Check that your towing vehicle can tow your caravan. Check the manufacturer’s manual to determine the recommended maximum weight and ensure you stay within this limit. Planning for a caravan holiday is a must to make sure your vehicle is safe, secure, well-maintained, and properly equipped.
Size and towing capacity
Most travelers don’t have the luxury of choosing a towing vehicle that matches their van. Rather, it is best to get a van that will fit your vehicle.
The manufacturer of cars sets a safe towing weight for each vehicle. Australia’s national regulations follow these guidelines. The caravan it is towing is the best to the tow vehicle. This will allow the caravan to be towable at its full weight. Towing small cars is limited to folding caravans, camper-trailers, and small caravans. Larger cars are capable of towing caravans and pop tops at the higher end of the market. It is important to consider the dimensions of the tow vehicle. If your caravan is very high or large, you will need to use more power to overcome wind resistance.
Off-road Vehicles
The popularity of four-wheel-drive towing vehicles has increased dramatically. They can haul large vans and also manage boats and other items. Many people travel off-road without ever leaving the main road. Some others travel extensively in the outback, often unhitching their van when the terrain becomes too rough. Others take a tent or swag with them and sleep at the back of their vehicle. You can read about 5 Reasons Why a Roadside Assistance Service Could Help You by visiting https://www.epictowingnw.com/5-reasons-why-a-roadside-assistance-service-could-help-you/
Transmission
You can choose between automatic or manual transmission depending on your personal preference. Travelers used to prefer a manual transmission, but automatic transmissions have improved and are now just as good. Automatic four-wheel drives actually perform well off-road.
Tools and spares
It is important to have a toolkit for any extended touring trip. This will allow you to perform minor repairs on your vehicle as well as do household work around the caravan. These items should be part of an instrument kit:
- Blade screwdrivers
- Phillips head screwdrivers
- A group of spanners that match your van and car
- Hammer
- Pliers
- Adjustable small shifter
- The larger shifter for gas bottles
- Scissors
- Wheel spanner
- Group of spike-resistant jumper leads leads
- Tire-pressure gauge
- Tow rope and tow strap
Make sure that the handle and jack are properly installed in your vehicle. Make sure that the exact same jack fits your caravan and car. Make sure to learn how to fix your tyres, and where the jacking points for your caravan and towing vehicle are.
A jacking board of approximately 250 sq. To place underneath the jack when the ground is wet, uneven, or soft, measure mm. It is acceptable to use a little checker-plate aluminum.
Your caravan might have different wheel studs than the one you have. Before you leave home, make sure to check.
You will need a spare tire for your vehicle and one for your caravan. Two spares are required for each unit if you plan to travel off the beaten path. Some camper-trailers can be used interchangeably with the towing vehicle’s wheels. This is a common scenario. In many cases, two spares will suffice.
TOWING EQUIPMENT and MODIFICATIONS
Towing equipment fitting and modification of towing vehicles should be left to professionals. If requested, dealers will often fit towbars to new vehicles. To ensure that you don’t end up with a trailer only capable of towing your vehicle’s maximum towing weight, you will need to tell the dealer. Talk to a professional tow-bar dealer and mechanic if you have an automobile. You can also search the Classifieds for one online or in person.
Towing Equipment
All tow bars sold in Australia are built to a certain standard and should function well. There may be different models with different features or prices.
Many lightweight bars can be used to tow trailers and vans with a gross weight of fewer than one thousand kilograms. Heavy-duty bars like those that are fitted to large four-wheel-drive vehicles can tow up to 3,500 kg. Each towbar has a maximum trailer weight and a maximum static ball weight. The second is the weight difference between the caravan and the car. It should be approximately 10 percent of the trailer’s total weight. The ball weight should be approximately 100 kg when the trailer weighs 1,000kg. Tow bars can only be used to tow the maximum vehicle weight. You can be sure that your caravan is not towing more than it should. Towing excesses can result in accidents, fines, and non-payment for insurance claims.
A variety of towing hitches can be fitted to tow bars. Standard caravans and trailers come with a 50mm ball. Off-road models may require a more complicated off-road hitch.
Safety chains should be installed on trailers and caravans; they should be securely connected with the towing vehicle.
Towing Limits
The National Road Transport Commission (NRTC), 1999, introduced recommended towing limits that were accepted by all States and Territories. There were five towing limits across Australia that existed before 1999, creating confusion for caravanners who crossed State and Territory boundaries.
According to the NRTC, the national regulations state that the caravan’s load should not exceed the maximum weight of the tow vehicle or the specified capacity of the towing device. If the manufacturer does not specify limits, which is not unusual, then the loaded caravan should not exceed one and a half times the unloaded weight of the towing vehicle. If the caravan is not equipped with brakes, the loaded caravan should be equal to the car’s load. If you have any questions about these requirements, talk to your dealer or an independent tow-bar manufacturer.
Weight distribution Many of us have seen caravans and vehicles together with the hitch almost pulling on the highway. You can keep the van and car straightened by using weight-distribution bars. These are easily found at caravan accessory shops. These bars are standard equipment for larger vans but should be considered for all vans, even the lightest. Correct loading may be able to solve the problem. The ball weight can be greatly increased if the caravan’s movable load is packed in front of the axle. Your ball weight will be less likely to be affected if the load is distributed evenly throughout the van. Do not load a caravan/trailer with more weight behind the axle than in front.
