Driving down narrow lanes
We made our first trip away in our Pennine Fiesta folding camper at the weekend. Heading out of the site, we had a little way to go down some narrow lanes. Most people were very accommodating and reversed back a considerable distance to let us pass. One guy, however, just sat there, gesticulating wildly. I had just passed a passing place, but am still not confident at reversing. I tried to go back, but by then, someone was behind me, and though I didn't do too badly, I ended up red-faced and with a hot clutch. As he passed, he helpfully leant out of the window and said "I think you need some more practice there, luv". As I headed up the road, I realised that he had a passing place about 15m back. My question is (apart from seeking reassurance that it can happen to anyone), what should I have done there? I can't help but feel that, as a towing vehicle and with a car behind me, it wasn't my responsibility to move, evem though I was closer to a passing place than the oncoming vehicle. And if so, how do you deal with someone who refuses to yield?
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I've often wondered about such a scenario. Having a motorhome, I can go three days with onboard facilities, so I could just sit it out.
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Hi, yes can happen to anyone and did to us on Saturday BUT we were on the single track lane to our storage area and were faced with another outfit leaving. I had to reverse and this meant the outfit was across the whole road as I emerged form the lane but after a short wait a kind soul stopped and waved me out.
The access to our village is single track with passing places so we tend to get a bit of practice reversing but when towing I think even the moist confident will be daunted by the prospect and for me on Saturday the biggest problem was the overgrown hedges preventing any sort of clear view to the rear.
Most situations will be resolved quickly and for us sitting tight, when you are clearly unable to progress, has been the best way to persuade others to reverse.
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It is very few who are like the "person" you met ,normally other road users are more courteous,
we have only in the years we have been towing had your problem as far as i can remember only once ,but as i said to the other driver ,"I am sure we have more time than you to waste" after about five minutes he backed into a gateway a few yards behind him
The biggest surprise we had was on one of our visits to my brother on the IOW when we had one of our motor caravans and a bus reversed about 50yds to allow us to pass
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There is no rule and no right or wrong. However, anyone towing needs to he capable of reversing their unit to cope with such an eventuality.
Buses and tractors will often reverse because it's quicker for them to do so than to wait for a tugger to struggle but they haven't always got the space needed. Would any of us seriously sit tight and expect a bus to give way? Would any of us automatically expect any vehicle to give way? It's no wonder caravans and the like get a bad name at times.
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Unfortunately you do occasionally come across folk like the one in your account. A couple of years ago, when not towing, we met a car on a very narrow lane. I hadn't passed a pull in for ages so waited to see if the other driver reversed. There was no movement so I assumed it was the same for them and I reversed about 200 yards to the nearest gateway. On continuing we noticed a passing place the other car could have reversed into only a few yards back. Fortunately when towing I have always found folk in cars accommodating. On the rare occasion it was necessary to reverse, like AD, it was all relatively straight line.
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Speaking as a driver, I would always give way to anything towing, no matter how large or small the trailer, if I wasn’t towing. That said, there are a lot of drivers out there who for one reason or another find reversing anything very difficult, let alone a trailer. It does pay to practise the skill, particularly towing or anything large.
Some trailers, small ones, can be absolute so and so’s to reverse, jackknife instantly. Easier to unhitch and push if not too heavy.
Lanes round us are tiny. I can recall one silly sod of a resident who paced out a local lane, marked a line and simply refused to back up for anything once that line had been crossed. She expected me to try and squeeze half a ton of a ton of huffing and puffing horse past her one day. Incapable of reversing, her neck no longer functioned and her mirrors didn’t exist. 🤷♀️
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I hate to even have to contemplate this let alone type it 😱 but as you were called love I assume you're female and the other driver was male?
Sadly this sort exists 😡😤
I so like cyberyacht's reply 🤣
It is amazing how many folk can't reverse their car let alone anything bigger. Personally I'd always give way to a vehicle towing, I don't tow myself 😱. And equally I'd expect and be grateful if a car reversed for me in a motorhome, simply because they are shorter. All that said of course it does depend on the actual meeting point.
Sadly manners are not always evident in many walks of life these days, vehicle or no vehicle. The 'I'm more important/justified etc than you' prevails so often.
In Takethedogalong's instance I'd shift - a horse can do much damage and be unpredictable! But then you only have to watch other drivers approach a horse or cyclist 🚴♂️.
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Our locals are clearly more polite than yours 🙂
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Some trailers, small ones, can be absolute so and so’s to reverse, jackknife instantly. Easier to unhitch and push if not too heavy.
We had one of those.☹️ Many, many years ago when the kids were primary age, we were navigating some lanes in the hill behind Genoa, looking for a campsite. We went the wrong way up a particularly narrow steep lane and got totally stuck with cars both ahead and behind. Several very nice locals help me unhitch the heavy trailer and stoped it rolling down the hill, while the cars behind used a field to get out of the way and I turned round. We rehitched and one of the Italians insisted on escorting us to the campsite we had been looking for. There are some very nice and helpful folk about.👍
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I have not towed a caravan so can't comment and I don't profess to be a great driver but I can manage to reverse my motorhome so that it is next to the peg on a site (I don't have a reversing camera). It really amazes me however, how many motorhomers find that so difficult to do, even with someone standing directing them to where the peg is situated.
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you just have to try to look that bit further up the road for any on-coming traffic so that the situation doesn't arise. I have had on-coming cars when on little B roads that move over 1/2" and think that provides enough room for you to pass them ..... I've just shrugged & suggested they either move over more or reverse to the nearest passing place ... it's worked so far.
Some drivers are just numpties .... I left St David's a few years back (the lanes to & from aren't exactly very wide) caravan in tow, & while waiting, in the wider part of the road, for car & caravan a little further up the road to pass an on coming bus, a numpty in a Range Rover decided to overtake me and become part of the problem. Some people don't look much passed the end of their bonnet.
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As you say, you have no experience. Something on a pivot point (tow ball) behaves entirely differently to four wheels at the corners. Hopefully this will help you decide if you meet a caravan coming the other way in your MH, and you see the sense of being the one who has the easiest reverse.
Fully agree with your comment ED. Seeing more than just a few feet in front of the bonnet can save a lot of grief. My OH has done an EFAD course (Emergency Fire Appliance Driver, think nee naa, nee nah at 70mph😱) He saved us from serious injury on Dartmoor one holiday. Fast road, hidden dip, standing traffic in dip. Quick reactions took us onto grass verge, while seconds later umpteen vehicles concertina crashed behind us, carnage. No one badly hurt, but lots of whiplash, banged heads, exploded airbags and written off vehicles. We got away with needing new brakes. Didn’t even spoil the holiday.
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We’ve lived on a single track road for almost 25 years now and I can count on one hand the number of instances where people have acted like the one you came across. It was probably because they were incapable of reversing well themselves. Reversing a sizeable caravan is far easier than reversing a smaller folding one so don’t question your ability. The shorter the trailer the more difficult it is to reverse it.
I do recall an instance about 10 years ago when a guy refused to reverse about 5 metres to a passing place. Had he been towing I would happily have reversed the 100 metres around two corners to the nearest passing place behind me but on this instance I got out of the car, locked it and turned to walk back home. He soon found his reversing abilities!
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Most people are fine. There is always one sexist AH. You have probably given him the only excitement he has had in months.
First time out after look down we went to a small site the last mile was single track fortunately about 300yds from the turn in there were 3 caravan stationary. The reason was a Dutch HGV that apparently run out of time on his tachograph and couldn’t move for the next 20 minutes that was interesting. On a serious point it is actually easier to reverse a long trailer than a short one, I can these days get my 8m caravan to reverse in the general direction I want. With my little trailer I use for taking rubbish to the tip I am hopeless. This is because a small trailer reacts so much quicker
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I was accused by a man who showed no willingness to reverse a small car a matter of feet, of "needing more practice, luv". The irony did not go unobserved. I would argue it's people like him who give men a bad name rather than people like me giving caravanners a bad name! ;-) Feel free to PM me if you feel you need to discuss further.
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Why do you think i suggested you give caravanners a bad name? The tuggers who refuse to reverse, or are unable to, and always expect others to give way are the ones who do that.
PM you? That's a joke🤣🤣🤣. Anyway, there's really nothing to discuss.
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You've not spent much time around the South Hams then?
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Then you should know that HGVs and buses frequently give way by reversing to make room. Often there is no choice.
The LV drivers who will not/cannot reverse are not looked upon favourably but those who make the effort (like the OP) are appreciated. It's obvious really as is the need for every one of us LV-ers to be competent drivers.
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Well that’s all the CL owning farmers trashed in a single post SB. None of the dozens that I have stayed with appeared to “detest” us when we stayed. Nor did they drive tractors, combines, threshers, scranletters or silage trailers at us either........mutual respect possibly?
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Found out a few days ago our favourite Cornish CL is no more😢 On a farm. Down a narrow lane. (We can recall when A30 was almost a narrow lane🤣) Fond memories......
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