Ready for another tourer adventure, are you? Before you set off to explore the world anew, remember that your caravan must also be roadworthy and ready for the open road. Not to worry; once you get the hang of it, a caravan check should only take a few minutes. Here's a brief checklist, by no means comprehensive but scattered with handy caravan tips, to help you gear up for a fun and safe journey:
1. Tyres in Good Condition
Blowouts are not only unpleasant, but also extremely dangerous. If they're caused by overheating in your tyres, they can also lead to fires or accidents in traffic. Tragically, accidents involving blowouts are usually completely avoidable with a quick caravan check. Give your tyres the once-over and look for cracking or fraying. If they've been punctured, you'll lose pressure and damage your good tyres, so it's worth the extra minute. When in doubt, ask an expert for help.
2. Road Lights Working
You should never hit the road if any of your lights are out of order, including your caravan's. Give them all a quick check and ask for help if you're not sure they're all working properly or you're in a hurry. Your main lights, brake lights, indicator lights, and hazard lights should all come on and off when prompted. Keep in mind that some damage can occur spontaneously, so whenever you have a pitstop, look out for broken light lenses, which can dazzle other drivers, or any lights staying on when they shouldn't.
3. Wheels Clear (Especially Twin Axle)
People use caravan wheel chocks, bricks, blocks of wood, large rocks, or improvised wedges to make sure their caravans stay in position on a slope. Unfortunately, they also occasionally forget to take them away. If you have a twin axle, it's particularly important to make sure that there's nothing already lodged between the wheels or likely to get stuck there when you drive off. All it takes to carry out a visual inspection is a minute of your time. So, go on, have a look-see.
4. Tyre Pressure Right
We can't stress this enough: tyre pressure is extremely important. If it's too low, it will cause your tyres to wear down, and it will affect your car's fuel consumption. If it's too high, it could wear out your caravan's tyres, and affect braking distance and road-holding. Tyre pressure gauges are inexpensive. Some people opt for digital caravan tyre pressure monitors to stay on top of tyre temperature and pressure constantly. Your vehicle's manual will display the optimum temperature and pressure values for your caravan.
5. Hitch-Up Done
Double-check that your caravan is hitched up to the towing car correctly, so that it doesn't jump off the towball. If you have a stabiliser on the hitch head, such as the AL-KO stabiliser with green indicator, then it's only a matter of looking for that indicator and adjusting the levers accordingly. If you don't have a stabiliser, winding the jockey wheel further down should do it. If the car rises slightly, then you're hitched up right. Note that you should never do this if you have a stabiliser, because it may damage your stabiliser pads. If you're not sure that you're hitched-up right, then have another pair of eyes give it a look.
6. Breakaway Cables Fitted
Now a legal requirement, breakaway cables are an invaluable extra safety measure. Fitting one is very easy: simply wrap the cable around the tow-ball, clip it back on itself, pull it to tighten it around the tow-ball, All set! But before you set off on your journey, remember to check that your breakaway cable doesn't have any tears. Here's a demo with caravan tips at the end.
7. Gaiter Flawless
Check the integrity of your gaiter (the corrugated rubber fitted between the A-frame and the hitch head). Tears and splits enable debris choking the mechanism, jamming the damper, and making sudden stops extremely dangerous.
8. Hook-Up Leads Intact
Simply put, you should never set off on a journey without giving the hook-up leads the once-over. Tears in the rubber insulation, exposed wires, damaged sockets, missing pins, exposure to water, and corrosion can cause serious damage. If your leads have a tendency to come out of their sockets, push them all the way down and secure them into place.
9. Wheel Nuts Tight
When's the last time you checked your wheel nuts? The answer will probably not be 'just now', and that's precisely why you should get yourself a torque wrench and start tightening them up right away. Your caravan's manual will tell you the torque setting you should use, so go ahead and invest in a torque wrench to make sure you never lose your wheels in traffic.
10. Corner Steadies Raised
Corner steadies, if you have them, help stabilise your caravan in high wind when they're wound down. However, they also occasionally cause damage to caravans when the owners forget to put them back up again and drive off with them lowered. A half-hearted attempt to raise your corner steadies half way up won't do. If they're not all the way up, they can get wedged into potholes and tear the bottom of your caravan. Needless to say, insurance companies aren't impressed with half measures, and neither are fellow drivers. If you're not sure yours are all the way up or you don't have the right tools for it, ask a fellow caravanner for help.
11. Directional Aerial Retracted
If you have a directional aerial, make sure that it's retracted and into the transport position. You'll find that some caravanners either stow it in the wrong position or keep it raised and vertical. It's not so much to avoid your van taking off like a kite -and it won't -, but you stand a chance of damaging your antenna.
12. Load Secured
All strapped in and good to go? Not just yet. Secure your equipment with straps and fasteners before you start your motor. Things flying around your caravan aren't just dangerous for whoever's back there, but they're also destabilise your caravan. Take a gander at the back and make sure nothing heavy like awning poles and rails can flip out of their bags and roll around.
13. Doors and Windows Closed
If you think anything could open up, come loose, or become unhinged half-way through your journey, then now's the time to get a grip on that situation. Starting with your entrance door, moving on to internal partitions, and then the windows, rooflights, locker doors, and finishing with your oven and sink covers, make sure that you inspect your caravan inside out.
14. Handbrake Off
No caravan check is complete without making sure that the handbrake is off. Not only is driving off with your handbrake on dangerous, but it also risks damaging your chassis and axle. It's all a bit tedious, we know, but the good news is this: if you're ticked this last one off your list, you're good to go!
