Towing Guide - Flipbook - Page 26
PRACTICAL TOWING GUIDANCE
Experience in towing is not essential for taking up caravanning.
Any driver should soon find that towing a caravan is both
rewarding and pleasurable. If you are at all unsure, the Caravan
and Motorhome Club and The Camping & Caravanning Club
offer towing and manoeuvring courses.
Caravans should always be towed either
level or slightly nose down. You should
always build up speed gradually to
get used to the different handling and
braking characteristics when towing.
A caravan will alter the performance
of the car and the driver will need to
anticipate potential hazards much
earlier. Experience will help the driver to
minimise sudden changes in speed or
direction, which might otherwise lead
to a towing combination becoming
unstable and help to create a calmer
and safer driving environment.
26 NCC Caravan Towing Guide
The speed at which a caravan
is towed is very important. The
aerodynamic forces that act on the
caravan at speed may tend to reduce
the noseweight, especially as road
speed increases. At a critical speed, any
loss of noseweight can cause instability
and this could occur at a lower speed
when driving into a head wind. Gusting
cross winds, exposed bridge sections,
valleys and proximity to large goods
vehicles may also initiate aerodynamic
instability. Slow down, but do not brake,
to return to stability.
