Just got back from Isle of Wight. Some of the roads are quite narrow and when leaving Adgestone site for the ferry. We were stopped by cyclists saying that a caravan had got into difficulty just down the lane. I went to investigate and found that 2 rigs in one very narrow lane. The one van just had to reverse about 20 feet. I stood there for about 5 or 6 minute watching this man trying to reverse. He was a complete idiot he kept jacknifing the van so I thought if I dont offer assistance I would miss my ferry slot. Upon speaking to him he said in a helpless voice he is not very good at reversing. So I proceeded to give him verbal instruction. A few minutes later we were all on our way. The morale to my story is that if you cannot reverse a caravan reasonably then you should not be driving it. - Get Help now
Terrible towing
- Thread starter Chris_374453492
- Start date
Hi,
My trailer reversing is like my welding. One day its perfect, the next day I pretend my wife did it.
OK, it makes sense that we should all be able to reverse our rigs. But I can't remember the last time I had to reverse more than a couple of yards. I plan ahead. And anyway, would it be safe reversing blind?
Perhaps the answer is to have a mover, so you can unhitch and reverse the caravan on its battery.
602
My trailer reversing is like my welding. One day its perfect, the next day I pretend my wife did it.
OK, it makes sense that we should all be able to reverse our rigs. But I can't remember the last time I had to reverse more than a couple of yards. I plan ahead. And anyway, would it be safe reversing blind?
Perhaps the answer is to have a mover, so you can unhitch and reverse the caravan on its battery.
602
I'll start with the appology.
I'm sorry but if anyone wants to tow a trailer, they must have a basic understanding of how to reverse. But now rather than just condem and scapper, I will offer a few tips, so that even the dimmest of us can get the van going backwards if needed.
The first thing is don't panic or feel you have to rush in a reversing situation. Taking your time and looking at what is happening and observe the movement in your mirrors.
If possible use your passenger as a "banksman" guide so that they can relay distances from obsticales or access points.
Now what can you do as a driver to get better at reversing. Firstly it is far easier to reverse into a pitch or junction on your righthand side, as you can see a lot more without having to rely on mirrors.
Next by going to a local carpark and stopping in a straight line with the wheels straight you are now in what I call a neutral position. Now place a piece of electrical insulation tape around the steering wheel at the 6pm position. Now by moving the steering wheel by a quarter turn, point the tape in the direction in which you want to turn. By doing this slowly in the safety of alarge open and empty carpark, you can practice as much as you like until you are satisfied. One other tip is do it all in slow motion Ie about walking pace ofr a funeral director, that way you give yourself time to react and stop without looking a nana.
One final tip is to set your car door mirrors to pick up as much of the blind spots as you can. Remember that your towing mirrors are set for the general road view. Also most tow cars now have remote motor driven mirrors that can be moved from the comfort of the drivers seat to seek out the blind spots.
So to sum up, just practice first before you get into the tight single track lane and find a tractor and hay trailer comming the other way.
Steve L.
I'm sorry but if anyone wants to tow a trailer, they must have a basic understanding of how to reverse. But now rather than just condem and scapper, I will offer a few tips, so that even the dimmest of us can get the van going backwards if needed.
The first thing is don't panic or feel you have to rush in a reversing situation. Taking your time and looking at what is happening and observe the movement in your mirrors.
If possible use your passenger as a "banksman" guide so that they can relay distances from obsticales or access points.
Now what can you do as a driver to get better at reversing. Firstly it is far easier to reverse into a pitch or junction on your righthand side, as you can see a lot more without having to rely on mirrors.
Next by going to a local carpark and stopping in a straight line with the wheels straight you are now in what I call a neutral position. Now place a piece of electrical insulation tape around the steering wheel at the 6pm position. Now by moving the steering wheel by a quarter turn, point the tape in the direction in which you want to turn. By doing this slowly in the safety of alarge open and empty carpark, you can practice as much as you like until you are satisfied. One other tip is do it all in slow motion Ie about walking pace ofr a funeral director, that way you give yourself time to react and stop without looking a nana.
One final tip is to set your car door mirrors to pick up as much of the blind spots as you can. Remember that your towing mirrors are set for the general road view. Also most tow cars now have remote motor driven mirrors that can be moved from the comfort of the drivers seat to seek out the blind spots.
So to sum up, just practice first before you get into the tight single track lane and find a tractor and hay trailer comming the other way.
Steve L.
reversing your outfit should be a simple task that nobody is afraid to do and as steve has pointed out a bit of time taken to learn is time very well spent.
i consider my self lucky that i am a very competent driver both solo and with the van, i can allso reverse my van allmost anywhere i want to, this has not come naturally it has come from practice and experiance.
when we first got our van some 14 years ago both myself and my wife booked on the caravan club course, it was the best thing we ever did. my wife had never towed anything but knew that one day she may have to so she wanted to be sure she was capable, i went along too for aditional advice and suport. the course was superb and the instructor took a great deal of time showing my wife how to safely hook up the van check its road worthiness and tow safely, at the end of the day she was able to do everything as it should be done and she reversed the van a total of 100 yards and reverse parked it on a makeshift pitch.
if anyone is not confident towing or especially reversing the van the i urge you to book on one of the club courses, they are both as good as each other and are highly recomended.
i consider my self lucky that i am a very competent driver both solo and with the van, i can allso reverse my van allmost anywhere i want to, this has not come naturally it has come from practice and experiance.
when we first got our van some 14 years ago both myself and my wife booked on the caravan club course, it was the best thing we ever did. my wife had never towed anything but knew that one day she may have to so she wanted to be sure she was capable, i went along too for aditional advice and suport. the course was superb and the instructor took a great deal of time showing my wife how to safely hook up the van check its road worthiness and tow safely, at the end of the day she was able to do everything as it should be done and she reversed the van a total of 100 yards and reverse parked it on a makeshift pitch.
if anyone is not confident towing or especially reversing the van the i urge you to book on one of the club courses, they are both as good as each other and are highly recomended.
As far as I can see, 75% of people can't reverse their car properly, let alone a caravan.Every day I have to reverse the better halfs car down the drive and she never reverse into parking spaces.This is not a man V women thing, as I have several mates who can't reverse their cars either.
Steve W
Steve W
Its not about being Mr Perfect its about minimum standards of competency. Is this not why you now have to take an extra test for towing?
From comments made on other threads on this forum.
Surely Chris should have left earlier if he is such a smart driver ;-)
Surely Chris should have left earlier if he is such a smart driver ;-)
All, I must say that I have to agree that if you can not reverse (aided or unaided) you should take steps to learn and not really be on the road without these skills. I see far too many people who cannot reverse their units and it is some times embarrassing (and amusing) to watch. Like Chris, I would not have been impressed if being held up would have meant me missing a ferry. The using of a local car park to practice is a good idea. When a friend of mine recently purchased his first caravan that is exactly what I did with him. He was soon quite perfect.
hi all
when you see people who chris saw,is it any wonder that caravaners get bad press?the problem is anyone who has the correct licence can hook up a caravan and cause problems because they have had no training with,for intents and purposes an articulated vehical
i had to do 7 days training and a 2 and a half hour driving test which involved a manovering test before i could take an artic onto the road on my own,the only difference is,what i drive is much bigger than a car and caravan but going backwards it acts just the same,in fact its much easier reversing a 45ft trailer than it is a caravan
so i belive its about time a permit be intoduced before you are allowed out on the road with a caravan/trailer with a car,something along the lines of the cbt for motorcycles.im sure that the test could something like the courses that are already in place which are run by the different caravan clubs and organisations
at the moment if passing a car test you have to take another test to tow a trailer,but how many years will it take to filter down so future caravaners will have the training before they go out on the road?
in the meantime we will still have disscusions on forums like this where the perfect and not so perfect keep argueing
hgv dave
when you see people who chris saw,is it any wonder that caravaners get bad press?the problem is anyone who has the correct licence can hook up a caravan and cause problems because they have had no training with,for intents and purposes an articulated vehical
i had to do 7 days training and a 2 and a half hour driving test which involved a manovering test before i could take an artic onto the road on my own,the only difference is,what i drive is much bigger than a car and caravan but going backwards it acts just the same,in fact its much easier reversing a 45ft trailer than it is a caravan
so i belive its about time a permit be intoduced before you are allowed out on the road with a caravan/trailer with a car,something along the lines of the cbt for motorcycles.im sure that the test could something like the courses that are already in place which are run by the different caravan clubs and organisations
at the moment if passing a car test you have to take another test to tow a trailer,but how many years will it take to filter down so future caravaners will have the training before they go out on the road?
in the meantime we will still have disscusions on forums like this where the perfect and not so perfect keep argueing
hgv dave
Very much agree with you Dave, I have for years been saying on these forums that it is high time that a separate test was introduced for trailer towing. Any one that obtained there licence prior to the licensing change in the 90s is quite entitled to tow a laden caravan in most cases in the region of one and a half tons with no specialist training! And as you know being a HGV driver the added length,width, and above all the increased weight totally alters the characteristics of the towing vehicle.
It was once suggested on these forums that towing a laden trailer actually reduces your braking distance, ignorance as they say is bliss, but certainly very dangerous when you apply your ignorance on a public highway, the law needs changing now.
Allan & Gill/
Very much agree with you Dave, I have for years been saying on these forums that it is high time that a separate test was introduced for trailer towing. Any one that obtained there licence prior to the licensing change in the 90s is quite entitled to tow a laden caravan in most cases in the region of one and a half tons with no specialist training! And as you know being a HGV driver the added length,width, and above all the increased weight totally alters the characteristics of the towing vehicle.
It was once suggested on these forums that towing a laden trailer actually reduces your braking distance, ignorance as they say is bliss, but certainly very dangerous when you apply your ignorance on a public highway, the law needs changing now.
Allan & Gill/
Very much agree with you Dave, I have for years been saying on these forums that it is high time that a separate test was introduced for trailer towing. Any one that obtained there licence prior to the licensing change in the 90s is quite entitled to tow a laden caravan in most cases in the region of one and a half tons with no specialist training! And as you know being a HGV driver the added length,width, and above all the increased weight totally alters the characteristics of the towing vehicle.
It was once suggested on these forums that towing a laden trailer actually reduces your braking distance, ignorance as they say is bliss, but certainly very dangerous when you apply your ignorance on a public highway, the law needs changing now.
Allan & Gill/
It was once suggested on these forums that towing a laden trailer actually reduces your braking distance, ignorance as they say is bliss, but certainly very dangerous when you apply your ignorance on a public highway, the law needs changing now.
Allan & Gill/
Very much agree with you Dave, I have for years been saying on these forums that it is high time that a separate test was introduced for trailer towing. Any one that obtained there licence prior to the licensing change in the 90s is quite entitled to tow a laden caravan in most cases in the region of one and a half tons with no specialist training! And as you know being a HGV driver the added length,width, and above all the increased weight totally alters the characteristics of the towing vehicle.
It was once suggested on these forums that towing a laden trailer actually reduces your braking distance, ignorance as they say is bliss, but certainly very dangerous when you apply your ignorance on a public highway, the law needs changing now.
Allan & Gill/
Very much agree with you Dave, I have for years been saying on these forums that it is high time that a separate test was introduced for trailer towing. Any one that obtained there licence prior to the licensing change in the 90s is quite entitled to tow a laden caravan in most cases in the region of one and a half tons with no specialist training! And as you know being a HGV driver the added length,width, and above all the increased weight totally alters the characteristics of the towing vehicle.
It was once suggested on these forums that towing a laden trailer actually reduces your braking distance, ignorance as they say is bliss, but certainly very dangerous when you apply your ignorance on a public highway, the law needs changing now.
Allan & Gill/
i dont know where the pic came from......but its a good job the woman wiht the dog has it on a lead......in that weather and the dog being that colour.......it would be hard to find 
hgv dave
hgv dave
Reading comments about reversing, I was given a tip many years ago which I have found very useful.
Look in your mirrors, whichever side has the most caravan showing, turn your steering wheel towards that side, reverse, and the outfit will straighten up.
Hope this helps
Al
Look in your mirrors, whichever side has the most caravan showing, turn your steering wheel towards that side, reverse, and the outfit will straighten up.
Hope this helps
Al
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