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A friend started his journey towing his new caravan (not a novice caravanner) and within half a mile when he was going about 5 miles per hour as he was slowing to pass a busy car park exit, the van became detatched and hit the back of his car and veered sideways damaging the A frame.  He is insistent that he saw both green dots raised on his hitch and visually checked everything before driving away from home. 

The caravan repair shop man said to wind the jockey wheel down and watch to see the car rear end rising, even when the green dot is showing, and then it is firmly on.

We will be doing this every time we hook up now. 

Carol

Quote: Originally posted by Carolbay on 20/4/2011

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The caravan repair shop man said to wind the jockey wheel down and watch to see the car rear end rising, even when the green dot is showing, and then it is firmly on.

We will be doing this every time we hook up now. 

Carol

 

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Quote: Originally posted by andcow on 20/4/2011

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we saw someone do that leaving a campsite last year.  The car was bouncing all over the place as the owner was going far to fast over the grass and the caravan just bounced off the back of the car and continued on its own merry way for quite a distance.  It was near the exit and no damage was done but the owner looked very embarrassed!

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Hi, And he deserves to be!!, Thoughtless Idiot,, would expect that kind of driving from boy racers,but not from a caravaner towing van on a site,with total disregard for others around him, maybe he has learned a leason now.

The caravan detatching from OP at slow speed, cause could have been a worn down towball,or not fully engaged on the towball, if stabiliser locked down on top of towball you would still have the stabiliser indicators showing green(and the weight of van on towball could have been sufficient enough to move van, until driver had to brake, then the van would slide off towball and into back of the tow car), If that was the case, then the driver must have been a very good driver,for the van not to have come off at start of journey.( After hook up i tend to use jockey wheel to lift hitch to check that van is coupled correctly).

New towbar fitted to suit hitch so not likely to be that.  As suggested, possible lock down on top of ball and he is a careful driver.  Hope that posting about his accident will alert people who do not already know to do this jockey wheel check on rear suspension to now think about doing so and avoid this frightening event happening to them.

Carol

Greetings,

Not quite in the Detaching league (just yet) but guess who had a red face on Monday afternoon, trying to get the outfit out of the dedicated parking lot at the Services on the M5 with the jockey wheel most decidedly in the DOWN position!!!

Oooops!!!

Hi Chalkie56, It could have been the hitch was a little forward of towball and as hitch lowered to the towball it hit the locking leaver and activated the handle, giving a false indication of it being locked in position on the towball,even experienced vanner could get cought out ,especially if they get distracted,

saxso1, You may have been one the same site at the same time of the incident, He may not have had his brakeawy cable attached  at all, concidering the discription of the distance covered by the van,( And if he did Then he was flying out of the site, must have been in a hellava hurry), I have one soloyion for blokes like thet, ( Crush van,and car, preferabily with the Idiot of a driver in it.)and thats the soft option.