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Caravanning is one of the fastest growing leisure pursuits
in this country, and the need for specialised training is clear.
Today's roads are busier than ever, and people seem to have
less tolerance than ever. Every driver needs to increase their
advanced planning – not just when they are towing,
but during normal driving as well.
That's
why we have an experienced instructor, John Clements,
on hand to provide caravan towing lessons to help keep you
safe on the road.
We see the objective of the caravan towing lessons as being
to build on the customer's existing driving skills and give
confidence and teach the techniques necessary to deal with
all situations when towing a caravan out on the road, and parking
on a site. Additional driver training is something all motorists
can benefit from. Remember: "concentration, observation and
anticipation!".
Training costs £80.00 for a private 2 hour lesson. Book
a caravan towing lesson.
John's top tips for safe caravan reversing
1. The slower you reverse, the more control you have
2. When reversing into an entrance to the left or right of
the road, start by pulling well forward of the entrance, with
the caravan across the road, at an angle to the entrance.
3. Position your hands on the
steering wheel in the 20 to 4 position, towards the bottom
of the steering wheel.
4. Remember left and right mean
looking through the windscreen, not back through the rear window!
5. If you want the caravan to
move left, turn the steering wheel to the left. As the caravan
slowly moves backwards, turn the wheel in the opposite direction,
so the car begins to follow it.
6. Resist the temptation to turn
your head around! Watch your steering mirrors. If the caravan
moves too far out of line, turn the steering wheel TOWARDS
the mirror in which you can see the side of the caravan.
7. If you go badly wrong, take
a tip from the truck drivers and STOP! Pull forward a little
bit – say the length of the car bonnet – and start again. Don't
pull forward to your original starting position.
8. Above all, remember: "make haste slowly!".
Top tips for avoiding caravan snaking
'Snaking' is when a caravan or trailer starts to swing from
side to side behind the towing vehicle. In the worst case scenario,
the caravan can swing right round and hit the side of the towing
vehicle, causing the whole outfit to spin 180º.
Snaking can
occur just about any time, in any conditions, but is most often
experienced travelling downhill.
Reduce the chances of snaking by:
1. Loading your caravan evenly
2. Ensuring the tow bar weight
capacity of your towing vehicle matches the tow bar weight
your caravan requires for stability. The optimum for a caravan
is 7% of its laden weight, but generally, the heavier the better.
3. Always using matched tyres
4. Not travelling too fast
5. NEVER overtaking travelling
downhill
6. Applying your brakes gently
when travelling downhill
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