caravan braking?

[maggyd]

Our youngest has just bought a second hand caravan, he has noticed that when he comes to a halt the van pushes the car slightly, what causes this and how easy is it to remedy.

[Derek Uzzell]

There are two logical options.

 

1. There's nothing wrong with the caravan + car outfit. If that's the case, no remedy will be practical and your son will need to get used to the 'pushing' phenomenon you've described.

 

2. There is something wrong with the outfit that can be remedied.

 

Firstly, I'm going to suggest that your statement "he has noticed that when he comes to a halt the van pushes the car slightly" should read "he has noticed that AS HE IS COMING to a halt the van pushes the car slightly".

 

Caravans normally have an over-run braking system where, when the towing vehicle slows down, the caravan's natural inertia causes it to 'push' against the towing vehicle's tow-bar. This pushing action operates the caravan's brakes.

 

Caravan over-run brakes are operated by compressing the caravan's towing-coupling against a tension-device. When the tension device is compressed, the caravan's brakes are activated by a system of levers/cables that operate the brake-shoes in the caravan axle's brake-drums, slowing the caravan down. As the caravan slows, the compressive force on the tension device reduces and this, in turn, releases the deceleration force of the caravan's brakes.

 

In a perfectly designed, adjusted and maintained system, the caravan manufacturer will have calculated the appropriate forces required for the braking system and fitted a tension-device that will maximise braking efficiency and minimise the pushing effect on the towing vehicle, while the caravan owner will have matched the caravan to his/her car, loaded the caravan correctly, etc.

 

These links may be useful

 

http://www.caravantalk.co.uk/library/files/Beginners-Guide-To-Towing-Dynamics.pdf

 

http://www.caravantalk.co.uk/caravan-advice/new-to-caravanning/towing-a-caravan/the-basics

 

http://www.caravanclub.co.uk/media/968584/getting%20started%20guide.pdf

 

http://www.tourerinfo.co.uk/Caravan_Towing_Guide_080805.pdf

 

It's possible that, if your son is a total novice regarding caravan towing, he is being unnecessarilly concerned about this 'pushing' thing. Conversely, if the caravan is giving his car a serious push up the backside during braking to a halt (it all depends what "pushes the car slightly" really means!) there may be something wrong with the caravan's brakes and/or with the over-run braking system and/or its adjustment. The best thing would be for your son to get an experienced caravannner (perhaps someone at a caravan dealership) to test-drive his outfit and tell him whether it's behaving strangely or normally.

[maggyd]

Thanks for that comprehensive reply :-D I Googled the NUDGE last night and found some information for him about this apparently some nipple in the tow bar might need greasing or his pads in the Alco tow hitch could need looking at !! he is there now with his Dad doing a few jobs. We are x caravanner but never experienced this as we had newer vans, this one just needs some TLC, it was bought off our elder Son so we know that there isnt much wrong with it , but after a long trip to the south of France it does need a couple of things sorting.

 

thanks again maggyd.