We are about to take our first short caravan trip as a tester.
We have a 14ft Avan and a 4 wheel drive. Have to be in Bowral NSW for a couple of nights.
From there we are hoping to head to the coast. I have heard the roads are not great for towing.
Macquarie Pass, Jamberoo Mountain or Kangaroo valley.
Any advice/info greatly appreciated.
Dougwe said
06:58 PM Feb 23, 2016
Welcome to the gang Nyx, enjoy here and out in the playground.
Not sure of those three crossings but the Clyd is another oozy. You have to cross somwhere though. I find Picton road etc down south of Sydney a good way to cross but not sure if any of that is of any help to you though.
PeterD said
09:48 PM Feb 23, 2016
Jamberoo Mountain is too narrow for vans, also I think there are signs prohibiting you from towing down them.
There is nothing wrong with the Macquarie Pass or kangaroo Valley if your rig is not overloaded and is in good order. The problem is that the driver may not be experienced in this type of roads. If you take things quietly and use the correct techniques you will be OK. I suggest you learn to drive these roads or you are going to miss a lot of good country in the eastern states.
The technique for descending hills is to use as low a gear in either a manual or auto box. Don't be too concerned if the tachometer is up around red line, motors are built to run like that these days. You are not straining them to give them a bit of full reves every now and again. On uphill gradients auto boxes often hang on to second gear too long. If it is ruining in 2nd gear and you feel the motor is struggling then pull it back into 1st gear. Motors should be run at over 3,000 rpm, this will put far less strain on them than slugging them. Also a torque converter running at over 3,00 rpm will generate less heat as there is far less slip than if you are running it at 2,000 rpm.
Kangaroo Valley will entail two descents and one climb. I suggest you go that way and treat it as a training run. On the descents keep your speed down and travel is a gear that will hole your speed back so you will not have to use the brakes much, you should be able to get to the bottom without them smelling. If you have traffic banked up behind you then pull over to the side and let the followers pass, there are some bends that will let you do that. Just remember you are operating your vehicle like a truck, that means your speed will be slower than others but you will get there.
Let us know how you went after you do the trip.
Tony Bev said
10:47 PM Feb 24, 2016
Hello Nyx I have been in that area, only once in my life. In January 2014, my tug at that time was a 1993 six cylinder ford, towing an old single axle 17 foot caravan. I went from the Kiama area to Bowral, (the opposite direction as wish to go), as I wanted to see the Bradman museum. I did not take detail notes of the roads I was on, but looking at the map it must have been the Jamberoo road. I clearly remember that I hit the Illawarra Hwy about 5 ks before Robertson. I can confirm that it was a bitumen, but twisty and steep road, with very few laybys. I did not see any other caravans or trucks, so there must be better roads in that area.
I can only suggest that you take on board the advice from both Dougwe and PeterD, as they are seasoned traveller.
Edited as I spelled Dougwe's name wrong
-- Edited by Tony Bev on Wednesday 24th of February 2016 10:51:17 PM
Hi .
We are about to take our first short caravan trip as a tester.
We have a 14ft Avan and a 4 wheel drive. Have to be in Bowral NSW for a couple of nights.
From there we are hoping to head to the coast. I have heard the roads are not great for towing.
Macquarie Pass, Jamberoo Mountain or Kangaroo valley.
Any advice/info greatly appreciated.
Not sure of those three crossings but the Clyd is another oozy. You have to cross somwhere though. I find Picton road etc down south of Sydney a good way to cross but not sure if any of that is of any help to you though.
There is nothing wrong with the Macquarie Pass or kangaroo Valley if your rig is not overloaded and is in good order. The problem is that the driver may not be experienced in this type of roads. If you take things quietly and use the correct techniques you will be OK. I suggest you learn to drive these roads or you are going to miss a lot of good country in the eastern states.
The technique for descending hills is to use as low a gear in either a manual or auto box. Don't be too concerned if the tachometer is up around red line, motors are built to run like that these days. You are not straining them to give them a bit of full reves every now and again. On uphill gradients auto boxes often hang on to second gear too long. If it is ruining in 2nd gear and you feel the motor is struggling then pull it back into 1st gear. Motors should be run at over 3,000 rpm, this will put far less strain on them than slugging them. Also a torque converter running at over 3,00 rpm will generate less heat as there is far less slip than if you are running it at 2,000 rpm.
Kangaroo Valley will entail two descents and one climb. I suggest you go that way and treat it as a training run. On the descents keep your speed down and travel is a gear that will hole your speed back so you will not have to use the brakes much, you should be able to get to the bottom without them smelling. If you have traffic banked up behind you then pull over to the side and let the followers pass, there are some bends that will let you do that. Just remember you are operating your vehicle like a truck, that means your speed will be slower than others but you will get there.
Let us know how you went after you do the trip.
Hello Nyx
I have been in that area, only once in my life. In January 2014, my tug at that time was a 1993 six cylinder ford, towing an old single axle 17 foot caravan. I went from the Kiama area to Bowral, (the opposite direction as wish to go), as I wanted to see the Bradman museum. I did not take detail notes of the roads I was on, but looking at the map it must have been the Jamberoo road. I clearly remember that I hit the Illawarra Hwy about 5 ks before Robertson. I can confirm that it was a bitumen, but twisty and steep road, with very few laybys. I did not see any other caravans or trucks, so there must be better roads in that area.
I can only suggest that you take on board the advice from both Dougwe and PeterD, as they are seasoned traveller.
Edited as I spelled Dougwe's name wrong
-- Edited by Tony Bev on Wednesday 24th of February 2016 10:51:17 PM