Should clubs and sites issue warnings to dangerously mismatched outfits?
- Thursday, 20 March 2008
- 3 Comments
Insurer of the Yera, Caravan Club, car towing caravan
NO SAYS DUNCAN BRYDER
Both the main clubs, and I’m sure the smaller ones as well, already give advice about outfit matching and the consequences of ignoring it, so I don’t think that there’s any more they can do. It certainly isn’t for the wardens and site managers – or anyone else in charge – to go around telling people that their outfits are mismatched.
I can remember reading in the August 08 issue about an Avondale Dart 630/Ford Focus C-Max outfit that had toured the UK to prove that you don’t need a big car to tow a six-berth van. I can just imagine the owner’s reactions if some busybody told him his outfit was mismatched. In fact, I doubt whether many folks have the knowledge to be able to look at an outfit and say with any certainty that it’s mismatched.
We shouldn’t forget that the police are now more au fait with caravans and the chances of being pulled over are far greater than a few years ago. Who’s to say that what appears to be well matched actually is? No one can be certain. Some people don’t stay within the limits, and it’s these people who are likely to tell you, in no uncertain terms, what to do with your advice.
YES SAYS NICOLA DOBSON
There are few sights more upsetting than an upturned caravan on the motorway. Most of these disasters are the result of snaking. The causes have been researched, yet we are still without any conclusions. However, it is generally accepted that a well-matched outfit (the towing vehicle is heavier than the van) is less prone to snaking.
The caravan, fully laden, should ideally be around 85 per cent of the kerbweight of the car. However, many caravanners are simply not aware of this, and what’s worse, hold misconceptions about towcars. Many think ‘a 4x4 will tow anything’, or ‘my car’s small, but it’s a 2-litre diesel and pulls easily’. This doesn’t make them safe.
I’ve often seen obviously mismatched outfits on sites and I’m convinced that the owners of these are unaware of the danger. Site managers must see them regularly. Surely, it would be a service to the caravanner to point out, politely, that their outfit is inherently unsafe, and hand them a leaflet explaining the recommendations and why they exist. The clubs, especially, are in an ideal position to do this. It would add to the safety of the people concerned and everyone else they put at risk on the road.
April 11 09:34
Murray Turner
I live and work in Germany and have been trying to find out what is the position as far as towing weights are concerned in this country. As far as I can tell, with true German efficiency they have not just decided on an Arbitrary 85% limit. Caravans and trailers here must be registered and TUV (MOT) inspected every 2 years, a great idea!. To tow at 100kph or 60mph, the max laden weight of the vehicle to be towed can be the same as the unladen weight of the car, but the car should be fitted with ABS, stability assist and the trailer must have a stabilising coupling (not a stabiliser) and suspension, proper damping and of course brakes. The Police here are Pro-active in the holiday season checking trailer weight, Gross train weight and of course noseweight against the vehicle paperwork and handing out fines. My main point is that with advances in car design maybe the overloading situation is not so black and white as in the past. This is to the best of my knowledge true unless anyone can give me more or better info. in which case I would be much obliged.