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My wife and i have just purchased our first van, a 2001/2002 Elddis Aurora GTX, which we intend on towing with a TD4 Freelander. We intend on taking the van from West Lothian, Scotland to Dorest/Devon area in July.

What advice can you provide to make our first holiday smoooooth.

make a plan to stop over for a night if possible its a long drive from scotland to dorset or devon probley cotswold would be a good stop of 

make sure you load your caravan right and dont go above 60mph on motor way some go past you and you know they dont look safe

we all ways take food and plenty of soft  drinks and flask of coffee

have a good trip and enjoy caravanning

have a few weekends away local to home and get used to towing it before you go that far,there are sites not far away to begin with .lin water at east calder would get you used to back roads, or beecraigs from bathgate  end if youve never towed before as the big hill at linlithgow end needs you to know where to positian the van for the sharp bend before it.   and there is where i kkep mine at auchenbowie ,near stirling will give moterway practice.

as the previous threads say give yourself breaks and an overnight as it is a long tow.

ps i,m in livi.

myra

Hi Primy

Congratulations on your new purchase and welcome to the caravanning fraternity. I'm sure you'll have many happy hours in your new 'van.

I would advise that everything you do from loading up your van, the pre-journey checks, the journey itself, and on arrival, the setting up of your unit be carried out in a calm, patient manner. This way every aspect of the experience can be enjoyed even the more mundane jobs. Obviously if you have children in tow this calm outlook is easier said than done! lol

Good luck.

davie

Our last caravan was an Aurora, we loved her and only swapped her because we wanted a different layout.

Be sure to spend several local weekends in her before you go on a long trip, you need to get experience with towing, and setting her up so you can do it confidently and quickly. Also you need to decide what equipment you have forgotten/need so you can get it sorted before your main holiday. 

You also need to test everything so you know how it works so you don't have any unpleasant surprises on your main hols.

Good luck and have fun. 

 Hi Primy, all of the above is good advice,have a couple of weekends away first to get used to towing and your new van, on long trips 200 mls is enough in one day for

any driver,dont know if you both drive or not but spelling each other at the wheel cuts down tiredness. welcome to our world.

Quote: Originally posted by jjim on 20/1/2009

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 Hi Primy, all of the above is good advice,have a couple of weekends away first to get used to towing and your new van, on long trips 200 mls is enough in one day for

any driver,dont know if you both drive or not but spelling each other at the wheel cuts down tiredness. welcome to our world.

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Many good points have been made already.  Just to add a couple more:

Carefully check your route, and especially the 'non-motorway roads.  If you are not used to towing, some roads in Devon are not as good as you might think. An 'A' road in Devon is not necessarily caravan friendly e.g the A382 between Whiddon Down (A30) and Bovey Tracy (towards the A38) is 'single track' for some of the way (sometimes for half mile stretches) - meet a caravan coming the opposite way and someone might have some reversing to do.  Looking at a map it is not always possible to pick this up - find out from someone who has travelled the route - preferably a caravanner.

Don't rely upon a satnav as gospel - they don't pick routes with the caravanner in mind.

Travelling in a main holiday area at the peak holiday times, book the sites before you go.  Don't think you can get a pitch if you just turn up.  While this may still be possible on the continent, mainy in the less popular holiday destinations, it is much less likely that you will get a pitch on a decent site in the U.K.  It is estimated that less people will be going abroad for their holidays this year (including camping and caravanners), and that because of the 'credit crunch' it is likely that more will be turning to camping and caravanning for there main holidays.  Book your sites now.

Prepare in advance, and that way it will take out any stress factor.  But mainly, have a good time and enjoy caravanning.

Best wishes

I know this is an expense but given the age of the van.  It may be worth considering changing the tyres as this is recommended after 5-7 years.   The tread will be fine but the walls can age and weaken and blow out. 

Apart from that make sure you drive within your limits.  If you are an intercontinental hvg driver you may be able to drive from Scotland to Devon in one go if the furthest you drive is 5 miles to the local Tesco's then maybe you need to limit your driving time.  We once drove 530 miles towing in a single day we both tow but  Never again!!