Learn from experts to build confidence
If you are new to caravanning, the idea of towing can seem a bit daunting. But help is at hand, with specialist training to show how it’s done. Nigel Hutson reports
THERE WILL BE many keen caravanners who are in the same situation as my wife and me. We have been touring for years, yet the only thing that Kay has ever towed is the Aquaroll, to and from the campsite taps.
That’s not for any bad reason, because she is a very competent driver, but I always end up in the driving seat. Possibly, the fact that I’m not the most relaxed of passengers doesn’t help?
However, there’s always the chance that for some reason, I might be unable to drive, and Kay would find herself behind the wheel. We’ve often spoken about it, and I’ve seen the fear in her eyes when we have.
I’m sure there are plenty of people who really love the idea of caravanning, but are anxious about hitching the caravan to the car and actually towing it.
I am the first to admit that me being in the passenger seat while Kay has her first tow with our caravan would not be a good idea. But this is where our great friends at The Camping and Caravanning Club come to the rescue, as they run a Confidence Builder Course, which guides you through the basic principles of towing a caravan.
Following on from that is the more road-orientated Pitch and Progress Course, intended for those who have completed the initial training and have some experience under their belt.
The Caravan and Motorhome Club also runs similar events.
Kay attended the C&CC’S Confidence Builder Course in Coventry, and I tagged along to see what was involved.
Behind the wheel
We arrived at the car park and were greeted by an instructor, Dave Hage. All of the C&CC instructors are qualified driving instructors, who spend much of their time providing B+E training (for outfits that exceed the 3.5-tonne post-1997 limit on new licence-holders), so they know what they’re doing.
He asked us to fit our towing mirrors (you’re asked to bring these, with a rear numberplate for your vehicle). This was the first test – Kay had never done it before – but a few minutes later, our mirrors were attached.
That done, we were shown into the ‘Bistro’ (the C&CC canteen), where we met other participants and instructors.
Looking around the room, I could see some very nervous people here. After registering with Lead Instructor Maureen Richardson, we had coffee, and hesitant chat arose among the course attendees.
We were with newbie Rebecca Margieson. She and her partner had recently bought a caravan, which they had yet to use, and like Kay, she’d never towed.
On her own admission, she was very nervous and worried about every aspect of towing.
A quiz to start
The participants (four women, eight men) and five instructors moved into a conference room, where Maureen gave a brief introduction to the course.
The attendees introduced themselves and outlined their towing experience. This ranged from none at all (the majority)
to James, who had been towing for about 18 months.
A quiz followed. This covered things such as speed limits, recommended maximum tyre ages on caravans, the meaning of terms such as MTPLM, MIRO and noseweight, what to do if a snake develops and what the usual causes of a snake are
(speed being top of the list!). Stabilisers and devices such as Al-ko’s ATC were also discussed.
All in all, a good icebreaker, which got the group talking, and I could see some of the apprehension had disappeared by the end of the session.
We then went outside, and the group was divided up. Kay was assigned to Dave, who asked her to reverse our car towards a waiting Bailey Pursuit in preparation for hitching.
He expertly guided her back so that the caravan hitch was directly over the car’s towball (credit to Kay, too, for following the instructions implicitly!).
Dave then went through each stage of hitching, starting with attaching the breakaway cable (the rule is, first thing on, last thing off, because it’s a safety device) to an appropriate point on the car/towbar.
The next stage was raising the hitch handle (the caravans aren’t fitted with stabilisers) but not holding it (it might accidentally be pushed down, misleading someone into thinking it was properly hitched).
This is followed by lowering the hitch onto the towball, before winding the jockey wheel to raise the rear of the car, so you can ensure that the hitch has engaged properly.
Now for the electrics
Next up was raising the jockey wheel and securing it ready for the road. Then, attaching the electrics, and how and where it should pass under the hitch, twisting the cable (not the plug) if it is a little too long, so that you end up with a pigtail.
The final stage at the front was to release the handbrake. Kay did struggle with this – she has a weak wrist after a fracture a few years ago – but Dave had a good solution for that.
With legs straight and back against the front of the caravan, it was simply a case of pressing the button on the lever and then leaning forwards.
Moving to the rear of the van, Dave attached our numberplate (I also noticed that an L-plate was attached, letting following drivers know a novice tower was in front), and then checked the caravan lights.
Once again, this was done methodically and using hand signals, rather than shouting back to the driver. It’s suggested you start with the obligatory lights, then the stop, indicators (then hazard), rear fog and finally reversing lights, gradually building them up until they’re all on. That way, if there is an electrical fault, it will develop before you hit the road.
Thankfully, everything was fine on our vehicle.
We still weren’t ready for the road, though, as the mirrors had to be adjusted. Dave explained to Kay what she should ideally be able to see in them (basically, along each side of the caravan and 4m out at 20m behind the mirrors, which our Milenco Grand Aeros do perfectly).
Out on the road
It was now the time for the drive – the thing Kay was feeling most apprehensive about.
I was ordered (very politely) to sit in the back and not say a word by Dave, who threatened me with an application of gaffer tape if I broke the silence!
Dave’s very gentle and calm manner was perfect for Kay. He showed her the Driver Assessment Sheet that he would complete, a copy of which she would receive at the end of the session, but emphasised it was not a test. Then we were off.
Kay’s first task was exiting the C&CC premises, because there’s a centre island on a sharp left turn, with a kerb sticking out and straight onto a traffic island, but with Dave’s expert guidance, the ‘test’ was passed.
The drive covered all kinds of roads, from dual carriageways to busy urban streets, junctions controlled by traffic lights (turning right) and roundabouts.
On a particularly narrow , busy urban road – with vehicles parked on both sides – after pausing for oncoming traffic, Kay doubted that she could get the outfit through the gap as traffic continued to oppose her.
However, Dave likened the towing mirrors to cat’s whiskers. “If the towing mirrors will get through, the caravan will,” he said, encouragingly.
Obviously, that only applies if the outfit is straight, and is no excuse for barging through narrow gaps in a cavalier manner; but in general terms, the analogy is a good one.
Towing tips
With that part of the drive over, a relieved Kay continued, and I could sense her confidence building as we progressed.
Dave made some very sensible suggestions here and there, such as leaving a little bit more room between our vehicle and the one in front in a queue.
Kay knows about ‘tyres and Tarmac’ – in this situation, stay far enough back from the vehicle so you can see the bottom of the tyres and a bit of Tarmac behind the rear wheels.
That would give enough room to manoeuvre around it if there was a problem, without having to reverse (which would be impossible if something was close behind).
Dave suggested leaving a bit more room when towing. He also suggested longer indications when towing, too.
We arrived back at the C&CC, where Kay was obviously more relaxed. Dave gave her a debrief on the drive, and the written assessment, which was excellent and very encouraging. But the driving wasn’t over yet.
With the outfit parked straight, Kay then had a few attempts at reversing in a straight line and using her mirrors.
Dave explained that if she could see one side of the caravan more than the other, she should simply turn the steering wheel a quarter-turn in that direction, to bring the outfit back into line.
It couldn’t have been easy for Kay with me standing outside watching every move and taking photographs, but she certainly mastered it quickly. After that, Dave guided her through the unhitching process – basically the reverse order for hitching.
A couple of points here were, first of all, try to unhitch with an extended hitch. This means that if you’ve reversed onto your pitch, you should pull forward a little. That way, when the van is uncoupled from the car, the hitch won’t extend and damage what might be a very costly rear bumper on the car.
In addition, when lowering the jockey wheel, clamp it a few inches above the ground and then unwind it. That gives you leeway for levelling the caravan front to rear. And don’t forget the golden rule: handbrake first and breakaway cable last when you are unhitching!
We then joined attendees James and Les with Instructor Chris Wood, for the next lesson. Chris ran through a recap on hitching, and then explained about using hand signals for direction and distance when hitching, rather than what could be confusing verbal instructions.
He guided James to the van, which was duly hitched to his car. The next part of the course was to manoeuvre at walking pace through a slalom. “The idea of this is to get people to look, see and understand what they are doing,” said Chris.
The slalom might sound quite simple, but it wasn’t. It entailed using full steering lock and at times, almost getting the outfit perpendicular to the route.
Slalom moves
Once James had successfully carried out this manoeuvre a couple of times, it was Kay’s turn. This time, James gave the directional guidance, under the watchful eye of Chris. Again,
Kay managed it with aplomb.
After a very welcome break for lunch (during which, the atmosphere was much lighter than at the beginning of the day), six of the course attendees (including Kay, James, Les and Rebecca) joined Lead Instructor Maureen, who again covered hitching and unhitching – where most caravan ‘incidents’ occur.
Maureen then moved on to providing an understanding of weights (MTPLM, MIRO and noseweight), using a noseweight gauge to demonstrate how moving the caravan’s load just a little bit can have an effect.
Levelling up
Things such as levelling a caravan side to side, and using ramps and chocks, were demonstrated, as was realigning a 13-pin plug using the special green tool.
Next on the list were tyre pressures and making sure the towball is clean (no paint or grease) if using a stabiliser, as were the important things to check (windows, TV antenna, rooflights and underneath the caravan) before moving off.
Finally, everybody had a go at the ‘wiggle’. With the caravan hitched, they were stopped with the van at a tight angle behind the car (steering on full lock), and shown how to straighten up the caravan within the length of the car, by initially turning into the angle on full lock and then turning against the angle on full opposite lock. The key to this is to do it very slowly.
From experience, this is very useful when you are pulling into a gap in a lay-by, or manoeuvring on-site, for example.
At the end of the day, I caught up with Rebecca and James.
Rebecca told me: “I’m really glad I came. I’ve picked up lots of handy tips. We’ve also got a booklet to remind us – there’s so much to know. The instructors have been so friendly, and I’ve not felt stupid at all.”
James added, “My objectives in taking the course were to feel confident in what I have already been doing and to pick up more tips. I have totally achieved this, and overall, it’s been a really good and informative day.”