Message Forums

Always keep looking in th emirror instead of twisting your head round.

If you can see the rear corners of your caravan in the mirrors then you are on the right track.

If all you can see are the side of the van then you are turning too tight.

Always try and line up so that too much tight manouvering isn't required (not always possible) but its the easiest way.

An dalways remember that when you want to make the caravan go left turn the wheel to the right and vise versa.

Practice makes perfect.

When you pull up to reverse your van into a spot, always try & have the rear of the van pointing in the right direction if possible. This can be achieved by driving in reasonably close to your target & then swinging the nose of the car away. Try also to reverse into your chosen spot with IT on the drivers side of your vehicle.

Looking out of your drivers window, watching the side'/rear of your van. Have someone standing on your nearside with your window down & instruct them to only alert you IF your going to HIT something. That way you continue quietly with the manouvre.

A tip to know which way to turn your steering wheel is to treat your caravan like a garage which you're trying to reverse into. This way you'll always correct the steering & once you get the feel of it you'll always do so at the right time. With practise it'll become second nature. Always try & reverse on tick over, there shouldn't be a requirement to have any excess revs on board with modern engines.

The caravan & caming club is running courses & are advertising them to be at the NEC birmingham for the caravan show in october. But, as has already been suggested, go to your local trading estate on a weekend & have a play. Set yourself some bays up & practise reversing into them, you'll get it with practise. It's like everything else in life, practise makes perfect.

I wish you well.

BB  

Firstly, get as close to  the straight back position as you can rather than try sharp reversing turns. Then try this method as taught to me by my HGV instructor.

Put one hand only on the bottom of the steering wheel, (palm down 6 o clock) and sit on the other hand rather than use both.( Same applies to go forward when manovering, but place your hand on top of the wheel 12 o clock).

As soon as you start moving, point your hand slightly in the directions you want the caravan tail to go,  once it is on course, steer opposite and then centre to bring the car and trailer back into line. Don't stop start as a slow continuous momentum plays a major part.

Finally, there is no shame in pulling straight if it goes wrong. Even the most experienced drivers have off days