As experts of 70+ years, here are our essential touring caravan tips for beginners – learn about towing, safety and setting up for your first holiday.

Essential caravan tips for beginners

Using our decades of experience in buying and selling caravans, we’ve learned the most common questions and key touring caravan tips that beginners need when they’re just starting out. We don’t just want to sell you a caravan – we want to ensure you have all the advice you need to enjoycaravanning with confidence. See our essential touring caravan tips below, and remember that our friendly team are always on hand if you need any further help or advice.

Caravan towing tips

The most important caravanning advice for beginners is to ensure your car and caravan are compatible with safe towing limits. Nose weight limits are determined by the car manufacturer but are generally recommended to be 7% of the actual laden weight of the caravan. It’s important to get the nose weight right because it affects the stability of the tow car. Nose weight can be altered by load and distribution of weight, and can be checked with a special gauge available from our caravan accessories shop. Always check the hand book of the tow car for exact limits.

Take great care when hitching a caravan onto your tow car, and double check everything, every time. It can be very costly or worse, dangerous, if the caravan should become detached. You should also make sure that your caravan is loaded correctly, with heavy items low down and over the axle to for maximum stability.

Caravan safety

Tyres are enormously important; carry spare wheels and jacks for your car and caravan and make sure you know how to change them. You should have 1.6mm of tread in continuous band around the whole circumference on each tyre on both your caravan and your towing vehicle. Check your car tyres once a week for cuts, bulges and other deformities. Ensure your caravan wheels are tightened using a properly calibrated torque wrench and that the wheel fixings are neither under or over-tightened.

Use extension mirrors on your towing vehicle and always attach the breakaway/red safety cable correctly – and remember it’s the last thing to detach when unhitching. 

One of the best tips for beginner caravanners is to start with a short, local trip to practice towing, reversing, turning, braking and setting up. Check tyre pressures, engine oil, lights, and securely lock all doors, windows, and cupboards. Remember sat-navs don’t always pick the best routes for caravans, so it’s well worth marking out your route on a map too, to ensure you’ll avoid any narrow roads and steep gradients.

Although there is no legal requirement for a caravan to be serviced annually, it’s highly recommended – see our servicing and repairs page for more details. It’s also important to make that you have trailer cover included in your breakdown insurance.

Onsite caravanning advice

Once you’ve arrived onsite, here are a few more tips to help you get set up ready for your break:

– Use a spirit level to help you pitch, using corner steadies to stabilise (not lift)

– Familiarise yourself with water and electricity hookup procedures.

–  Ensure gas cylinders are switched off while not in use and while travelling

– Use tension rods to secure items during transit, or wedge items to stop them rattling

– Keep a supply of basic tools, lightbulbs and fuses with you on every trip

For more caravanning advice, we recommend the Beginner’s Guide to Touring from The Caravan Club.

If you have any specific questions or would like some more touring caravan tips from the experts, drop us a line, call us on 01274 611867 or come and visit us at our site in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Open 7 days a week.