Take stress out of caravan trips

WITH another bank holiday on the horizon, there will be more people dusting off their caravan and packing for the long weekends.

IAM RoadSmart has partnered up with the Caravan and Motorhome Club to offer some advice for having a successful holiday trip.

Going away with the whole family and the caravan, trailer tent or camping trailer is a great experience.

BY ensuring that you load the caravan or trailer correctly and deal appropriately with other traffic, you can help ease the stress levels, especially if you lack towing experience.

With the south west of England being a very popular place to visit, it is not surprising that the south west has some of the highest incident rates for caravans.

Between January 2017 and May 2018 there have been 850 caravan or trailer incidents on main roads in the south west region, with 460 of those occurring in the summer months of May to September last year - a sure way to put a sudden end to a lovely holiday.

With the majority of caravans only being used over the summer months, this figure needs to be reduced.

Most incidents happen around the weekend. Nearly a third of all incidents occur on Saturdays and Sundays, with Mondays and Fridays not too far behind.

CARAVAN and trailer road-worthiness is just as important as your car’s, and particular care is needed for that first summer outing, as many are parked up and unused over the winter.

We recommend that before you start your trip you make sure you have checked both your car and TOWING in high winds caravan or trailer. needs additional care and

Especially check your perhaps a change of route tyres as they should be should be considered. inflated to the correct However it’s not just pressure, have a good windy days you need to be amount of tread (no lower mindful of. than 1.6mm) and be free Overtaking large vehicles from damage. can place you in their ‘bow

The caravan breakaway wave’ and this can cause cable (or safety chain on instability of caravans smaller unbraked trailers) which are badly loaded should be in good and/or being towed too conditionfast.andconnected correctly. Martin Spencer,

If you have a caravan or a technical manager at the large box-shaped trailer Caravan and Motorhome you will almost always Club, says: “Towing a need to fit extension caravan or other trailer can mirrors - these will help be unfamiliar, but doesn’t make sure you have a good need to be intimidating. view behind you and “By getting the basic comply with the law. set-up right, then following

Remember when straightforward advice over loading your caravan or issues such as speed and trailer to make sure it is not safety around other overloaded as this can put vehicles, towing can be you at additional risk of relaxed, easy and instability and mean you’re comfortable. breaking the law. “Above all, it will be safe.

Ensure your heavy items “In almost all cases, are positioned correctly serious incidents only over the axle, low to the occur because floor with lighter items inexperienced drivers have higher up. not taken the right advice or experienced ones have become complacent.

“The club has 15 training centres across the country so anyone just starting out, or those needing some refresher training, can receive the best possible guidance.”

Neil Greig, director of policy and research at IAM RoadSmart says: “The advanced driving skills of observation, anticipation and planning are key to good towing.

“They will keep you a safe distance from the vehicle in front and help you predict problems ahead and around you.

“If you prepare yourself, your family and your vehicles for the road ahead your trip will be as relaxing as possible.”

A QUICK refresher of the Highway Code will remind you that travelling in the right-hand lane of a motorway with three or more lanes is not allowed and your speed limit when towing is 60 mph on dual carriageways and motorways and 50 mph on single carriageways, unless a lower overall limit is applies

Be extra vigilant on downhill stretches as your speed can easily creep up and get too high - this is a common contributory factor to your caravan/ trailer losing stability.

Remember, you will need more room to stop when towing and you should always have a big enough gap to be able to slow down and stop in an emergency