5 TOWING MISTAKES... & HOW TO AVOID THEM

Even experienced drivers aren't immune from errors, but you can get around them, says David Motton

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Towing isn't difficult, but it can certainly seem unfamiliar to start with. Many years of regular driving don't necessarily prepare you well for towing a caravan, and even those of us who have been towing for a long time aren't immune to making mistakes. Errors can be made before a wheel is even turned, as well as during the drive itself.

These are five of the most commonly seen towing mistakes, and how to avoid them.

1 Overloading

At the most obvious level, overloading is adding too much weight when you are loading your caravan. Every tourer has a payload, which is the difference between its Mass in Running Order (MiRO) and Maximum Technically Permissible Laden Mass (MTPLM). Exceed the MTPLM, and the van is overloaded.

This, of course, is to assume that car and caravan have been sensibly matched.

As most readers will know, the widely accepted guideline for stable towing is that the loaded weight of the caravan should be no more than 85% of the car's kerbweight.

Being poorly loaded can be as bad as weighing too much. Heavy items should be low down and close to the axle, never high up or at either end of the caravan.

It's possible to overload the car's towbar, as well as overloading the caravan. A maximum download of 75kg or slightly more is typical for a family car, while a large SUV might have a limit of 140kg or so.

The maximum download, or noseweight, varies considerably from model to model. You can check the correct noseweight for your vehicle in the owner's handbook or at an online database such as Towsafe.

So, how do you make sure you haven't exceeded the maximum download?

This is where a noseweight gauge comes in handy. With the caravan parked on level ground and loaded as if you were about to set off, the gauge fits under the hitch.