Winter towing

[Ricey]

Hi,

we are currently in our 1st year of van ownership and are thouroughly loving it and making full use of the van as time and money dictates. We hope to use the van throughout the year (except in heavy snow) and as the main driver I would appreciate any advice from the more experienced towers out there with regards to driving in poorer weather conditions, e.g flooding, ice, slush, hail, etc.

I normally tow with a car but do have access to a 4x4, however I would always be excercising the normal cautions in poor driving conditions irrespective of the vehicle, I just wondered if there were any other specific towing tips or do's and don'ts out there that people would be willing to share.

Regards,

 

[Steve L]

Hi Ricey.
Take all the usual kit:-
First Aid kit
Fire Extinguisher
Shovel
Warm Clothes
Tow Rope
Now add:-
Wind up torch
Hand winch & tree straps or lorry ratchet straps X 2
Fit new tyres at start of winter season to the tow car. A 4X4 is nice but not essential.
Have two mobile phones on seperate networks (orangw T-mobile etc)
Take chargers for these for car & mains
Take a map book and sat nav
Make a rescue plan with a neighbour or relative. Give them a written copy of your route, car reg, phone numbers of the mobiles, phone number of the site your going to, also the ETA for you at the site. Ensure that if you haven't rung in by 4 hours after your ETA, they kick the rescue plan into force.

Finally, expect things to be much more difficult to do and take twice as long.

There's loads of advice on winter caravanning and as one who survived the worst winter in 30 years last year. We are permanent caravanners you see, so we had no choice but to make it work.

Above all keep a sense of humour and make it fun.

All the best Steve L.

 

[RayS]

Not strictly a driving thing, but ideally fit an on-board water tank to avoid problems with aquaroll and pump. This can be as simple as a 20l plastic jerry can under one seat but you can also add a second connection for the water pump. Get it as cloase to the axle as you can.
Put something over the car windscreen to keep the frost off; have a can of de-icer where you can get at it easliy - caravan door locks have been known to freeze; make sure you have propane not butane gas, take it very easy if the roads are frozen and have a rut at each side, the frozen centre ridge may damage things under the van, e.g. cover for outlet of space heater, if it has been wet park up and chock the wheels rather than have the handbrake on to avoid possibility of shoes freezing to drums.

Given a choice I would prefer auto to manual gearbox for towing - if the wheels start to slip the box will change up without you having to do so.

Finally, having arrived for the night some good quality (personal) anti-freeze e.g. Bell's is always relaxing.

(From several years travelling to Spain immediately after Christmas; western France is usually wet at worst but northern Spain can be very cold indeed at that time of year.

 

[Ricey]

Top class advice chaps. Exactly what I was after.

I'll print this off and keep it in my caravan folder for nearer the time when it's needed.

Thanks.

 

[Delt1c]

I would agree with all the above. Also check the weather forecast and if in doubt dont go. I use the van 12 months year and appart from snow and high winds I havent had problems. .Like others have said ensure you have some water in the van, plenty of gas and the battery is well charged.
If you havent got an onboard tank , get a tank jacket from a local DIY store to wrap the aqua roll in, an old fleece sleeve to insulate the pump hose and get a thick peace of cardboard to sit the aqua roll on it should be OK. Dont do what I did once and leave a spare , full aqua roll of water outside the night before I was departing, I woke up next day to find a 40 litre ice lolly which I had to sit in the back of the car whilst travelling.
Also at night make sure you fill the kettle ready for the morning and empty the waste container in the evening.

 

[Steve L]

Nice one (40Ltr popcicle).
We always have a 10 Ltr can inside our van for water as most sites have mains water instead of spring water and so if you draw from an aqua roll, you get a more prolific chlorine tast to the water as it may of stood for a day or two in the sun. Even an onboard tank can freeze in winter, but your handy can doesn't and is easy to carry if you have to go to the toilet block because of frozen site taps.
We bought two puffa jackets from a charity shop XXL size, perfect for the water hog and aquaroll. We feed the pump down the sleeve which keeps the pipe ice free. Also we have insulated the pipes inside the van as they tend to freeze behind the sink and over the wheel arch. Some thick carpet over the wheel arch also helps to cut out the cold spot of the thin plastic arch.

Atb Steve L.

 

[Philspadders]

a great deal of the equipment you need would depend on where you are planning to go.

High Tog Rated sleeping bags are a must and is the appropriate clothing.

Not too sure about the auto gear box being much use if your wheel slip , if that were the case all Lorries would have full auto, but there you go.

To change you vehicle tyres each winter is a little over board not say very expensive. but if you can afford it then its up to you.
Use Propane by the way , not Butane.
Where a you planning on going?

Middle England ?, The outer hebrides?, Siberia?

 

[RayS]

Oh, it's confession time. one trip down through France at Christmas we actually put an electic blanket on to our (fixed) bed in the van - only takes 2 amps but did it feel good ! Downside is it does not fold up very small, so was a bit of a pain in storage for the next two and a half months, but my old bones certainly appreciated it. (Also see advice on personal anti-freeze in my previous posting)

 

[Ricey]

Thanks everyone.

All advice noted. We're not planning on going to far from home, so most likely somewhere in the west of scotland. Would certainly not be planning to drive in the snow, but sometimes with the weather you just never know, so will be prepared for it.

Already one step ahead of the game in that the personal anti-freeze level is checked regularly and topped up as required throughout the year.