOT to keep looking in the mirrors! Concentrate on what's happening in front, and look for the clearest area to aim for. My mate was following me when mine "happened", and blocked the traffic behind us, and as I slowed, so the traffic in front moved on, leaving me two nice empty lanes to bring the outfit back under control, which I was able to do without any further drama.
Aside from a new tyre (and some clean pants!) there were no further problems, but as this tale proves, it can happen to the most experienced of drivers, so just take care, as you are obviously doing, don't become complacent and enjoy caravanning!

 

[twindaddy]

I'm certainly with you on this one jwa. I'm certainly still a notive tower but do consider myself (as we all do) competant and sensible. I'm not that man who overtakes at the last minute or cutting in just to save 3 seconds (either solo or towing I add) but when towing, I don't relax at all and I am constantly worried that something will go wrong whether it be a puncture, the van unhooks etc etc. With my combination of a Defender 110, loaded with me and the better half, 3 children and usually 2 bikes, luggage, food and the awning, I try to get as much weight out of the van as possible and with the help of my father (experienced tower of 30+ years) I do organise the remaining items in the van correctly as best we can....BUT, I still worry myself silly until we finally indicate to turn into our destination! LOL There is probably no hope for me

TD

 

[ProfAlGoogle]

Mandatory training including class room tuition, with a separate category on your licence would go a long way to improve safety, wether you gained your licence pre 1997 or not.
couple of guys I work with have taken up the hobby in the last couple of years and there ignorance re towing and loading is unbelievable, a roll over waiting to happen perhaps?

 

[colin-yorkshire1]

Mandatory training including class room tuition, with a separate category on your licence would go a long way to improve safety, wether you gained your licence pre 1997 or not.

what a brilliant idea

then Emmerson and I could have the job of training the instructors

 

[emmerson]

Mandatory training including class room tuition, with a separate category on your licence would go a long way to improve safety, wether you gained your licence pre 1997 or not.

what a brilliant idea

then Emmerson and I could have the job of training the instructors

Sorry Colin, but I'll be somewhere in Europe for the next three months!
(however, that could change, depending on remuneration!!)

 

[ValA.]

We noticed this weekend that the motorways were all displaying signs on the overhead gantries, something like 'Towing a caravan - drive safely'! I think there was more to it than that, but can't remember the exact wording.
Some years ago one of the young engineers where my OH worked told my OH that he was borrowing a caravan for his family holiday - having never towed before. David tried to give him advice about towing weights for his vehicle, loading, and towing safely, and having a practice run somewhere safe, but he wasn't interested. He got just nine miles on the M1 before overturning the caravan! Fortunately no one (either his party or other drivers) was injured, but vehicles were damaged.
He did have the grace to come and apologise to David and said 'I should have listened and it would have saved me a lot of money'. David said 'You might not have been so lucky, you should have listened and it could have saved your life'.

 

[JasonSDunks]

having been a proud owner for about 8 years now, i still check tyres, nose weight and so on even though i can generally load up and get it about right each time. it makes me feel more reassured for the journey ahead.

i am always amazed that i never see anyone else whip out the nose weight gauge to check and everytime i do, strange looks ensue from all around.

pootling up the M5 last saturday at a nice 57mph on the cruise, i was overtaken by many an outfit easy doing 70, one in lane 3!

 

[jwa]

I always check my nose weight, before setting off and before returning and I also get strange looks. One guy even asked what I was doing and did it matter! I've been caravanning for just over three years now and still consider myself a novice, despite being on my third caravan and third tow car. Had a lovely trip to Longleat, caravan was just under the 100kg nose weight, well balanced and towed beautifully at around 55-57 mph. I even backed it into position, a first for me!
The fixed bed was bliss, I slept really well and despite the temperature not getting much above 5 degrees we were toasty warm. I put the awning up with snow falling and took it down 5 days later in the rain too! Shade under 100kg nose weight on the way back as well, towed really well, but got absolutely filthy coming out of Longleat.
Now looking forward to touring around France in the summer, 5 sites booked and feeling much more confident about towing now, indeed, from someone who was petrified three years ago I now really enjoy the whole process.
At the end of the day though, what I really enjoy is setting up and settling down to relax in the comfort of our caravan, I just wish we had taken it up earlier.

 

[jwa]

Actually, the only problem I had was the short mains hook up lead which came with the caravan, at only 10 metres it wouldn't reach so we had to move. Need a 25m cable for France I would think.

 

[jwa]

Twindaddy, I used to be petrified, but a combination of decent tow car and advice on here has changed my outlook, there may be hope for you yet!

 

[philspot1]

Possibly plus your "old" 10 metre cable. Some French pitches don't seem to be designed for EHU connection (well, not 25 metres' worth!!) Might be worth getting a cover for the join, just in case. Most tourist sites are fine, but some of the quainter Municipal sites may be lacking in this respect.

 

[RayS]

In more towing years than I like to think about I've only ever seen two caravans overturned, and both at Silverstone during the racing following the CC/RAC Road Rally. Even then 1950 vintage vans survivived with remarkably little structural damage, despite contact with the tarmac at nearly 70mph. So I think you should not worry too much since you are clearly aware of the pitfalls and acting accordingly.

The same can't be said for the 'engineer' of Val's acquaintance - unless of the 'chemical' profession I would have thought that the theory of levers, centres of gravity etc. would have been somewhat familiar to him.

 

[otherclive]

Living close to the M4-5 I've seen a number of wrecked vans which were totally spread about. Whether they snaked (instability) or the drivers couldn't brake in time or swerved to avoid an impact I don't know but modern vans couldn't be as strong as 1950s vintage because these were well and truly wrecked.

 

[Baspegpet]

I too have been towing now for three years after doing a 1 to 1 towing course which gave me confidence. Out of reasons of economy, I rarely drive above about 57 mph, which, believe me, makes motorway driving more relaxing, as usually I m being overtaken, rather than me overtaking (more stressful).
when driving back through Scotland from the Orkneys in 2011, we were overtaken by another caravan outfit which was obviously going faster than was legal. A few miles further on, we overtook them - out of necessity - as they had overturned! Need we say more?

 

[ProfJohnL]

I do not endorse speeding in any way, and I am often admonished for that stance here on this forum, but it's too easy to see the results of an incident on the roadside and jump to conclusions it was the result of speeding or inappropriate driving.
There could be other causes