I hope this is ok with claytons as I don't know how to make a link to it
, although ill work on it and if I can I will put it up
## CARAVAN CRASHES - Our opinion why ##
We have been asked countless times why we seem to attend so many caravan crashes and each time what caused them. There are always thousands of different opinions but we are going to step out and explain some major points we think contribute to these incidents. This may cause a stir with the "experts" and contradict some online information; as we all know just because it is on google doesnt mean it is right. We will stress though this is our opinion, we are not engineers, nor do we have special tickets (other than semi-trailer licences), so take it as you like. This opinion is by a group of us who, outside of work, all travel with large vans and have also attended hundreds of caravan crashes at work. With each crash, as we a have interest in caravanning, we look at what we think caused it and often chat to the drivers about their experiences, what they did, look how they set their van up, how different vans are manufactured. Often we see and hear similar problems. We never wanted to express our opinion online of what we thought caused individual accidents, as in some cases manufacturer and aftermarket suppliers may be inclined to sue us for those opinions. Basically this post is not about one particular caravan crash, it is an overview.
Vehicle size and capacity. A vehicle loaded correctly of a decent size is safer than a vehicle that has a bit of paper saying it can. A large 4wd wagon is a fair lump of a car but a lot of these lighter utes out there have a higher towing capacity. Just because it says on paper it can tow 3.5 tonne it doesn't mean youre going to be all good to tow even a 2.5 tonne van. For example a standard Toyota Prado weighs 2.22 tonne and can legally tow 2.5 tonnes but a standard D Max ute weighs just under 2 tonne but can legally tow 3.5 tonne. Main point is to ensure if you are using a ute to tow a large van, it needs to have a decent load in it, and we dont mean a couple of fold up chairs and tables. Utes also have longer overhang compared to a wagon so when they start to get the wobbles up its like a counter lever, it's going to push your backside around a lot easier. Of course large 4wds crash, but we generally see them with larger vans behind. There is no doubt the heavier towing vehicle is, the better. Legally we still say half of the 4wd caravan combinations we see out there would be over loaded, especially over their gvm and gcm weight, but thats a whole new subject we could write a book about.
Caravan weights. This is big one. You need to aim to have around 200 to 250 kgs weight on your tow ball with bigger vans. 10 percent of the caravan weight is a good rule of thumb for whatever size van you tow. Of course you need to have the rear of your tow vehicle set up for this load, and ensure it is legal. If you have no or limited downwards weight from the van going onto the tow hitch of your tow vehicle youre really asking for trouble. Some vans are manufactured with nearly no tow ball weight, some are really scary, do your homework before you make your investment. Some actually work on the front tunnel being loaded with gear and water tanks being full. In some cases a empty or light loaded van ends up being more dangerous. It is really important to check where your water tanks are and understand as they get emptier the towball weight is changing. If you have two full water tanks in front of the axle, they can make a great difference to tow ball weight. But if you have one tank at the front and one at the rear it can act as another risky counter lever if you have the front empty and back full. Also some vans have waste water holding tanks at the back, so you could have camped and unknowingly just moved a 100 plus kgs of weight from your front drinking water tanks and put it in the rear waste tank. This causes a a see saw effect and could change your towball weight, to nothing, or even place a lift effect on the rear of the tow vehicle. Buy yourself a tow ball weight scale (about $70), and check your weight, take note of where your items are in the van and what your water levels are sitting at. Learn how your van works at different times, some people will be shocked. Lots of caravans we collect after accidents (when they stay together) we do see evenly balanced with the tow bar up in the air, or able to pick the drawbar up with one hand. This is a recipe for disaster and we consider the biggest factor for a lot of crashes we attend. Toy haulers that cart motorbikes etc in the back (yes we get them crashed) you really have to think a bit more about what you are doing.
A common comment we often hear and is actually in a lot of training manuals is, if you get the wobbles, speed up and it will pull out of it. We really have to pull this statement apart. Over three quarters of the people we rescue say, it got the wobbles, I gently accelerated to get out of it, and it all got worse quickly. Generally people get the wobbles up when they are going a bit quicker than their combination can handle and often slightly downhill (will cover this soon) so going faster in these situations will only make things worse. An exception would be if you are positive that you can lock your trailer brakes up via your trailer controller, acceleration may only then help. We still think the better emergency option is to press your emergency electric brake button or slightly press your brakes so they trailer electric brakes activate, as going faster in these scenarios often doesn't go well.
Electric brake controllers. When youre on the highway turn them up high to provide solid braking to the trailer, if you need to emergency stop you want the trailer to be pulling up faster. If you go through town and turn them down due to brakes locking up at the lights, dont forget to turn them up or they won't be there when needed. The older style controllers had a large solid lever you could grab the slide button to lock the trailer brakes on. The new controllers have a push button, critical thing is the button on lots of models only activate the brakes to what you have them set on. If you have the brakes turned down from in town, the button won't help if a emergency occurs. Lots of vans now have automatic emergency electronic stability control, these are great if operating correctly but make sure you don't fall into a false sense of security, they are only one piece of the puzzle that may help. We have seen people go into emergency situations where they depended on the emergency stability control to help, and appeared it didnt. They run out of time to go back to the manual method of pressing button on brake controller, or slightly touching brakes, to activate the trailer brakes activate. It also needs to be mentioned trailer brakes of any type needs to be regularly checked, no matter what type you have fitted. If they arent operating correctly you have an issue. It only takes a simple wire off to stop the process.
Swaybars, (weight distribution hitch) another touchy subject. Do any of us have them? No. Do lots of caravans we see rolled have them? Yes. With a heavily loaded towball they can help. If you have low towball weight, we personally consider they make things worse. With their tension they really could provide the opposite result and have a dangerous lifting effect on the rear of your vehicle. If you are getting them, make sure you know what you are doing, know your weights or go to reputable companies who can give you the time to assist in having the right ones. These should not be used as a solution to a problem, only another tool that may help your towing experience. If they are used with limited tow ball weight we really feel you are making things worse.
Why are there so many accidents in our area? Big factor we see is that we have sections of highway that are downhill, with slight bends, 110 kmh zones, with some cross winds involved. As it is downhill people's speeds unknowingly come up in these sections a bit higher than they normally travel. The extra speed, downhill, winds, plus one or more of the above things discussed can lead to disaster. In real terms with the number of caravans on the road there are no more crashes than other vehicles, but the mess / disruption as well as stress they cause as they are often people's homes puts them in the lime light. We do tend to see every accident has at least two of the above factors involved.
As we said to start with, this is personal opinion. Feel welcome to comment below if you agree, disagree, any questions you may have and we will try our best to give our thoughts. In the end if we share our real life experiences and even if we can help prevent even one accident with our fellow caravanners our job is done.
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When the power of Love becomes greater than the love of power the World will see peace ! 24ft Trailblazer 5th wheeler n 05 Patrol ute and Black Series Dominator camper trailer ( for the rough stuff)
Covers most of it. Only other item that should be made LEGAL. is an endorsement, 0r document from a Towing school\Instructor. That that person has had some instruction on how to. Why. and when in the act of towing more than a 6x4. With licences to suit for 5thers (Semi) and Truck. Light or heavy. According to sizes of vehicles. THOSE Two things. Along with realisation of the weight differential necessary for safety, in the different veh's used. Will do more than most to deter accidents. Along with a sensible brain of course. A few of us have been pushing this sensibility formulae, for over 50 yrs. SLOWLY... it's being realised. UNfortunately.. The van builders are also getting greedier with it. Bigger vans. Bigger profits. Fark the safety aspect. The law needs to restrict LARGER vans. unless the buyers of. Prove purchase of either small truck or Yank Ute to cover true road weights. Basically nothing bigger than the true towing weights of veh's sold on todays market. 2 ton to suit. 2.5ton. to suit. 3 ton to suit. OVER three ton. Either Truck (light\heavy) or Yank Ute. Plus make Builders\Sales. Responsible for their actions when they sell vans. NOT suitable "Weight or size wise." To the Tug that person is fronting up with. Also fronting with tow veh. and linking together. in rego. Wouldn't be a bad idea. Keep people honest. Not borrowing somebody else's truck to tow it home with hey... That happens too. Keep up the good work.
Very informative excellent , and Macka you are a bit hard on big vans , our 23 ft weighs in at 1.6 ton and fully loaded 1.950 ton .not all big vans weigh 3 tons
Well done, something to add is the human brain .today most of them have no patience, no repect for others , and unfortunately there is no training for that.
An addition to accident prevention whilst towing a caravan is a friction sway control unit. I purchased mine used for $45. My tiny full height van tare of 450kg would have blown away by road trains had it not had one on our "lap".
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Be nice... if I wanted my school teacher here I would have invited him...
Sorry Davey. I was referring "Mainly" to AUST build. They built like farm sheds. Although large vans. light and heavy. are a lot of wasted space.mostly. I've had 28ft.(early '60's) 22ft.(mid '60's) and my last one. 6,5mtr Offroader for 14 yrs. Now down to a comfy 5.35mtr. Just on 2 ton loaded.
Davey123, size is not just about weight. As the article explains the pendulum effect occurs and a light weight van of large dimensions can be easily buffered by side winds and passing semis etc. don't be fooled by the thinking that because the van is large but light in weight that it is safer than other heavier vans. I agree with Macka that all drivers towing anything but a small box trailer should under go testing and licence endorsement. A really good article.
Can anyone describe a link between a license endorsement and better real world behaviour when towing? Heavy truck drivers have license quals that far exceed the ordinary van tower yet we see truck involved crashes every day. A license endorsement would only raise revenue for government to spend elsewhere. Until someone can demonstrate or explain just how a license endorsement would change the on-road behaviour of the fools currently out there, pushing for a license endorsement is fantasy thinking.
Iza
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Iza
Semi-permanent state of being Recreationally Outraged as a defence against boredom during lockdown.
Once upon a time if you wanted a job with the mob I worked for you spent a couple of days learning the ropes with me riding shotgun,not only did I show the paperwork and how to do the job I also watched if you could handle a heavy or not, a lot of times the poor fellas that had done the flash courses, had all the certificates couldn't handle the rigs, if they showed some potential I could spend a few days with them, I was surprised when they commented that 3 days driving around with me gave them more insight than the 3 weeks and a few grand of $$$ at the driving school, not big noting myself mind as any of the other old hands could do the same, just pointing out certificates don't mean much, you can have all the training in the world and still be bloody hopeless but doing a course would be a godsend as most just don't know....the above article I find I agree with and is a good read.
Training won't decrease the number of idiots but it will save those who can learn how to handle a situation before they get thrown in at the deep end, if you spend most of your life driving a car in the city then when you get something bigger and tow a van, you gain experience as you drive, sometimes you might not be lucky, there's more to driving than having the right gear, the ability to sense something is going to happen before it does only comes with heaps of experience, usually terrifying, training can sometimes help avoid that, you need the ability to react without thinking, the time spent thinking can kill you.
I've had a semi sideways down the highway from a diesel spill, nearly 30 yrs ago now, missed everything, still picking the sheepskin from my bum I can tell you.
-- Edited by Big Mal on Sunday 16th of July 2017 04:38:37 PM
-- Edited by Big Mal on Sunday 16th of July 2017 04:39:19 PM
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Checking out the places I drove past a thousand times................
Davey123, size is not just about weight. As the article explains the pendulum effect occurs and a light weight van of large dimensions can be easily buffered by side winds and passing semis etc. don't be fooled by the thinking that because the van is large but light in weight that it is safer than other heavier vans. I agree with Macka that all drivers towing anything but a small box trailer should under go testing and licence endorsement. A really good article.
Cheers Allen
Allen, I do understand what you are saying and i don't rely on the tugs trailer assist or the anti sway hitch fitted , but i do insist that all heavy items are over the axles batteries ,tanks etc and never venture in high winds , my speed is 90 95 so i have to call road trains on a lot , there is never any sway , i am convinced that the loading and ball weigh are what keeps us safe and driving to the conditions , don't think a test would do any think !! you only have to look at car drivers in the rain that have never had a motorbike they just drive like its a sunny day!, these are were skills are learned ..black ice on a motor bike in UK gives you an edge LOL.
-- Edited by DAVEY123 on Sunday 16th of July 2017 05:33:08 PM
You get a license to drive on public roads after showing a tester that you are not legally blind, doing a written test that shows you know the majority of the answers to the test in front of you, then demonstrate you can perform some basic skills on a public road. What license endorsement test for an OK-to-tow certificate would do anything to stop fools travelling too fast for the conditions, not setting van brakes correctly, loading a van correctly, not putting huge weights on the rear of a long van, pulling out into the path of a road train travelling at 100 KPH, or any of the other concerns mentioned in the Clayton's comments? Iza
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Iza
Semi-permanent state of being Recreationally Outraged as a defence against boredom during lockdown.
Licence. Endorsement. Whatever. THE PIECE OF PAPER IS ONLY AN INDICATOR. That YOU.... Have had some instruction on how and why to do what. when driving and towing more than the Falcon and 6x4. There IS a lot more to learn when Towing with larger veh's. PLEASE do it the right way. IE. Learn from experienced persons. Accidents. are the drivers. "Mainly". Nobody is infallible. BUT. with trucks. especially the long drag ones. The mileages they do. Individually and singularly. Compared to cars and our mileages. In relation to the accidents they have (SOME.. are bad) the Percentages of, would lean wayy more on car drivers side than the truck drivers ANY information\Instruction is better than none. believe me. We've watched these people getting behind the wheels of van rigs for decades. I still shudder when observing some of them. They have NOOO idea. what will\can happen with the weights and distances required. and basically NOT given. WHAT.. Makes anybody think that THEY DON'T NEED practice. and experience to drive some of the rigs we drive around. YOU NO different. to a P Plater. or Truckie. that has instruction. AND HRS BEHIND THE WHEEL. first. Before being let loose on the roads. It's bloody amazing. the Arrogance of some. Back in box of frightening subject. I'ce had a licence since '59. Motorbike a yr earlier. 50plus yrs on trucks and some really heavy rigs. Taught by experienced instructors. By the book. and hrs up practicing. The NEXT Mistake "I" make behind the wheel. WILL NOT BE MY FIRST. We're ALL Fallible. Think about it. The Nay sayers. are normally the ones who're frightened about it for some reason. There's NO reason for extra instruction. on ANYTHING you do in this world. NOT to be a good thing. I take a Advanced Truck driving lesson with certified Instructor. EVERY TEN YRS. (Same bloke Around $60\80.) His instruction is to Highlight MY faults and habits. Apart from the actual driving of course. Money well spent to highlight YOUR Individual Bad habits We all pick some up. But most won't admit to. Off to refit cleaned curtains in van now. While Di in good mood hey.
" And in the red corner ". this article from claytons Towing Qld on face book. Spot on. Wish I could write as good as you. Regards John K Jack of all trades master of one.
