Well done for owning up. Fortunately for me when I picked up our first caravan from the dealer after he had finished the handover he went through the hitching procedure with me about 5 times. As well as the jockey wheel test he instilled in me that the last thing I must do is actually get down and visually check that the tongue of the hitch is under the head of the ball. Takes seconds.
I made this mistake last autumn, leaving the North York Moors site. The van stayed connected until we went over a speed bump. Cost me a new breakaway cable and jockey wheel assembly. The clue was, as you mentioned, that the ALKO stabiliser arm went down with less force than usual. This was because the pads were touching above the centre of the “equator” of the tow ball. Like you, I now raise the hitch by winding down the jockey wheel. Next error is to forget to raise the jockey wheel again….. Thanks for these videos btw, I enjoy them a lot.
A refreshing change to own up when you do something wrong, and better still, is when you share your mistakes so others can learn from them, thank you. Experience is simply another name for ones mistakes.
I might have missed something here, but don’t you guys use safety chains? In Australia we are required to have chains that link the van or trailer to the coupling on the towing vehicle…they are there to prevent the trailer from becoming completely detached from the vehicle in the event that the coupling has failed or not been connected properly
Congrats for honesty, I did it myself leaving for a holiday and lost 24hrs! I believe that if one does the caravan driving test (if it still exists) I have been told they require you to wind it right up and down on the jockey wheel, and then repeat it which I now do and have had no repeat embarrassment!
Just watched this Mark and completely get where you coming from. Whenever I collect a caravan for work from a customer I always in the nicest possible way ask them to not help in hitching up to insure I am very happy its correctly hooked on. Cheers, Oliver
Well done indeed for owning up to this, I agree with other comments. I had the happen to me some years ago when new to caravans and I have to say that it scared me significantly. I did the same checks as you did and the caravan seemed tight onto the car, leaving the site a bang and then the caravan coming off, hugely embarrassing to say the least, I did learn but never felt good hitching after that. My wife and I are returning to caravanning so this video has been super helpful and I cannot thank you enough for sharing, appreciated. Just goes to show one slip up in a thousand has consequences.
I've never done the jockey wheel thing. I line the car up, leave the handle that drops onto the tow ball down, lower the caravan onto the tow ball, then pull the handle up, you know it's definitely on as it drop in with a clonk! As you say the stabiliser it hard to push down if it's on properly, I have to put a lot of weight on it. Each to their own though, whatever makes you feel it's 100% on 👍 Thanks for sharing...
I've always just given it a good tug before and never had an issue. Hopefully it was just a 1 off, it makes it awkward when someone else has put it on the tow ball too, will make sure I do it myself from now on though. 👍
Thanks for posting & your honesty for owning up. Maybe you can do a video on the importance of tyre care & wheel nut torque as we still see van's at the side of the road with where the wheel has fell off. Thanks, Ian.
Did mine today. The number positions on my old plug were different to the number locations on my new plug. The photo I took was too confusing so....TOP TIP....I cut about an inch off the wires leaving the coloured cut ends in the old plug, then used this as a guide after stripping the ends of the wires. Worked a treat and when I connected it to my car, nothing blew up, which is always a bonus!
Another possible mistake I made this summer. I had done the Jockey wheel test and lifted and locked it properly. Drove about 200 miles of freeway without problem, when I got onto a worse road where they were repairing the road, then I heard a noise which I linked to the bad road but the noise remained and I was now out on a freeway and had to drive further 10 miles before there was an exit where I could stop and check. To my horror, I saw that the Jockey wheel had come loose and fallen down to make contact with the road surface. Fortunately the caravan did not unhook but the wheel was obviously destroyed by the friction.
Same thing happened to us and we did perform the jockey wheel test and it appeared to lift the car but we have since been told that the car has electronic suspension and was probably just that kicking in. Also, by raising the caravan nose it may just be that you are releasing the pressure and the car naturally ‘lifts’ . I would like to know if there is a sure fire way if checking it is hitched properly, other than seeing green on the alco system.
Here in Australia and in New Zealand Safety Chains are used for that exact reason. A Safety Chain attached correctly will stop the Caravan spearing off, potentially killing someone. Can you tell Me why they aren't mandatory in the UK?
We use breakaway cables which pull the breaks on, which could cause an accident really, as it will stop the caravan if it comes off the car, so anyone following coukd end up in the back of tge Caravan. Not sure why we don't use chains?
@@thecaravanplace Food for thought, maybe it's time to change. We also use a Breakaway but even with that safety Chains are still mandatory on all Caravans and Trailers in Australia and New Zealand
Good Post, Serves as a Good Reminder to everyone of all capabilities... experienced on not. - Fair to say "complacency" crept in with a dose of "distraction" during the task... Two possible reactions exist... 1. Your deny all knowledge and convince yourself you done everything correctly or blame someone else... (wrong reaction).... or the more favourable 2nd reaction.... "I made a mistake".... "I didn't do it correctly".... "sorry"... this is good as this leads to tighter controls again (for a period)... until the inevitable "complacency" rears its ugly head again. We ourselves are in control of this timeframe with self discipline.... do your checks as you say, get someone else to check for you too, get the kids to check it too (why not?).... stop at the gate of the site and check again (why not?)... when your stop for fuel or a coffee break... "check again"..... The alternative is not a healthy one as we all know... Check Check Check... then Check again. Well served reminder... thanks for posting.
I understand the basic issue of assuring the ball hitch is secure, but not the precise procedure. Are there two levers? It seemed like you were raising the caravan with the jockey wheel while the big (outside) lever was up. Anyhow, my caravan does not have that "Alco" lever.
Just happened to me today. Not a novice, and always do my checks! - It was connected. I pulled out of my driveway .... went up the road ... did a u turn ... then parked outside my house - it was obviously connected. (yes lever down etc etc) After finally getting family in the tow vehicle, I got less than 100 metres up the road and the caravan unhitched. Scary! ... do the Jockey Wheel test! - I need a new caravan now - thank goodness that was the worst outcome
The UK doesn't run chains from the caravan to the vehicle, it's just the towball? In Oz, we must run two crossover chains from the van frame to the car to keep the van with the car if it comes off the ball for whatever reason. I suppose it speaks to the quality of roads to rely on one connection (that you can't really see under that coupling)! Trailers also use A frames, not a single bar (common in the US) because a single bar snaps too much.
I used to sell wood chippers and had one come off when I was leaving the depot in hungerfod town centre. These were American machines and had breakaway chains to stop them running away. Luckily the chains did their job otherwise someone could have been hurt. Only the rear of my vehicle suffered a light scuff as I was doing less than 10pm. Lesson learned . I now always do double, sometimes triple checks.
I am a complete novice to caravanning, and was told to but an anti sway hitch, specifically an Alko hitchlock. I have seen notes saying not to tow with them on, so my question is can you tow the caravan with that hitchlock on?
I've done this unfortunately it's damn scary and such an amateur mistake but I was new to all of this and managed to get it back on I never wish it upon anyone who tows alone
I've always thought "how can you not tell its not on properly" and it was so easy to think it was. Extra 30 seconds check on the jockey wheel from now on. 👍
happened to me 1st time out/3 weeks ago, drove off pitch, then off site to right onto main road and bang, dropped it!! only damage was cable and bit of plastic on plug, lesson learned and now raise jockey wheel, still made me nervous on 2nd run out this weekend but all went well.
Just happened to me today. There was a solid click of the hitch falling on ball. The Alko locked up perfect . Thank god for the break away cable. Activated straight away. What I'm going to do is hitch up again and a draw a tipex circle around the the tow hitch ball. Then when I look under the caravan , if there is a gap between the tippex and the hitch. I know it hasn't fallen all the way down. P.S. the break away damaged the two slots that the crimped end goes through. Any tips on the repair.
Oh it's not nice when it does. If the bottom ring on the handbrake is damaged it may just need to be replaced, as this does take a fair bit of strength to pull the breakaway cable. May be worth having it checked and see what the options are. 👍
Slightly comforting that it's not just me. My local caravan storage facilty gaffer told me that he has this happen at least a couple of times a year as folk pull off site and over the speed hump at the exit, with the caravan slowly crossing the road and into the bushes. One wasn't so lucky, and he got onto the very busy main road dual carriageway, and it came off and smashed through the central reservation and turned over, completely destroying it. He hadn't even attached the brake cable apparently.
It’s easy done, forgetfulness, happens to the best of us, I forgot to pick mi wife up from the hairdressers. That was a few years ago now. It’s easy done you know. Good vid and a useful reminder!
We saw the after effects of an incident like this, someone was doing a favour by towing a caravan to another site after the owner had changed their vehicle and as they pulled out of the site the caravan detached, ran into the back of the car, result was a big hole in front corner of caravan and mashed up front locker and a large crumple to rear corner and back of car and an awful lot of bad feeling all round as to who would pay.
I picked mine up after a service in January and while I was paying the bill they very helpfully hitched the van to the car. I did my normal walk around checking windows, lockers, legs, 12v connector, breakaway cable and finally did the jockey wheel test. Don't you trust us? I used to fly aeroplanes and while you accept someone telling you of problems it's your own walk around that around when you take responsibility for what you are about to drive/fly. The traffic cop would not accept that someone else told you it was OK - and neither would the coroner... One mistake, seven years ago when I drove off with the breakaway still attached. Broke the cable and pulled the brake shoes off their mountings. Whose fault? Mine. For carrying on unhitching when the really annoying bloke off the next pitch was "welcoming" me to the site or not asking him to leave me alone.
Hi Mark, yes can happen, happened to me a couple of years ago, let someone else hitch for me and drove off, van came off and landed in a telegraph post, damage to front of van but if pedestrians had been there could have been much worse , l always double check, lesson learned
Its something I always double check is the worst thing. It would have made more sense if I hadn't pulled up as I always thought that did the job, but obviously not 🙈
I pull hitch handle up lower Van on check hitch handle snaps down & the 2 indicators are green on hitch head ,& do jockey wheel raise test & then yank it up & down 5or6 times don't put your back out though ! Stabilizer push down & on ,I suppose we could all buy ATS with green LED indicator but I have never had one on my vans .
I still would not trust the green button, if something has got inside the hitch it can show the green button, I will double check with the jockey wheel just to be sure.
Happened just 2days ago,partner coupled alone as have to move my car,all green signs moved and unhitched 300 yards away from the house.breakaway stoped the van good no one at the back of caravan. We were helped by openreach driver put back to the towbar and gone to nearby garage to recheck . Drove slowly to caravan supplies shop to replace the breakaway and jockey wheel as it bent.guy checked also said ok and drove 2hrs to the site.was scared till now and plan to stop caravaning.will do jockey check when going home..tnx
I've bought a caravan and it was towed to a site by the seller as it turned out my Kia Sportage is slightly tow weight light so not only do I need to buy a new car in the spring, I'll need to hitch and tow for the first time in my life!. A bit nervous to say the least 😂
It will just follow you, you will be fine 👍. Just take it nice and easy, little wider on corners but nothing major, after 5 mins you can take your finger nails out of the steering wheel and relax.
Happened to me last summer within 100 yds from home. Slight bump in the road, off it popped, and slowly drew up alongside me. Embarrasing wasn't in it. No damage apart from the electrics being totally destroyed, which ended the weekend trip right there and then. Absolutely gutted. Give me the old style hitch any day. NEVER had an issue with them. Find actually hitching up over and on the ball a very hit and miss excercise. Perhaps it's just me being a nugget. So easy to actually SEE on the old style hitch. Actually considering having it changed.
With the black cover its hard to see, but if I had done the jockey wheel test I would have known it wasnt straight away. The older red covers are much better to be able to see the green part.
I'm confused. You did exactly what I do when hitching up. Your check pulling up wasn't a mistake, surely, but a demonstration of why it isn't sufficient on its own? Good tip, though, and one I shall follow from now on. What I want to know is why, if the hitch system showed it up as being ok, why wasn't it?
It must have had something stuck inside the hitch, so gave all the correct signs but didn't actually latch on. I will possibly do another video on this. 👍
Hmmm. I lift the hitch handle up then the alco stabiliser up, when you lower the hitch onto the ball the hitch handle should close…….if not then it’s not engaged and the handle stays up. So don’t ever manually push the hitch handle down, let the weight of the van do it. Saves you the messing about with winding the hockey wheel back down and up.
Yep the black handle snapped down just like it hitched on. It was only the big handle that then felt like the friction pads needed changing that was a bit odd. But have had a fair few that have been like that when a pad needed replacing so thought it was just that.
How to Caravan for Beginners. Hints and Tips. Places to see and things to do across Australia. Each video is authentic. Bryan and Karen have visited everything and place they share with the beginning caravaners. 30+ free videos - at this time! (If this changes, the video site will show any change before it happens. Enjoy. www.youtube.com/@efozz1
Iirc you need a breakaway chain if the trailer is unbraked, if the trailer (caravan) is braked then you use a breakaway cable (little red one in this video) which physically pulls the brakes on the caravan (as long as it’s attached properly and it has the correct end attachment)
Jockey wheel test on hitching up should always be done. No short cutting by hand pulling. Also why was the brake away cable round the tow bar and not in it’s dedicated hook point.
Whoa, I do it like that and went to check (so thanks for the comment) the caravan club (uk) show that some hitches have designated attachment points. Where they don’t exist they show the cable wrapped around the ball and clipped to the wire. The dealer showed me that way when I picked up my first van 4 years ago. I’m going to check my witter bar and see if there is an attachment. Thanks again
Just goes to show there are two types of drivers, those that have pulled off with an unsafe hitch configuration and . . . . . . . . those that haven't done it .. . . . . yet! Thanks for the post
Rather than humping the a frame…..its a better idea to raise the a frame by twisting the riser and watch the car rear rise…..my dealer showed me this trick eventually..
With the black cover its a difficult one to see, with the old red cover you could see it really easy. Even if it shows green it could be something inside the hitch and be a false reading, I think the only real way to check is with the Jockey wheel.
Hi there Mark, I know how you felt. Exactly the same thing happened to me when leaving a pitch in Cornwall, took me ages to rewire the socket as it had pulled the wiring out. I'm now paranoid about hitching up.
George, I take it you didn’t check with the jockey wheel either? Just curious if anybody has done the jockey wheel test and still had the caravan come away
This happened to me. I was rushing. Thought yes that's ok, how wrong I was. A few miles down the road, after junctions and roundabouts I hit a nasty pothole. I can assure you there is nothing worse than checking your rear view mirror to see the caravan travelling in another direction. My heart was in my mouth. Was I going to kill someone? To be honest I haven't towed since. I know many will reply and say you are a fool and shouldn't tow. I have towed many vans, trailers and the like. I would have called myself competent. Unfortunately complacency kicked in. People need more education on towing before being let loose on the roads. Great vid for bringing this to peoples attention.......Oh by the way the break away cable worked as it should but only on one wheel. So check those brakes regular!!
Hi Fred, thanks for your comments, I think just taking time while hitching up is the key, do the jockey wheel test and you can be confident it won't come off the car then. 👍
Dont rely on the jacking up/car lifting check. I did and the coupling still detached. Now I always kneel down and visually check the ball is locked in place. Took me a while to figure out why it had happened to me early in my towing career. Basically, when I did the test and the car lifted it must have simply been rising on the suspension as the jockey wheel took up the weight. My 20 year old van has an early Winterhof fitting without a telltale. I had used a spring nose weight gauge to test the loading immediately before hooking on. Unknown to me it had triggered the ball lock and when I lowered the van onto the ball the clamp easily pushed down without any problem. However the ball had not located correctly into its socket. Fortunately it was low speed, straight ahead, no traffic scenario. The cable applied the handbrake and after checking round and fitting the spare cable I had we were on the way again within an hour. Lesson learned. Other faut pas include ...not disengaging the motor mover, leaving its operating lever on the mechanism, not switching its power off and removing the switch key, forgetting to raise corner steadies, leaving a window/hatch open...😱🫣☹️
I prefer the Winteroff design of hitch it feels a lot more sturdy than the alko hitch and the way it locks down on the hitch, but it shows even the professionals can cock it up ,and fortunately you wasn't going fast
I always check properly with the winterhoff as we don't see them as often as the Alko, safe to say I will be checking no matter the hitch from now on. 🙈
Brave to make a video and admit such a dangerous mistake. You should really be checking the visual aid that tells you the caravan is on the towball correctly, that's why ALKO put it there. You'll also feel the click when the hitch goes on properly. Must be green to go. if you can't see green it's not on.
Having had to pass b+e the jockey wheel test is the only way I know how to hitch up so at least I got that out of it. Well done mark for being brave enough to admit a mistake and hopefully it saves even 1 near miss for someone else!
Hi Mark, Excellent video, and yes it can happen to the most experienced 👍 Maybe take some lessons from Jason 🤣🤣🤣 he never makes mistakes 🤫 Take care matey 👍
What a terrible coupling setup. Everything about this is frankly unsafe. So what's wrong? 1. There should be 2 crossed rated chains and shackles 2. Coupling design and ball is weak and not positive. An Australian Hayman Reece and coupling is stronger and you cannot put the coupling on and visually not lock it on 3. The jockey wheel reduces clearance 4. There is no place for fake plastic over the chassis 5 No ride sway bars. With these on the ball cannot come off. Overall a terrible design. Certainly not suitable for Australian conditions! I have a Jayco Basestation Outback. It's designed to carry 690 kg Max weight 3 ton.
Its completely different in Australia, I think a few new manufacturers that export to Australia send just the body as the uk chassis just wouldn't work. Nice to hear how its done in Australia 👍
The Australian coupling to the ball is better than what we use in the US, but we don't have any wear parts like those mentioned in the video. We also don't have nearly as many pins in our electrical connector (only have 7). Break away chains are mandatory here in the US, but shackle connections are very rare. We generally have gated hooks rated for the GVWR of the trailer attached to the end of the chains. Trailer brakes with breakaway protection are mandatory on trailers weighing more than 5,000 lbs. Jockey wheels are only on the lightest trailers and fold sideways onto the trailer long or cross member. Anything heavy enough that you can't pick up the tongue will have a landing pad rather than a wheel. We generally only use sway bars on trailers that weigh significantly more than the tow vehicle and really never on a trailer weighing less than 5,000 lbs. My 30' enclosed car hauler is often in the 14,000 lb range and I don't bother with the sway bar/weight distributing hitch unless I am expecting a good crosswind. Anything heavier than that and I move to a 5th wheel or gooseneck hitch. I had a class 5 receiver on my last truck (8,000 lb Ram 2500 diesel) which is rated for tongue weight up to 2,700 lbs/1,225 kg and a maximum trailer weight of 20,000 lbs/9,080 kg. Currently waiting for its replacement (8,500 lb Ford F450 Crew Cab) which will come from the factory setup to tow 24,200 lbs on a conventional hitch.
Total respect for posting this. No matter how experienced we are it just goes to show that we are all more than capable of making mistakes. Thank you.
Well done for owning up. Fortunately for me when I picked up our first caravan from the dealer after he had finished the handover he went through the hitching procedure with me about 5 times. As well as the jockey wheel test he instilled in me that the last thing I must do is actually get down and visually check that the tongue of the hitch is under the head of the ball. Takes seconds.
Thanks Andrew. 👍
one of the best safety advices in this matter thanks for posting this
🙂
I made this mistake last autumn, leaving the North York Moors site. The van stayed connected until we went over a speed bump. Cost me a new breakaway cable and jockey wheel assembly. The clue was, as you mentioned, that the ALKO stabiliser arm went down with less force than usual. This was because the pads were touching above the centre of the “equator” of the tow ball. Like you, I now raise the hitch by winding down the jockey wheel. Next error is to forget to raise the jockey wheel again….. Thanks for these videos btw, I enjoy them a lot.
Spooky - that's where I am currently sat watching this video!
A refreshing change to own up when you do something wrong, and better still, is when you
share your mistakes so others can
learn from them, thank you.
Experience is simply another name for ones mistakes.
Thanks Glen 👍
I might have missed something here, but don’t you guys use safety chains? In Australia we are required to have chains that link the van or trailer to the coupling on the towing vehicle…they are there to prevent the trailer from becoming completely detached from the vehicle in the event that the coupling has failed or not been connected properly
No nothing like US or Australia, a tiny breakaway cable, that literally breaks away lol.
@@thecaravanplace Wow…
Like your honesty Mark. Your video shows the importance of checking, double checking and even triple checking before setting off.
It does for sure. 👍
Congrats for honesty, I did it myself leaving for a holiday and lost 24hrs! I believe that if one does the caravan driving test (if it still exists) I have been told they require you to wind it right up and down on the jockey wheel, and then repeat it which I now do and have had no repeat embarrassment!
Thank you Mark for the good advice. I will now be using the jockey wheel test to make sure I’m correctly coupled
Just watched this Mark and completely get where you coming from. Whenever I collect a caravan for work from a customer I always in the nicest possible way ask them to not help in hitching up to insure I am very happy its correctly hooked on. Cheers, Oliver
Thanks Oliver 👍
Well done indeed for owning up to this, I agree with other comments. I had the happen to me some years ago when new to caravans and I have to say that it scared me significantly. I did the same checks as you did and the caravan seemed tight onto the car, leaving the site a bang and then the caravan coming off, hugely embarrassing to say the least, I did learn but never felt good hitching after that. My wife and I are returning to caravanning so this video has been super helpful and I cannot thank you enough for sharing, appreciated. Just goes to show one slip up in a thousand has consequences.
I've never done the jockey wheel thing. I line the car up, leave the handle that drops onto the tow ball down, lower the caravan onto the tow ball, then pull the handle up, you know it's definitely on as it drop in with a clonk! As you say the stabiliser it hard to push down if it's on properly, I have to put a lot of weight on it. Each to their own though, whatever makes you feel it's 100% on 👍
Thanks for sharing...
I've always just given it a good tug before and never had an issue. Hopefully it was just a 1 off, it makes it awkward when someone else has put it on the tow ball too, will make sure I do it myself from now on though. 👍
Big respect for owning up. I won't ever forget this now.
Thanks Claire
Thanks for posting & your honesty for owning up. Maybe you can do a video on the importance of tyre care & wheel nut torque as we still see van's at the side of the road with where the wheel has fell off.
Thanks,
Ian.
Did mine today. The number positions on my old plug were different to the number locations on my new plug. The photo I took was too confusing so....TOP TIP....I cut about an inch off the wires leaving the coloured cut ends in the old plug, then used this as a guide after stripping the ends of the wires. Worked a treat and when I connected it to my car, nothing blew up, which is always a bonus!
Thanks Bob, thats the best way to do 👍
Thanks for highlighting this Mark. If it can happen to you then it can happen to anyone.
Thanks 👍
Handy reminder about doing checks. Fair play to you Mark for owning up thanks for sharing
Thanks Paul. 👍
Thanks for your honest explaination Indeed i have been towing for many years ,and have had a few heart stopping moments Keep up the good work
Bad luck, a gold star for being honest. That's why safety chains are mandatory in Australia😎
I did the same last year. Now always do the jockey wheel check.
Fair play for talking about it
Another possible mistake I made this summer. I had done the Jockey wheel test and lifted and locked it properly. Drove about 200 miles of freeway without problem, when I got onto a worse road where they were repairing the road, then I heard a noise which I linked to the bad road but the noise remained and I was now out on a freeway and had to drive further 10 miles before there was an exit where I could stop and check. To my horror, I saw that the Jockey wheel had come loose and fallen down to make contact with the road surface. Fortunately the caravan did not unhook but the wheel was obviously destroyed by the friction.
Great tip 👍
Same thing happened to us and we did perform the jockey wheel test and it appeared to lift the car but we have since been told that the car has electronic suspension and was probably just that kicking in. Also, by raising the caravan nose it may just be that you are releasing the pressure and the car naturally ‘lifts’ . I would like to know if there is a sure fire way if checking it is hitched properly, other than seeing green on the alco system.
Here in Australia and in New Zealand Safety Chains are used for that exact reason. A Safety Chain attached correctly will stop the Caravan spearing off, potentially killing someone. Can you tell Me why they aren't mandatory in the UK?
We use breakaway cables which pull the breaks on, which could cause an accident really, as it will stop the caravan if it comes off the car, so anyone following coukd end up in the back of tge Caravan. Not sure why we don't use chains?
@@thecaravanplace Food for thought, maybe it's time to change. We also use a Breakaway but even with that safety Chains are still mandatory on all Caravans and Trailers in Australia and New Zealand
Good Post, Serves as a Good Reminder to everyone of all capabilities... experienced on not. - Fair to say "complacency" crept in with a dose of "distraction" during the task... Two possible reactions exist... 1. Your deny all knowledge and convince yourself you done everything correctly or blame someone else... (wrong reaction).... or the more favourable 2nd reaction.... "I made a mistake".... "I didn't do it correctly".... "sorry"... this is good as this leads to tighter controls again (for a period)... until the inevitable "complacency" rears its ugly head again. We ourselves are in control of this timeframe with self discipline.... do your checks as you say, get someone else to check for you too, get the kids to check it too (why not?).... stop at the gate of the site and check again (why not?)... when your stop for fuel or a coffee break... "check again"..... The alternative is not a healthy one as we all know... Check Check Check... then Check again. Well served reminder... thanks for posting.
Hadn’t the button popped up with the green ring showing? I thought that was one of the checks that it was connected properly.
I understand the basic issue of assuring the ball hitch is secure, but not the precise procedure. Are there two levers? It seemed like you were raising the caravan with the jockey wheel while the big (outside) lever was up. Anyhow, my caravan does not have that "Alco" lever.
You don't have safety chains in the UK? A DO 35 hitch reduces the chance of this happening as you see the tow pin lock into the plate...
No safety chains on caravans.
Just happened to me today.
Not a novice, and always do my checks! - It was connected.
I pulled out of my driveway .... went up the road ... did a u turn ... then parked outside my house - it was obviously connected. (yes lever down etc etc)
After finally getting family in the tow vehicle, I got less than 100 metres up the road and the caravan unhitched.
Scary! ... do the Jockey Wheel test! - I need a new caravan now - thank goodness that was the worst outcome
Oh no, not good
The UK doesn't run chains from the caravan to the vehicle, it's just the towball? In Oz, we must run two crossover chains from the van frame to the car to keep the van with the car if it comes off the ball for whatever reason. I suppose it speaks to the quality of roads to rely on one connection (that you can't really see under that coupling)! Trailers also use A frames, not a single bar (common in the US) because a single bar snaps too much.
Yes not sure why, could be down to the roads as you mentioned. 👍
I used to sell wood chippers and had one come off when I was leaving the depot in hungerfod town centre. These were American machines and had breakaway chains to stop them running away. Luckily the chains did their job otherwise someone could have been hurt. Only the rear of my vehicle suffered a light scuff as I was doing less than 10pm. Lesson learned . I now always do double, sometimes triple checks.
Every days a school day I guess , Thanks for these kind of hints n tips for newbie caravaners. 👍
Hope it helps 👍
I am a complete novice to caravanning, and was told to but an anti sway hitch, specifically an Alko hitchlock. I have seen notes saying not to tow with them on, so my question is can you tow the caravan with that hitchlock on?
I've done this unfortunately it's damn scary and such an amateur mistake but I was new to all of this and managed to get it back on I never wish it upon anyone who tows alone
Thanks for this, shows how easy it is to mess up even for a professional like you
I've always thought "how can you not tell its not on properly" and it was so easy to think it was. Extra 30 seconds check on the jockey wheel from now on. 👍
happened to me 1st time out/3 weeks ago, drove off pitch, then off site to right onto main road and bang, dropped it!! only damage was cable and bit of plastic on plug, lesson learned and now raise jockey wheel, still made me nervous on 2nd run out this weekend but all went well.
Yes its so easy, the jockey wheel will make sure its not coming off again.
Just happened to me today. There was a solid click of the hitch falling on ball. The Alko locked up perfect . Thank god for the break away cable. Activated straight away. What I'm going to do is hitch up again and a draw a tipex circle around the the tow hitch ball. Then when I look under the caravan , if there is a gap between the tippex and the hitch. I know it hasn't fallen all the way down. P.S. the break away damaged the two slots that the crimped end goes through. Any tips on the repair.
Oh it's not nice when it does. If the bottom ring on the handbrake is damaged it may just need to be replaced, as this does take a fair bit of strength to pull the breakaway cable. May be worth having it checked and see what the options are. 👍
When re connecting the terminals, do you need to isolate any power from the caravan or is there no power going to the wires in the tow cable please?
Hi Bob, yes no power as this comes from the car, so you can just reconnect the wires.
Slightly comforting that it's not just me. My local caravan storage facilty gaffer told me that he has this happen at least a couple of times a year as folk pull off site and over the speed hump at the exit, with the caravan slowly crossing the road and into the bushes. One wasn't so lucky, and he got onto the very busy main road dual carriageway, and it came off and smashed through the central reservation and turned over, completely destroying it. He hadn't even attached the brake cable apparently.
Don't be hard on yourself, no one is perfect no matter how much time we've done it 👍🏿
Excellent tutorial on Safety 👍👍
It’s easy done, forgetfulness, happens to the best of us, I forgot to pick mi wife up from the hairdressers. That was a few years ago now. It’s easy done you know.
Good vid and a useful reminder!
I hope you eventually remembered to pick her up 🤣🤣🤣
We saw the after effects of an incident like this, someone was doing a favour by towing a caravan to another site after the owner had changed their vehicle and as they pulled out of the site the caravan detached, ran into the back of the car, result was a big hole in front corner of caravan and mashed up front locker and a large crumple to rear corner and back of car and an awful lot of bad feeling all round as to who would pay.
That's awful. What a shame, hope they got it sorted and no bad feelings.
I picked mine up after a service in January and while I was paying the bill they very helpfully hitched the van to the car. I did my normal walk around checking windows, lockers, legs, 12v connector, breakaway cable and finally did the jockey wheel test. Don't you trust us? I used to fly aeroplanes and while you accept someone telling you of problems it's your own walk around that around when you take responsibility for what you are about to drive/fly. The traffic cop would not accept that someone else told you it was OK - and neither would the coroner...
One mistake, seven years ago when I drove off with the breakaway still attached. Broke the cable and pulled the brake shoes off their mountings. Whose fault? Mine. For carrying on unhitching when the really annoying bloke off the next pitch was "welcoming" me to the site or not asking him to leave me alone.
We have all been there. Good save though. Great content
Hi Mark, yes can happen, happened to me a couple of years ago, let someone else hitch for me and drove off, van came off and landed in a telegraph post, damage to front of van but if pedestrians had been there could have been much worse , l always double check, lesson learned
Its something I always double check is the worst thing. It would have made more sense if I hadn't pulled up as I always thought that did the job, but obviously not 🙈
Don't chit chat with folks when ya hooking up that's what causes the problems mate
I pull hitch handle up lower Van on check hitch handle snaps down & the 2 indicators are green on hitch head ,& do jockey wheel raise test & then yank it up & down 5or6 times don't put your back out though ! Stabilizer push down & on ,I suppose we could all buy ATS with green LED indicator but I have never had one on my vans .
No mention of the green button on the alko hitch indicating the coupling is on properly ,
I still would not trust the green button, if something has got inside the hitch it can show the green button, I will double check with the jockey wheel just to be sure.
Happened just 2days ago,partner coupled alone as have to move my car,all green signs moved and unhitched 300 yards away from the house.breakaway stoped the van good no one at the back of caravan. We were helped by openreach driver put back to the towbar and gone to nearby garage to recheck .
Drove slowly to caravan supplies shop to replace the breakaway and jockey wheel as it bent.guy checked also said ok and drove 2hrs to the site.was scared till now and plan to stop caravaning.will do jockey check when going home..tnx
I thought that if the green line was showing on the Alko pin, it meant the hitch had to be properly connected.
Not always, if some muck or something is inside the hitch, you can get a false green
I've bought a caravan and it was towed to a site by the seller as it turned out my Kia Sportage is slightly tow weight light so not only do I need to buy a new car in the spring, I'll need to hitch and tow for the first time in my life!. A bit nervous to say the least 😂
It will just follow you, you will be fine 👍. Just take it nice and easy, little wider on corners but nothing major, after 5 mins you can take your finger nails out of the steering wheel and relax.
Thanks for fessing up! A good reminder
Definitely worth making sure you do the jockey wheel check.
Happened to me last summer within 100 yds from home. Slight bump in the road, off it popped, and slowly drew up alongside me. Embarrasing wasn't in it. No damage apart from the electrics being totally destroyed, which ended the weekend trip right there and then. Absolutely gutted. Give me the old style hitch any day. NEVER had an issue with them. Find actually hitching up over and on the ball a very hit and miss excercise. Perhaps it's just me being a nugget. So easy to actually SEE on the old style hitch. Actually considering having it changed.
Theres a little indicator on the hitch that goes from red to green when the hitch is safe, do you not check that?
With the black cover its hard to see, but if I had done the jockey wheel test I would have known it wasnt straight away. The older red covers are much better to be able to see the green part.
When you wind it up, take the handbrake off as the hitch lip can still lift the car up.
I'm confused. You did exactly what I do when hitching up. Your check pulling up wasn't a mistake, surely, but a demonstration of why it isn't sufficient on its own? Good tip, though, and one I shall follow from now on. What I want to know is why, if the hitch system showed it up as being ok, why wasn't it?
It must have had something stuck inside the hitch, so gave all the correct signs but didn't actually latch on. I will possibly do another video on this. 👍
Hmmm. I lift the hitch handle up then the alco stabiliser up, when you lower the hitch onto the ball the hitch handle should close…….if not then it’s not engaged and the handle stays up. So don’t ever manually push the hitch handle down, let the weight of the van do it. Saves you the messing about with winding the hockey wheel back down and up.
Yep the black handle snapped down just like it hitched on. It was only the big handle that then felt like the friction pads needed changing that was a bit odd. But have had a fair few that have been like that when a pad needed replacing so thought it was just that.
Well done for showing us this Mark... great vid once again... just shows it can happen to anyone lol... best wishes Paolo and Rog x
Thanks
Been 'vanning 8 years now, all I've ever done is give the up/down shove. Jocky wheel test from now on. Thanks for the tip.
I've always just done that so we live and learn.
Not about towing but could you show me how to fit a sheet to a caravan with a fixed bed without removing the mattress 6:57
I will see if we can do this at some point 👍
We learn from our mistakes. Not much damage thankfully.
Yes every day is a school day.
Wow the hitch and tow bar look chincy, where are your safety chains???
No chains in the UK, we do have a tiny breakaway cable though 🙈
How to Caravan for Beginners. Hints and Tips. Places to see and things to do across Australia. Each video is authentic. Bryan and Karen have visited everything and place they share with the beginning caravaners. 30+ free videos - at this time! (If this changes, the video site will show any change before it happens. Enjoy. www.youtube.com/@efozz1
Thanks Bryan
Done 70k plus towing never a prob use jockey wheel if it raises tow vehicle then it's safely on simples.
Why in the UK not have a safety chain like they have hear in New Zealand.
Iirc you need a breakaway chain if the trailer is unbraked, if the trailer (caravan) is braked then you use a breakaway cable (little red one in this video) which physically pulls the brakes on the caravan (as long as it’s attached properly and it has the correct end attachment)
Jockey wheel test on hitching up should always be done. No short cutting by hand pulling. Also why was the brake away cable round the tow bar and not in it’s dedicated hook point.
Whoa, I do it like that and went to check (so thanks for the comment) the caravan club (uk) show that some hitches have designated attachment points. Where they don’t exist they show the cable wrapped around the ball and clipped to the wire. The dealer showed me that way when I picked up my first van 4 years ago. I’m going to check my witter bar and see if there is an attachment. Thanks again
I've done this from day 1 after watching the trudigans
Green button on stabiliser indicates correct connection.
With the new black hitch you cant actually see the green indicator anymore. I'm definitely jockey wheel lift from now on.
@@thecaravanplace Thats madness - You cannot see a 'safety feature'. Bad design
Just goes to show there are two types of drivers, those that have pulled off with an unsafe hitch configuration and . . . . . . . . those that haven't done it .. . . . . yet!
Thanks for the post
It certainly does, all for the sake of 30 seconds and rushing.
Rather than humping the a frame…..its a better idea to raise the a frame by twisting the riser and watch the car rear rise…..my dealer showed me this trick eventually..
Fair play for admitting
It was so easy to do, so hopefully this will stop it from happening to someone else, so no choice really lol.
Understand what your saying but what about the pop up button on the hitch which tells you it's connected red and green. 🤔
With the black cover its a difficult one to see, with the old red cover you could see it really easy. Even if it shows green it could be something inside the hitch and be a false reading, I think the only real way to check is with the Jockey wheel.
Hi there Mark, I know how you felt. Exactly the same thing happened to me when leaving a pitch in Cornwall, took me ages to rewire the socket as it had pulled the wiring out. I'm now paranoid about hitching up.
George, I take it you didn’t check with the jockey wheel either? Just curious if anybody has done the jockey wheel test and still had the caravan come away
Just that jockey wheel check will make sure you are connected correctly 👍
@@paulefc1971 You're right......I didn't.
@@thecaravanplace I do now.
Handy tip thank you!!!
Well done admitting it just show can happen to anybody
I couldn't believe it, I was sure it was on ok. Will check properly from now on.
This happened to me. I was rushing. Thought yes that's ok, how wrong I was. A few miles down the road, after junctions and roundabouts I hit a nasty pothole. I can assure you there is nothing worse than checking your rear view mirror to see the caravan travelling in another direction. My heart was in my mouth. Was I going to kill someone? To be honest I haven't towed since. I know many will reply and say you are a fool and shouldn't tow. I have towed many vans, trailers and the like. I would have called myself competent. Unfortunately complacency kicked in. People need more education on towing before being let loose on the roads. Great vid for bringing this to peoples attention.......Oh by the way the break away cable worked as it should but only on one wheel. So check those brakes regular!!
Hi Fred, thanks for your comments, I think just taking time while hitching up is the key, do the jockey wheel test and you can be confident it won't come off the car then. 👍
Dont rely on the jacking up/car lifting check. I did and the coupling still detached. Now I always kneel down and visually check the ball is locked in place.
Took me a while to figure out why it had happened to me early in my towing career.
Basically, when I did the test and the car lifted it must have simply been rising on the suspension as the jockey wheel took up the weight.
My 20 year old van has an early Winterhof fitting without a telltale.
I had used a spring nose weight gauge to test the loading immediately before hooking on. Unknown to me it had triggered the ball lock and when I lowered the van onto the ball the clamp easily pushed down without any problem. However the ball had not located correctly into its socket.
Fortunately it was low speed, straight ahead, no traffic scenario. The cable applied the handbrake and after checking round and fitting the spare cable I had we were on the way again within an hour. Lesson learned.
Other faut pas include ...not disengaging the motor mover, leaving its operating lever on the mechanism, not switching its power off and removing the switch key, forgetting to raise corner steadies, leaving a window/hatch open...😱🫣☹️
always rewind the jockey wheel till you see the car rise with the caravan at least a couple of inches.
I prefer the Winteroff design of hitch it feels a lot more sturdy than the alko hitch and the way it locks down on the hitch, but it shows even the professionals can cock it up ,and fortunately you wasn't going fast
I always check properly with the winterhoff as we don't see them as often as the Alko, safe to say I will be checking no matter the hitch from now on. 🙈
Thanks for the tip
Fair play to you
We’ve all make mistakes. Nothing was damaged remember for future don’t fall on your sword.
I think we need the odd cock up to keep us on our toes lol.
Fair play mate would of been easy to cover it up respect 😃
I did think about keeping quiet lol.
You dozy sod thanks for the video much appreciated Phil from Bollington Cheshire
Thanks Phil
horrible caravan tow hitch design
I always do the jockey wheel lift test to check that it's lifting the car and I get my missus to confirm it. Never had a problem in 35 years.
In 22 years my 1971 sprite muskateer has never jumped of the back of my vauxhall senetor
Bad design arm shouldn't go down if its not on ball fully then they would be no mistake..
Brave to make a video and admit such a dangerous mistake. You should really be checking the visual aid that tells you the caravan is on the towball correctly, that's why ALKO put it there. You'll also feel the click when the hitch goes on properly. Must be green to go. if you can't see green it's not on.
Glad no damage done. (Up and down shove is asking for trouble as not enough force to ensure properly on)
What are you like?
Having had to pass b+e the jockey wheel test is the only way I know how to hitch up so at least I got that out of it. Well done mark for being brave enough to admit a mistake and hopefully it saves even 1 near miss for someone else!
Yes the way I was taught too 🙈.
Hi Mark,
Excellent video, and yes it can happen to the most experienced 👍
Maybe take some lessons from Jason 🤣🤣🤣 he never makes mistakes 🤫
Take care matey 👍
Thanks Lee&Lorrie Jason thought it was very funny 😄
Good video though.
Jeeez... I sat through seven and a half minutes to tell us something that could be said in a minute.
Done that before
So easy really. Jockey wheel check from now on 👍
Or get on your hands and knees and eye ball it. Take seconds.
Tch! "What AN Idiot."
What a terrible coupling setup. Everything about this is frankly unsafe.
So what's wrong?
1. There should be 2 crossed rated chains and shackles
2. Coupling design and ball is weak and not positive. An Australian Hayman Reece and coupling is stronger and you cannot put the coupling on and visually not lock it on
3. The jockey wheel reduces clearance
4. There is no place for fake plastic over the chassis
5 No ride sway bars. With these on the ball cannot come off.
Overall a terrible design. Certainly not suitable for Australian conditions!
I have a Jayco Basestation Outback. It's designed to carry 690 kg Max weight 3 ton.
Its completely different in Australia, I think a few new manufacturers that export to Australia send just the body as the uk chassis just wouldn't work. Nice to hear how its done in Australia 👍
Better stay in Australia then…..
The Australian coupling to the ball is better than what we use in the US, but we don't have any wear parts like those mentioned in the video. We also don't have nearly as many pins in our electrical connector (only have 7).
Break away chains are mandatory here in the US, but shackle connections are very rare. We generally have gated hooks rated for the GVWR of the trailer attached to the end of the chains. Trailer brakes with breakaway protection are mandatory on trailers weighing more than 5,000 lbs.
Jockey wheels are only on the lightest trailers and fold sideways onto the trailer long or cross member. Anything heavy enough that you can't pick up the tongue will have a landing pad rather than a wheel.
We generally only use sway bars on trailers that weigh significantly more than the tow vehicle and really never on a trailer weighing less than 5,000 lbs. My 30' enclosed car hauler is often in the 14,000 lb range and I don't bother with the sway bar/weight distributing hitch unless I am expecting a good crosswind. Anything heavier than that and I move to a 5th wheel or gooseneck hitch.
I had a class 5 receiver on my last truck (8,000 lb Ram 2500 diesel) which is rated for tongue weight up to 2,700 lbs/1,225 kg and a maximum trailer weight of 20,000 lbs/9,080 kg. Currently waiting for its replacement (8,500 lb Ford F450 Crew Cab) which will come from the factory setup to tow 24,200 lbs on a conventional hitch.