After The Show: Think About the Caravan Towing Course

This past weekend, caravanners descended on Manchester for the Caravan & Motorhome Show 2015. This annual show is easily the most talked about of the entire season because of its size and attendance. Thousands were expected to walk through the doors of the EventCity venue during each day of the four-day event. Now that all is said and done, we want to encourage you to think about taking a caravan-towing course before the season officially opens.

Shows such as the one held in Manchester this past weekend are designed to showcase new models for the coming year. Organisers also want to encourage more people to adopt the caravanning lifestyle after seeing what is available. This is both good and bad. It is good in the sense that more participants mean more business for both manufacturers and park owners. However, it is bad in the sense that every season introduces a new group of caravanners who hit the roads with absolutely no training or experience.

We see the consequences of inexperienced drivers every spring. Police agencies routinely report accidents on UK roadways caused by common mistakes that could be avoided with a little bit of training. Unfortunately, many of today’s smaller caravans do not require enhanced licences as long as combining them with tow vehicles does not exceed a certain weight limit. Yet towing a caravan without some amount of training is not a wise idea.

Plenty of Challenges

Towing a caravan is, without a doubt, much different from driving your car down the road without a trailer attached. There are a number of things that need to be considered in order to drive safely:

• Braking Distance – The added weight of a caravan requires greater stopping distances for safe operation. Too many new caravanners fail to understand this, resulting in accidents caused by braking too hard and too fast.

• Cornering – Cornering with a caravan in tow poses challenges in direct proportion to the size of the caravan. The bigger the vehicle, the more space required to properly move around a corner. Drivers need to learn how to approach a corner in such a way as to make the turn properly.

• Weather Conditions – Weather can certainly control the handling of caravans and their tow vehicles. For example, high winds can blow a caravan right on its side. Rain can also be problematic if it is heavy enough.

The HGV Training Centre offers a comprehensive caravan-towing course to drivers with vehicles of all classes. Whether you need an enhanced licence or not, we can teach you everything you need to know about the safe operation of caravans and tow vehicles. If you do need an enhanced licence, our class will prepare you to take your practical skills test.

For more information about our caravan-towing course, please contact us at your earliest convenience. The closer we get to the start of the 2015 caravanning season, the more crowded the classes will be.

Sources:

1. Caravan Times – http://www.caravantimes.co.uk/news/caravan-shows/manchester-caravan-show/caravan-motorhome-show-2015-what-to-see-and-do-$21384989.htm