The big day is here! The sun is shining, the campsite is booked, and it’s time to hit the road with our step-by-step guide to towing a caravan.
The most important thing to remember when hitching and towing a caravan is to never do it alone. You will need a trusted partner to get your caravan ready (and to share your adventures with!), so enlist their help, set aside plenty of time, and get your caravan on the move with these 6 steps.
Pack your caravan
The first step is to fill your caravan with everything you will need on the road.
Bedding, clothing, toilet chemicals, and the mains lead are a good start, but try to avoid overfilling your caravan with non-essentials. The big food shop, for example, should be done after you have arrived at your destination, and the onboard water system must be completely drained before you travel.
This will stop the combined weight of your car and caravan from exceeding 8,250 kg. This is the maximum weight that you will be permitted to tow, provided that you passed your driving test before 1st January 1997. After this date, the DVLA standards changed, and drivers who acquired their licences after 1996 are only permitted to tow a combined weight of 3,500kg.
Check the tyres
We recommend the following tyre safety checks, especially if your caravan has not been moved for some time:
● The Condition: Visually inspect your caravan tyres for any cracks, bulges, or flat spots.
● The Pressure: The recommended tyre pressure can be found in your vehicle handbook.
● The Tread: Check that the minimum tread of all tyres is 1.6mm.
● The Age: Replace any tyres that you have had for 5 - 7 years.
The pre-journey checks should be carried out every time you hitch up your caravan, and take this opportunity to check your car tyres before setting off as well.
Attach the mirrors
In order to give yourself adequate visibility whilst towing a caravan, you must be able to see:
● 4 metres down both sides.
● And 20 metres behind.
Your caravan, with the assistance of towing mirrors. These fitted mirrors are a legal requirement and carry a £1,000 fine and 3 penalty points if you travel without them, so make sure you pack a spare to avoid any legal or insurance issues if one is damaged on the road.
Fit the breakaway cable
Now that your car and caravan are prepped for the journey, it’s time to start hitching them up.
To properly position the vehicles, all you need to do is adjust the height of the caravan hitch using the jockey wheel until it is higher than the towball on the car. Your partner can then reverse the car back until it is opposite the hitch, leaving you enough room to attach the breakaway cable.
This safety cable is fitted to the towbar or towball and will apply the caravan brakes if it ever becomes detached from the car. This will stop the caravan from rolling away and it is well worth securing this cable before you begin the coupling process. Just make sure that you leave enough slack for the caravan to safely move around corners and bends, otherwise it will become activated on the road.
Couple the caravan
Once the breakaway cable is in place, coupling the caravan is as simple as:
● Giving the towball and hitch a wipedown.
● Checking the friction pads on the hitch.
● Tightening any loose towball nuts.
● Lowering the hitch onto the tow ball.
● And connecting the stabiliser.
Once this is done, check the coupling and then ask your partner to double-check it again before you retract the jockey wheel and store it away.
Connect the electrics
Your car may be obscured from view whilst towing a caravan, but drivers behind and around you will still need to see your brake, hazard, and indicator lights.
This is why caravans have their own rear lights, which are connected to and controlled by the car through an electrical connection. Locate the socket, connect the cables, and then ask your partner to test:
● The brakes.
● Both indicators.
● Tail (headlight) lights.
● Fog lights.
● And reverse lights.
Whilst you stand behind the caravan to verify the connection. Your caravan will also need to have the same number plate as your car, so update the plates as soon as you purchase a new vehicle to avoid any last-minute roadblocks to your journey.
Stay safe whilst towing a caravan
Hitched up and ready to head off?
Now that you know how to tow a caravan, all that is left to do is:
- Secure all items inside the caravan to stop them from sliding around in transit.
- Gather your insurance coverage and breakdown policy documents.
- Adhere to the 60mph speed limit on dual carriageways and motorways.
And stock up on all the towing essentials you will need for a safe journey and a stress-free holiday.