Getting You Prepared for Towing
There is nothing scarier than towing your caravan off into the sunset on your much awaited holiday, and then feel it swaying all over the road.
It can be terrifying, for you and for the traffic around you. If not corrected you could easily tip over or worse – be involved in a serious accident.
What causes swaying?
There are many factors that cause swaying, so it’s important to have it diagnosed and corrected before you leave. Common causes include:
- Uneven weight distribution
- Incorrect or uneven tyre pressure
- Towing speed
- Suspension issues
- Side winds
- Slip streams from large vehicles
- An insufficient towing vehicle for the caravan.
How we prepare you for safe towing
eight distribution throughout the caravan is also very important. Below is the link to a video showing the difference changing the location of weight can make to towing situations. There are a number of ways that we can assist in making your travelling more comfortable. Here’s two popular solutions.
Fitting of a weight distribution system.
The Hayman Reese system is ideal for levelling the van and the back of the car up to where they should be, so they are in line. The ball weight remains the same, however the load is evenly distributed through the vehicle’s chassis to all four wheels. It is important that the capacity of the weight distribution system is correctly chosen and that the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations are followed.
Fitting Al-ko ESC (Electronic Stability Control) units.
AL-KO ESC brakes all wheels on your caravan simultaneously to maintain road position. It is activated when a dangerous sideways movement is detected by the sensors inside the unit.
These days most new vans come with Al-ko ESC already installed. We have retro-fitted many of these units for customers with older vans, and they are all very happy with the system. People are surprised at how effective the system is and feel safe knowing the van cannot wobble around too much behind the car while travelling.
In fact we are a preferred Al-ko installer and one of the first to fit these systems in Qld.
