Experienced towing a caravan or not, there are pre-towing safety checks that you need to perform on your vehicle and caravan each and every time you get on the road.
Read our simple pre-towing checklist before your next adventure.
Secure couplings
The coupling is the point of connection between the caravan and the tow vehicle. Ensure the connection is secure. This involves making sure the shackles, trailer plug, and breakaway wires are connected.
Check the lights are working
You’ve already connected your trailer plug but make sure you get someone to check that the connection is working – lights, brakes and indicators.
Secure the inside of the caravan
Take care of pre-towing storage inside your caravan. Secure your television, cooktop, microwave, fridge, and cupboard doors and drawers. Close and lock windows and roof hatch. Make sure there is nothing left on benchtops that will slide off and cause a mess for you to clean up.
Wind up caravan legs and stabilisers
Straightforward, but sometimes forgotten. Wind up and fasten the legs and stabilisers.
Wind down antenna
Don’t forget to wind down the antenna, all the way, so that it doesn’t get damaged on the road.
Check the underneath of your van
Walk around your van to ensure there is nothing left underneath that may cause a problem when you drive off.
Check tyre pressure
Particularly on a caravan that hasn’t been used in some time.
Check water levels
Consider how much water you will need for your travels, if you are free camping.
Some obvious but easily forgotten ones…
When you’re new to travelling with a caravan, there’s a lot to think about. It will become second nature soon enough. In the meantime, don’t forget to:
- ensure gas bottles and batteries are turned off
- close and lock boot hatches and external covers
- empty the toilet at the nearest dump point.
Other safety considerations
It’s important to perform regular servicing on your caravan to give you peace of mind that it is safe and in good working order. Servicing picks up minor issues before they potentially become major problems.
Another consideration is to ensure you have loaded the caravan appropriately, as this can have a great bearing on safety. Please click here to read our article on how to correctly load your caravan and mistakes to avoid.