It is challenging enough to drive on South Africa’s current roads and to add a caravan to the equation now certainly escalates the safety risk. Towing a caravan requires great care, responsibility, and know-how. Find out more below.1
Some adjustments are required1
When towing a caravan and for the sake of safety, you will have to adjust your driving to consider the extra load and length you are towing. Please make sure that you can safely drive while towing a caravan before you attempt it on a public road.
Below are some tips you can follow when towing a caravan.
Make sure it’s all legal1
Before going on the road, ensure that you have met all the legal requirements of towing a caravan. In addition, both the car and the caravan must be roadworthy. Tyres should be checked regularly on both the car and the caravan. Look out for any loss of tread, and structural irregularities such as bulges in the sidewalls.
Are all the required items in working order? 1
Items such as the tongue, the coupler, hitch, safety chains and light/indicator systems must be regularly checked to ensure everything is functioning fine.
Which car is going to tow the caravan? 1
The best car for towing a caravan is heavier than the caravan itself. This is crucial for any safe movements to be made while driving and overtaking. However, today’s cars are becoming smaller and lighter, so you need to ensure that it is still acceptable for towing a caravan. Find out from the car manual what weight your car can tow.
What other issues should you know about regarding towing caravans? 1
You should know how to use a lower gear when travelling downhill and how to avoid having to stop suddenly. It would be best if you braked well before approaching a corner and always maintain a safe following distance with the traffic ahead of you on the road. The swaying of a caravan can be minimized by travelling at a reasonable speed and trying not to brake in rainy weather.
It takes much concentration1
Drivers need to stay focused while towing a caravan. Having an automatic car is ideal as you can spend all your attention on road conditions instead of worrying about a gear. Remember that your vehicle takes longer to accelerate, so it is advisable not to change gears too quickly for manual cars.
Be careful of overtaking1
Because your car’s acceleration rate is much reduced, it takes you that much longer to overtake. You can put your foot down to pull out of trouble when driving the car by itself, but this is not so when towing a caravan. Don’t overtake on bumpy roads and when going uphill. Be aware that your caravan may get sucked into the turbulence caused by large trucks when overtaking them.
The tips mentioned will help much towards towing a caravan safely and show motorists that it takes some experience to qualify for towing a caravan. But is your car covered with good car insurance, which covers everything you need it to cover and with an affordable monthly premium? If you have any queries, contact PMD and learn more about their affordable car insurance products.
Source:
1https://www.caravansa.co.za/forums/topic/10-tips-for-safe-towing/
This article was prepared by Eric Sandmann in his personal capacity. The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own. The views and opinions in the article should not be attributed to anyone but the author unless expressly stated. Nothing in this article should be relied upon as advice, this publication is presented for informational purposes only. No person should act or refrain from acting in reliance on any information found in this article, without first obtaining proper financial advice from the appropriate professional. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, or completeness, of any information linked from, referred to, or contained in this article. The author reserves the right, to edit and change the content of this article.