Towing a 24 ft caravan.

iana · Guru

Towing a 24 ft caravan.

Phil C · Guru

Lovely van by the look of it.

I have found that when towing your awareness of whats around you and the "feel" of the tow are important.

If you have ESC you will be a bit immune from the wobbles or snaking (very dangerous) if not and the van starts to "wag" then a touch of the electric brake will bring it back into line. We have invested in ESC to do that for us.

Weight distribution and proper packing of the caravan will help eliminate dangerous issues.

We have a 20 footer. When I tow I will move along at between 80 and 90 KMph. This is not to annoy others on the road, it is my own comfort and safety level (also better for the fuel tank). Make sure you pull over from time to time to let the followers get by.

Take the new van on a few drives around the block to get the feel for it.

A tow-ed course is worth every penny as well. Just take it easy and move from knowledge to comfort at your speed. Whatever you do, dont rush. 3 tonnes of 24 foot trailer can bugger up a nice day if its not behaving.

Cheers

Hey Jim · Guru

Hi Ian,

What size tow truck are you planning to use?

Hey Jim

Dougwe · Chief one feather

How, Ian

I have just over 8mts sitting on a 2" ball behind me, overall with tug is close to 14mts. As an ex coach driver I spose it wasn't difficult getting used to it as I had never actually towed anything before.

I always come out wide if doing a left turn and keep an eye out for overhanging, well, anything actually. I have the hight of the Collie and Van in front if me for when needed. I tend to take truck routes around towns where I can and try to keep around the 90kmh when I can for my piece of mind and comfort. I never drove coaches over that for the safety of passengers and I am not doing faster with a van hooked up now. I was often told how people felt safe with me at the wheel. Use your mirrors and camera if fitted and know what is happening around you at all times.

Keep Safe out there

iana · Guru

BT50 tray top ute. Was planning on a fifth wheeler, but this rig I can buy new for $74000. Well in on towing capacity and ball weight.
What I'm really asking is problems with free camping spots, driving through towns/cities and generally the getting into trouble and getting out again. And of course gaining a spot, backing etc. in paid caravan parks.

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Take your time Ian and if I am around keep your eye on what you are doing NOT the twins biggrin

iana · Guru

Puzzled about these twins?

Phil C · Guru

iana wrote:
Puzzled about these twins?

OOOHHHHHHH

Dont ask about the twins lol... WAY off topic..

If you go onto youtube you will find a heap of stuff there about caravan towing etc. worth looking at the tow ed stuff.

Free camping. We have a policy.. if there are skid marks, rubbish all over and/or loud music playing, we wave and move on, these young people dont want two old farts stuffing up their party night... NOT!!!!

Its all in the mark one eyeball, if it dont look nice, its generally not.. try to arrive by 2pm most times you will get a nice spot.

Cheers

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Phil, the twins are never off topic with me mate.

Ian, I would post a pic of them but not allowed sorry. They are young lady native american indians in animal skin clothing, just lovely girls mate, they travel with me.

aussie_paul · Guru

Dougwe wrote:
Phil, the twins are never off topic with me mate.

Ian, I would post a pic of them but not allowed sorry. They are young lady native american indians in animal skin clothing, just lovely girls mate, they travel with me.

You having those sort of dreams again Dougwe?? biggrin

Aussie Pau. smile

JohnR · Senior Member

Looks like a Jayco "Silverline" and a very nice lay-out. I am some what biased in that we tow the last of the Jayco Sterling Outback models and is 23'. You can judge it by my avatar. It is home and the only reason we have 23' of caravan. We always walk through CP's and Free Camps to judge ability to accommodate. As well, I prefer to stay away from city roads and peak periods. In terms of towing we are using Land Cruiser 200 and a pleasure to drive.

Previously had 21' Sterling towing with a Nissan Navara. Upgrade allowed more room in the ensuite and the tug just made towing less stressful and enjoyable.

JohnR

aussie_paul · Guru

Back on topic. biggrin

We have a 24' Jayco Sterling and a Pajero. We need that size due to my disabilities, and we sit on 90km most of the time. Yes, there will beaces we can't go but we are out there enjoying the playground as often as grandchildren sitting allow!hen booking ahead for caravan parks let them know what size van you have and they will accommodate you as best they can. Some will even back it in for you.

Aussie Paul. smile

Desert Dweller · Guru

Why would 2 people need all that space? That size of van will always restrict your access to certain places on your travels. Get off the ''one upmanship'' treadmill & get a sensible van around 20ft. You'll be thankful you did later. LOL. Have you considered that it might be a bargain because no-one else wants it?

-- Edited by Desert Dweller on Thursday 23rd of July 2015 06:27:33 AM

iana · Guru

Desert Dweller, what do you mean by "one upmanship" treadmill. For your information, unlike you who is only away for a month at a time from your home, for us this will be our home , we're planning on selling our house and doing it full time.
I have looked at every van at the local shows, made enquiries further afield, and this is the only model van that has recliner chairs that have the room to recline. Of all of the vans we have sat in very few have even comfortable seats to sit in. There is a difference in going away for short stints as opposed to permanent live in.
As for the popularity, there were about 6 of these ready to go to customers at the sellers depot now, so obviously these people are also suffering "one upmanship" as well.
I have been in negotiation to get a fifth wheeler made, and have stripped everything off it, to get the price down, and tried to reduce the length by reducing the bathroom toilet area to a combination shower toilet. However the price still remains at double the cost I can buy this van new for. Perhaps you could recommend a 20ft van with the same features, I would be delighted.
Our to main requisites in the van design were comfortable bed, and comfortable chairs to relax in, and a workable kitchen. The bathroom and toilet area is the lesser feature, but still required.
I would have thought, if you had read my post, you would have realised that I am not happy with the length. But that is the length it comes in.
I suggest, if you don't have anything to contribute, with out including nasties, don't bother putting up comments.

WobblyNut · Senior Member

my house is 35metres long & 20metres wide , 4 bedrooms , three of us lived in it for 18yrs,

Two of us for 20yrs Number 1 son is at Uni.

We have 7'6"wide , 17'long Pop-top van & 2 of us Are Very comfortable in it . Yes we could

afford to go bigger , but I'm lazy now . I Am NOT going to push wind out of the way ,

every time I hook th van up.

Yes . Every trip . I am "one" with my vehicle . th wobbly bit , th width , th length.

Nah , never been intimidated by weight , size & length of a vehicle . You see I was driving

an aircraft carrier around , Before I got a car licence.

done dreaming · Senior Member

We tow a 24' van (internal) with a landcruiser and we travel full time and never had trouble getting into free camps, rest stops or caravan parks.Practise your reversing and you can get into nearly any location.

Kantiki · Senior Member

Desert Dweller wrote:
Why would 2 people need all that space? That size of van will always restrict your access to certain places on your travels. Get off the ''one upmanship'' treadmill & get a sensible van around 20ft. You'll be thankful you did later. LOL. Have you considered that it might be a bargain because no-one else wants it?

-- Edited by Desert Dweller on Thursday 23rd of July 2015 06:27:33 AM

I beleive everyone has a right to their own opinion but this comment is just sad. I dont think there is any need to be rude just because someone is considering buying something different to your "ideal".

Phil C · Guru

G'day again

Ian, our first dream was to get a 25 foot Stirling with all the bells and whistles. Yes there is more room. However the 20 foot Starcraft has all the boxes ticked for us. Comfortable bed.... Tick workable kitchen.... Tick. Toilet, washing machine, shower.... Tick. Bonus is that it's not so difficult to tow and sits nicely behind the tug.

One of our major concerns was are we able to live in the limited space? Well we don't, we only eat and sleep in the limited space. Most of the time we are out and about. The good news is, that limited space isn't so bad after all. We live in our van 24/7, some people think that's nuts but we have a ball. To each his own.

Cheers

Phil C · Guru

Dougwe wrote:
Phil, the twins are never off topic with me mate.

Ian, I would post a pic of them but not allowed sorry. They are young lady native american indians in animal skin clothing, just lovely girls mate, they travel with me.

Yeah, sorry Dougwe, love those twins.

JayDee · Guru

Kantiki wrote:
Desert Dweller wrote:
Why would 2 people need all that space? That size of van will always restrict your access to certain places on your travels. Get off the ''one upmanship'' treadmill & get a sensible van around 20ft. You'll be thankful you did later. LOL. Have you considered that it might be a bargain because no-one else wants it?

-- Edited by Desert Dweller on Thursday 23rd of July 2015 06:27:33 AM
I beleive everyone has a right to their own opinion but this comment is just sad. I dont think there is any need to be rude just because someone is considering buying something different to your "ideal".

Totally agree with you Kantiki. Every one is entitled to their own freedom of choice. Me thinks, that D.D. would love to have a rig like Iana has listed. Probably envious is what created his comment.

Good luck Iana. I know you will have heaps of great stories to tell about your travels in your great van.

Jay&Dee

Footprints · Senior Member

I have a 22'Seabreeze caravan 8.5metres in length. No problems towing in towns/cities however tow at your comfort pace and don't allow other road users to intimidate you, stay calm in every situation and everything will resolve itself in due course. The other posts cover it all however i would stress the need to be forever observant for the simplest things such as road surface changes that can affect stability and braking and the often forgotten one of road camber especially in towns where it is easy to get hooked on a sign post at the top of the van. Another thing to be aware of as i learned the hard way is to ensure that you DO KNOW the road or street type that you intend to travel down. I went down a 1.5km road to check out a nice beach view only to find no culdesac at the end to turn around. Options were, reverse 1.5kms, do a very difficult 30 point turn (was my option, not always available) or disconnect van and haul around with a tow rope. These scenarios affect caravans and or fifth wheelers.

In a nut shell, take your time, always be aware of your surroundings and it is all relatively easy. What ever your likes are go with it and enjoy. In my case i am now travelling alone and i would not wish to downsize and i also now live in the van full-time plus i have the space to comfortably invite fellow travellers in when camped somewhere which i consider a bonus.

Desert Dweller · Guru

JayDee wrote:
Kantiki wrote:
Desert Dweller wrote:
Why would 2 people need all that space? That size of van will always restrict your access to certain places on your travels. Get off the ''one upmanship'' treadmill & get a sensible van around 20ft. You'll be thankful you did later. LOL. Have you considered that it might be a bargain because no-one else wants it?

-- Edited by Desert Dweller on Thursday 23rd of July 2015 06:27:33 AM
I beleive everyone has a right to their own opinion but this comment is just sad. I dont think there is any need to be rude just because someone is considering buying something different to your "ideal".
Totally agree with you Kantiki. Every one is entitled to their own freedom of choice. Me thinks, that D.D. would love to have a rig like Iana has listed. Probably envious is what created his comment.
Good luck Iana. I know you will have heaps of great stories to tell about your travels in your great van.
Jay&Dee

As a matter of fact we wouldn't be in the slightest bit interested in a van of those dimensions at all. Yes we could easily afford one. Good luck with your monolith & don't forget to take a fuel bowser along with you. LOL. Yes it's all about freedom of choice. We chose something sensible. Just expressing OUR opinions. LOL.

TheHeaths · Veteran Member

You can express an opinion without belittling the opinions of others, or making snide remarks about their choices. Or at least you should be able to!

iana · Guru

For those that answered the question of my post, thankyou. It would seem navigation is top priority, and ringing ahead to caravan parks to get a suitable site. I used to tow a Jayco Swan, looks like I will have to drop back in speed, that's a bummer.
Like I said on a previous post, the van shown comes with everything, including ESC control, reversing camera and full independent suspension. Just had my quote back to fit a compressor type fridge, an extra $815, but its also a bigger fridge.
I can't say I'm over enthusiastic about towing a monolith, but the smaller vans while still having a bathroom & toilet as a major feature (which it doesn't have to be), still don't have very comfortable seating.

AlPal · Veteran Member

Ian, just the two of us in our van which is 23' Internal, with an extended A frame. Had two other vans previously. We have been around Australia twice in the latest van and common sense usually will tell you where you can drive and where you can't. Providing sites were available, we have never experienced being unable to park in caravan parks, free camping, etc. Numerous Parks and other places now have "drive through" sites. We have never regretted the size and weight of our van and was able to park it in a small site at Levi Park, Adelaide. You will get to like your van a lot and enjoy the wonderful places around Australia. Members like Doug have made very good recommendations. I suggest get to know your van backwoods, know the turning circle of your van and tug, your weights and have a weight distribution hitch fitted. We had the ESC fitted to our van when we ordered it, however you can have it installed at any time. I suggest you do some emergency braking at lower speeds on bitumen (wet and dry) and dirt roads ( when no one else is around) only to experience the capabilities of your rig and yourself.) Probably said too much already, but lastly I type the overall length and height of the rig, caravan weights, and exact length of van, and reminder to release the caravan hand brake on a small square of paper and stick in low down on the drivers side windscreen. In my case it is a good and needed reference. We have seen two caravans driven under low bridges in country areas and lose their air conditioners and reshaped the roof. Speed combined with cross winds and a van pushing a tug is not a good recipe. Happy travelling and watch the mirrors.

AlPal (Allan) P.S. If you do not have a spare sacrificial anode, I suggest you buy one. About $30.00.

villatranquilla · Guru

Desert Dweller wrote:
Why would 2 people need all that space? That size of van will always restrict your access to certain places on your travels. Get off the ''one upmanship'' treadmill & get a sensible van around 20ft. You'll be thankful you did later. LOL. Have you considered that it might be a bargain because no-one else wants it?

-- Edited by Desert Dweller on Thursday 23rd of July 2015 06:27:33 AM

we need 'all that space' because its our 'home'. Started 4 yrs ago with 18' - then went to 20' then went to 23' and love it - especially when it rains and its too windy to have the awning out. Yes we are restricted where we can park but have always managed to find a place we are happy with. We usually do a walk in to check access when bush/beach camping.

Also the approach when reversing is important - always reverse from the right hand side if possible as the driver can observe that side of van vehicle and site while the co-driver watches the 'blind' side. Where possible we avoid big cities - not because of the van size - have had no issues on the rare occasions we stay in c/parks because we say we need a long site with easy access.

JayDee · Guru

Desert Dweller wrote:
JayDee wrote:
Kantiki wrote:
Desert Dweller wrote:
Why would 2 people need all that space? That size of van will always restrict your access to certain places on your travels. Get off the ''one upmanship'' treadmill & get a sensible van around 20ft. You'll be thankful you did later. LOL. Have you considered that it might be a bargain because no-one else wants it?

-- Edited by Desert Dweller on Thursday 23rd of July 2015 06:27:33 AM
I beleive everyone has a right to their own opinion but this comment is just sad. I dont think there is any need to be rude just because someone is considering buying something different to your "ideal".
Totally agree with you Kantiki. Every one is entitled to their own freedom of choice. Me thinks, that D.D. would love to have a rig like Iana has listed. Probably envious is what created his comment.
Good luck Iana. I know you will have heaps of great stories to tell about your travels in your great van.
Jay&Dee
As a matter of fact we wouldn't be in the slightest bit interested in a van of those dimensions at all. Yes we could easily afford one. Good luck with your monolith & don't forget to take a fuel bowser along with you. LOL. Yes it's all about freedom of choice. We chose something sensible. Just expressing OUR opinions. LOL.

And I for one would not be interested in what ever type of rig you have.

Jay&Dee

iana · Guru

OK done it, due for pick up late October/November.

the rocket · Guru

Hi Iana, We are living full time in our 25 foot (inside) van. We mainly stay in showgrounds because we like the extra space and beautiful green grass as opposed to caravan parks that can be hard to park. All I can say is love it, love it, love it. 1 queen bed, 1 club lounge converted to a double bed and 2 TV's. no arguments. happy hubby = happy life. cheers. rocket n strop

iana · Guru

Yes thanks, one of my worries about all of this was "what am I going to do?". If we couldn't get a van which could be divided. so one could get up during the night with out disturbing the other half, then I have to lie in bed for hours waiting for the sun to come up. For me that would be torture, as it is I've been awake since 1:30 and have got up at 3. With this van, the only one I found with a suitable layout I can get up make a cuppa and log in to give you all a hard time on the forum. I woke up the other night with the thought "that's a huge van" and I don't really want towing to be work, but that's the way it is I guess.
Now I'm finding out about all of the other things to be done, vehicle rear suspension replacement, brake controller install, bull bars, and canopy. Life was just not meant to be easy.