Is your caravan safe?

Ben Hackney-Williams, 20th July 2016, Caravan

There are certain key points to remember when it comes to ensuring your caravan is safe to take on holiday. Remember that it’s not just about your possessions, but other road users too…

Weight watching is arguably the most important thing about caravanning safety. A little confusing at first, it doesn’t take long to get to grips with caravan weights, and there are plenty of resources out there to help.

MIRO and MTPLM

Your caravan will have a figure called its mass in running order (MIRO or MRO). This is how much it weighs with nothing in it. In the paperwork or marked on your tourer, you’ll also find the maximum technically permissible laden mass (MTPLM). This figure is the maximum weight your caravan can be when towing, including all your possessions, accessories, food, drink, and whatever else you’d like to put in there.

The industry recommends that your MTPLM figure should be no heavier than 85% of the kerbweight of your towcar. This is to prevent any instability on the roads. Also talk to your manufacturer or dealership about noseweight, as this is another important figure to take into consideration.

Spreading the weight when storing

Secure storage of your caravan’s contents is also vital to towing safety. As a rule, heavy items should only be placed over the axles of your caravan. Medium weight items can be used to distribute the load in storage, and lighter items are the only things that can be safely stored higher up in your tourer.

Hitching

When hitching or unhitching, always make sure that the breakaway cable (usually red) is the first thing you put on and the last thing you take off. This will prevent your caravan from rolling away, should your hitch fail for any reason. When it’s pulled, it’s designed to break away (see, it’s not just a clever name) and put the caravan’s breaks on.

Once you’re hitched up, have someone help you to check your lights on the back of the caravan. This should include both left and right indicators (and hazards), brake lights, reversing light and fog light.

Under pressure

Tyre pressures are important on both your caravan and car. Check both manuals for the required figures and ensure that all tread depth is to legal standard (1.6mm). A good way of testing this is with a 20p coin. If the tread depth doesn’t cover the outer band on either face of the coin, or if your tyres are older than five years, change them.

You’ll find the required pressure for your wheel nuts in your manual, too. If you don’t have a torque wrench, take your tourer to a dealership and ask them to check it for you.

Service and Maintain

Always ensure that your caravan goes in for a yearly service with a qualified and reputable dealership or technician. There are lots of things that the general public aren’t qualified to inspect, so leave it to the professionals and get it done properly.

If you’re not sure about any aspect of safety when caravanning, don’t go anywhere before you check with someone. This can either be a caravan forum, a dealership or direct to your manufacturer. It’s always better to be safe than sorry!

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