Towing Myths - Caravan World Mag Experts Advice

Vic41 · Senior Member

Towing Myths - Caravan World Mag Experts Advice

The Gnome · Senior Member

Great site Vic. Excellent info,learnt a few things of which I was unaware.

Greg

-- Edited by The Gnome on Thursday 11th of June 2009 05:25:08 PM

waltzing matilda · Senior Member

Thanks for that. I found it very interesting and it destroyed a few myths for me as well as giving me more info on the whole topic.
Cheers.

jandas fun · Guru

Thanks Vic, learnt a few things there as well. Added the site to my 'favorites' for future reference.

Johnw

Vic41 · Senior Member

One thing they dont mention with a swaying caravan/camper trailer is using the manual slide on the brake controller to apply the brakes gently on the van (but not the vehicle) which will stop the snaking also, especially going down hill.

Good info though alltogether.

Vic

twobob · Guru

Vic
Your last post about applying the trailer brakes manually, should have further explaination, as not all on here will understand the implications of doing this.

It is something that is done for a specific purpose at low speed and not for long periods.

The only solution to a swaying trailer is to correct the reason why it sways, ie redistribute the load, tyre pressures etc.

Vic41 · Senior Member

Hi twobob, points taken, I have a Hayman Reese electric brake controller on my tow vehicle which of course is connect to the van. This brake controller which is mounted in the drivers cab has a manual slide on it which is used to apply the brakes to the van only. Comments from other caravanners on other forums agree that this is the best way to correct a sway when it is happening, by gently applying the van brakes via this manusl slide by the driver of the vehicle, (van only when doing this, not the tow vehicle) I have never seen low speeds mentioned, although it probably isn't something I would do at high speed or for long periods, just to help straighten the van.

I agree with your solution, however you need to stop the sway first and then you can attend to the other items once you have corrected the sway and pulled over safely, otherwise you could roll over. Sway can also be a factor caused by swerving, to miss an animal on the road etc, something we should all try to avoid, it has happened to me in my early towing days and my normal reflex action (not wanting to kill something) was to swerve to miss it. Not anymore though,my attitude is it is a case of survival, them or me, if I can't brake straight and safely then its goodbye animal, better than risking a roll over and death. Of course, either way, the animal can cause a lot of damage and/or death even in a straight collision as we all know.

Look at the Hayman Reece Link here for further info on how to use the manual controller,

http://www.haymanreese.com.au/consumer/products/brakecontrollers/index.htm

Where it says "Installation Instructions", download the instructions and read "Manual Controls" which describes the situations in which to use the manual brake control (for sway caused by turbulence of passing vehicles, wind gusts and downgrades) and how to use it. As said before, you need to correct the sway first before you can stop and inspect the van and look for and/or correct other possible causes for the sway, although it would be better to check balance/loading etc before your trip to reduce the chances of sway etc as the experts have said.

Vic

-- Edited by Vic41 on Friday 12th of June 2009 09:42:57 PM

kenmarg · Senior Member

hi vic you are on the right track. use your van brakes if you get into a slide with your 4wd then give the 4wd full acceleration,the dragging van will pull the 4wd straight. if you blow a tyre on your 4wd, ( especially if its a steer tyre ) use the van brakes,to at least halve your road speed ( the dragging van will again keep the 4wd straight) " NOW" you can slowly apply the footbrake in the 4wd. dont let the van brakes release until you have stopped. from what i have experienced with vans its" ALL" about how much weight you have on the towball.

Vic41 · Senior Member

Thanks for the tips Ken, will bear that in mind. When I first started towing I swerved to miss an animal (wouldn't do that now though), van started fishtailing badly (on the blacktop) and I pulled it out of the sway by accelerating gradually, although they say that is a myth on the myths post. There was no traffic on the dry road and it was straight, worked for me on that occasion, didn't think to use the van manual brake.

Vic