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I've just looked at the Peterborough weather and the wind speed looks a little high, its our first trip and I'm scared that we shouldn't be towing in this wind?  Any advice or anything to put my mind at rest??

Thanks

What ever you do or where ever you go, always load your van with the weight down as low as possible, ie, heavy objects on the floor & right on TOP of the axle. That way, your car will only have to pull the van instead of carrying the weight. Ensure your tyres are good & at the correct pressure, Keep the van & its brakes well serviced. Always use a stabiliser.

Keep an eye on the road behind you so you know if, when & by what you're likely to be overtaken. never be intimidated into inreasing your road speed by following traffic, just drive at a speed comfortable to you. As long as you're within the speed limit of the road you're on, any following traffic has the options of staying there, overtaking or dropping back to a safe distance. 

Keep in mind that the majority of (legal) lorries are limited to 56 mph on motorways, 50mph on dual carriageways & 40mph on single carriageway roads, if you stay away from the 56mph up or down, you'll either be overtaken by most lorries on motorways or you'll have to overtake them as you catch them up, this you'll be perfectly happy to do as you gain towing experience & gain confidence. Same applies to the speeds on the other roads.

When being ovetaken by a lorry, just keep a little over to the left if you can & allow them to pass. I realise this'll invite comments from the anti lorry brigade on here but, I operate a lorry & have driven them close on 30 years, most of us are aware of the problems we can cause caravans when overtaking them & we prefer not to have to but caravans do tend to hover around our limit & lorries are at work with delivery times to try & meet.

One thing to keep in mind is this, make sure that you know you can make the outfit stop doing whatever it's doing at any one time. As long as you're confident you can then you'll know YOU are in full control & perfectly safe.

Where driving in high wind is concerned, keep an eye on the trees to see which way the wind is blowing, as you come up to a downhill or open section of road just trim your speed to maintain control & having kept an eye on the wind direction, you'll be ready to compensate for any gusting you encounter. Always make sure you're driving the outfit instead of it driving you & you'll be fine, after a few journeys, you'll be hapy to go anywhere without a second thought.

Stay safe

BB   

I am always worried I am going to slow, but if I go faster I feel as though I could have problems. 

What do lorry drivers think of a slow caravan, and driven by a woman.

I have had a biker shout into to my window when travelling at the speed limit on a small road going through a village !!!!!!! This has made me rather nervous

Quote: Originally posted by susan grant on 06/4/2007

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I am always worried I am going to slow, but if I go faster I feel as though I could have problems.

What do lorry drivers think of a slow caravan, and driven by a woman.

I have had a biker shout into to my window when travelling at the speed limit on a small road going through a village !!!!!!! This has made me rather nervous

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