First long trip towing - any tips?
Hi everyone, we bought our caravan last year but until recently have only stayed very local so would still consider us as 'new'.
We're going on our first long-ish distance family trip in a couple of weeks so wondered if anyone had any tips on how best to plan out the journey to make it as stress free as possible?
We're travelling from Yorkshire up to Melrose and then on to Grantown on Spey.
Thanks
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Not sure how far that journey is crofty. Personally I don't like towing more than about 3 hours, say 120-150 miles without stopping. So I've taken to looking for CLs en route, very often in places we wouldn't otherwise have thought of visiting. We have returned for longer stays on many of them.
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Many a time we towed from the Staffordshire area to Melrose in one go, Crofty, so it’s certainly doable. Without knowing your route it’s difficult to suggest anywhere to break the journey but I’d go along with what Moulesy said. You could check a map for a likely stopping place 2-3 hours into your journey.
One tip, don’t leave your van unattended in service areas. If necessary, visit the loos one at a time and have your coffee and snack in the van. A flask filled with hot water brought from home saves time and effort.
Enjoy, you've picked two good sites there and both are on the edge of villages/towns.
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No need to worry Crofty. Both your journeys are easily doable with the van on the back and the roads are good all the way. Plenty to do and see from the Granton on Spey AS site. The Border abbeys are worth a visit from the Melrose CMC site if you enjoy history.
Have a good holiday.
K
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Thanks everyone. Thats all really helpful advice and glad I decided to post on here - its reassured me about the journey.
Kennine - do you have a recommendation of the route from Melrose to Grantown on Spey? From what i can see the 2 options are the A68 or the A7 to Edinburgh - I'm assuming the A68 might be easier as its a more major road?
To get to Melrose we'll be going A65 from Setlle, onto the M6 and then A7 across to Melrose.
Only concern now is making sure we plan enough potential stopping places for us and the van to allow for toilet stops for children
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The main thing is dont rush as you have children I would stop every 2 hours if they are teenagers then 3 hours would be good, do you share the driving ? if so swop over at every stop do get out of the car and stretch you limbs dont forget to drink coffe or water and pack your sandwiches service stations are expensive.
Have a super holiday and relax
Paul
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Go overnight when it is cooler [not f you have night vision issues], the traffic is less, and any passengers are likely to sleep in the car [make sure they have enough room to be comfy]. Have the radio on at a low setting. One of the great delights is watching the sun rise and then eating a hearty breakfast.
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Crofty - one tip I would give you based on my recent experience is to check your tyres carefully well before you set off. I don't know how old your van is, or how often it is used - but I got the shock of my life when I looked at the tyres on my three and half year old 'van, to find serious cracks in the sidewall of one of them - just before we were due to set off to Devon. And that's a van that is used every month, throughout the year.
A long trip is going to be more punishing on tyres and the last thing any of us want is your holiday to be spoilt by a tyre 'disaster'. If you have any doubts about them whatsoever - change them now!
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All good stuff here especially the bit about remembering you are on a holiday. We plan on 3 x 2 hour driving stints: 2 hrs then stop for coffee, 2 hrs stop for lunch and final 2 hrs in the afternoon. We have done all around Europe with this plan and can usually do 200 - 250 miles a day.. As you probably know, children can get very bored travelling ('Are we there yet?'), so stop often and take things to amuse them in the car.
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Hi Crofty, You are right, you have a choice of routes to join the A720 Edinburgh city bypass. There's not much to pick and choose. The A7 is slightly slower but you are passing through lovely scenery. The A68 is slightly quicker and less twisty, but there are loads of speed cameras along that route.
Once on the A720 follow until you come to the turn off for the M8 then after a few miles at Junct 2 take the road to the Forth Crossing. Then . follow the M90 to Junct 10 and follow the signs for the A9 ( there is a motorway services just off the roundabout at the end of the motorway) Follow the A9 all the way to the A95 junction at Aviemore then you are within 15 miles from the Granton on Spey site.(There are 2 useful stops on the A9 if you have a van on the back, the first at The house of Bruar outlet near Blair Atholl and another near Newtonmore called Ralia. ) Cafes in both places. Also loads of laybys on the A9.
I do hope you enjoy your holiday
Regards Kennine
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Good advice Crofty, especially about the routes to Edinburgh. Also allow more time than you think you will need, it can be quite a tiring drive up to Grantown. We drove from Melrose to Pitlochry last year and then further north later. You'll see the new Forth crossing, which is quite a sight. Watch out for the average speed cameras on the A9. all the way up!
I'd love to be going up there myself, have a lovely time.
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As with many others we use the motorway services, and often share a coffee - do we really need those huge cups?
One thing I always do is put a wheel clamp on the van - it only takes a few seconds and is a visual deterrent as well as an actual one.
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I always found that the biggest problem with caravanning was finding places to stop for rests or lunch that was nice and big and not to busy. So my tip is to stop if you see somewhere that looks good even if it’s a bit early.
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Being a newbie myself, I spend a while using Google maps to check out places to stop en route. Agree with the idea that 2 to 3 hours is long enough in one stretch. Doing this, before our last trip to Dorset I found a lovely big car park in a Garden Centre just off the road. They had a shop and an on site cafe serving pretty decent breakfasts. But by checking it out beforehand, there was no stress wondering if there's space to park the 'van and car as you pull in.
Also, I check out the route. I will happily go the longer way around to avoid congested or tight towns. Rather be comfortable than early.
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Towing on my own I try to avoid needing Service Stations but if I do want to go shopping as I did recently at the lovely Gloucester Service Farm Shop - I fit the hitch lock and leave the tail gate up so the dogs would make a huge noise if anyone got near! It's a good idea to remember to remove the hitchlock to move on though.
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every year we tow to Cornwall 420 miles, we set off about 2 in the morning, the roads are quiet, we stop a few times at the services for a drink and something to eat, I also have a walk and stretch my legs
the van is never left unattended, I would recommend getting a t.p.m.s. for your van, on the c.a.m.c. site you can find tyrepal, it alternates from wheel to wheel showing the p.s.i. and temp, as you dont want a puncture to end up in a blowout
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I reckon the OP has got there and back by now.👍🏻😀
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If you're going from Yorkshire across the border with the A68 across Carter Bar, it's a very enjoyable drive, but take care going over the summits, they're a bit sudden!
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HH, I’ll spell it out. See my post and look at the date of the OP 🙄😀
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Something to do with 1970? Back to the future?
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?) so treat the drive out and back as part of the holiday !!
