Entering hitched caravans
Evening all.
As a motorhomer I am used to being able to park at motorway services, move into the habitation section and use all the facilities, take a brief nap etc. So how does this work with a caravan? Can you enter a caravan when it's hitched to the car? Do you have to wind down all the legs? Do you need to put the jockey wheel down?
Sorry for asking what are probably daft questions but having now done a towing course, gotten my head around towing weights etc I'm thinking of all the more day-to-day functionality that must be different to a motorhome.
Thanks
Daisy2
Comments
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If you wind down the rear corner steadies it will make the van more stable and help spread the load.
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as above, but a cordless electric drill make life easier in winding steadies up and down.
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We used to religiously put down the steadies at every stop but after 20 years or so and when the children stopped coming with us (less bouncing around in the van!j we decided it wasn’t always necessary. Sure, it puts a load on the tow bar but so does driving along so it’s down to comfort really. Agree that the cordless drill is a boon if you want to put them down.
We have steadies on the Motorhome but only use them if we are staying on site for several days.
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What we would do depends much on the van layout and why we are going into it.
For a brief often time critical loo stop we just pop in. For a lunch brake I tend to put down one under loo steady, and then importantly put the winder on the drivers seat.
The current van has a front end door and lounge, the previous a rear door and lounge, that was better placing at least a rear steady down.
Our car has air suspension so putting down the jockey wheel is an absolute no no as the car could end up hanging on the jockey wheel.
I see no point in placing a jockey wheel down anyway. The "A" girder and hitch stressing dynamically when being towed I expect would place greater loads than we entering the van statically will inflict
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Dropping the rear legs will not be much use if sitting at front of van, I'd firstly drop the jockey wheel to just take the weight off the car, then drop the rear legs to just steady the rear end. Entering and moving about in the 'van with it in " road " trim is not IMO advisable.
Happy caravanning.
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Family or just the the two of you? We both have never dropped the steadies nor the jockey wheel, yes it will be a bit rocky but if you can live with that then its fine. If a stationary car cannot handle the extra noseweight put on its towball with persons near to the 'A' frame then I would seriously question the cars capabilities and loading. The steadies are what they are, just for steadying.
On road and travelling the caravan certainly gets a lot more pounding than a couple walking in it whilst stationary.
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In all the years we have had a caravan - now switching to a motorhome - we have dropped all 4 steadies when we stop. I always understood that it put a strain on the floor if steadies were not used when the van had to cope with my 9 stone weight.
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We seldom bothered winding down steadies if we pulled up for a short break with van on back. You just learn to tread lightly, not thump around. Occasionally we have slept for a break in our van on way dow to SW, would lower back steadies then.
Some MHs have steadies, helps with onsite stability. We have never used ours.
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I've never heard that but could be true, but the main reason for lowering steadies (or one) when hitched is the turning effect or moment caused by your weight. If you all stood at one end of the van you could exceed the nose weight or start to pull the car up.
If it's just one person going into the toilet then one or two steadies, if you're having a sit down meal then all of them.
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We never did with our caravans. But a friend and I went to clear out her van prior to it's sale, it had been moved to storage by someone else, we didn't check the steadies and we both moved towards the back in unison to retrieve things. There was an almighty bang as the van hit the ground, unknown to us there was also a steep drop at the rear.
We thought it was going to be an expensive repair before the sale. Luckily all was ok and the van found a new owner. So tread carefully....0 -
We used to lower, at least, the rear steadies when we stopped en route. Mind you it always used to worry me that I might forget to wind them up!!! I suppose one of the simplifications of changing to a motorhome is that you don't even have to get out of the vehicle to have lunch.
David
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+1
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Making a mountain out of a molehill, some are talking of one/two person(s) and another saying 'all of you'. Obviously if a family of four are going to prance around and hold a disco then drop'em, but one or two using the toilet or having a snack then other than stability in the van, no harm will be done.
Additional weight on the cars hitch will be less than the persons weight anyway, as they will be at some point mid way between axle and hitch, plus traversing bumpy roads would most likely add more additional weight to the hitch.
Stability is the only concern, no harm will come of anything if the steadies are not lowered for one/two persons.
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So there you have it, Daisy.
You either don't bother lowering any of them or lower just one (preferably) on the loo side, or lower both rear ones, or all four and then sometimes any of the above and the jockey wheel.
Bet you are glad you asked the experts eh?
Pick any of the answers and see how you get on.
(BTW - we lower just the one rear one, but don't tell anyone)
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... but if you do decide to lower one, two, three, or even four of 'em, I strongly endorse the "put the winder on the driver's seat" advice. That's the important bit, I feel.
Aside - does it truly save much time & effort to use a cordless drill winder, which needs carting about & recharging, rather than those few seconds of electricity-free low-tech winding by hand?
PS we're generally in the "lower one underneath the loo" camp.
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Don’t forget that we're talking about stationary use here and not the van and car bouncing about on the open road.
I'm sure the inbuilt safety margins will cope with a couple of people sitting near the front as far greater stresses will be encountered when on the move.
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It’s not time but effort, HH. Not everyone is as young and flexible as you.
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and some like me are just plain lazy
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Using steadies is purely for comfort so if you don’t mind a bit of rocking then don’t bother. I always like to watch what the workshop does and when they unhitch a van and park it they put one rear steady down. Stops the unlikely chance of it tipping back I guess.
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For the caravan to tip back, you'd have to lift the whole back of the car off the ground. Steadies not required for quick stop although passing HGV's make it rock a bit.
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