caravans

[fast gt]

I know i will probibly cop it for this but oh well. Im sick of people who tow caravans on the open road and sit 20-30 kays below the limit there is no need for it and it is dangerous.This is the reason for this I went for a drive with my mate to willcania in his semi he let me drive to get expiriance ( i have my semi licence) i was going down a slight incline at about 95 when had to jump on the brakes hard to slow down for a caravan doing 80 lost all momentom for the hill and if i hit him it would have been the crazy truck drivers fault then had a chance to overtake and the idiot started to speed up ( by the way it wasnt just one there was about six doing the same thing) so i feel for truck drivers who have to put up with crap on the open roads all so morons can save a little bit of cash if your that tight you should stay home!

[pb02]

mate I agree!
I come across this sort of thing all the time as I drive to Moama from Melbourne every weekend. I don't mind most caravans that have adequate tow vehicles but so many are standard cars with dual axle vans that are too much for the standard family car to tow.

[whiskieboy]

Having Done many,many trips towing my campervan the biggest problem was people "having" to get Passed me, even though I was sitting over the speed limit, and then they would slow down. Or WOURSE they would brake suddenly, and nearly Always just before you go up a hill and yes we would Lose all momentum, just drove me crazy....(take shotgun out of car just in case)

[peedee]

If you read the NSW road rules when towing a trailer be it a box, boat or caravan behind your car your speed limit is supposed to be maximum of 80kph, even if on a freeway that allows 110kph, lots of people do not seem to know this and the coppers do not enforce it, so stop whingeing, most people do not whinge about trucks being limited to 100kph because it has been advertised for years and there are signs on the rear of the truck, when my van is on the road I will not be going over 80kph and will put a speed restriction notice on the back as well as a long load notice, as it will be towed by a V8 chrysler over 6 meters long. It would be capable of doing 110 kph but if anything goes wrong at that speed could be in deep shiRt, and I have driven trucks professionally and know all about impatient car drivers and being cut off to be left with no braking room.
peter

[LTDHO]

I think when towing a caravan it is the only time you should drive under the limit. They are big and can be very danerous.
Have you ever had one sway on you? Very scarey.
As long as they stay to the left, I don't care.

[Black XR6]

Id like to ask fast GT if he has ever towed a caravan?

[the_scotsman]

Yep, Im with Black XR6...

[max]

Originally Posted by fast gt

I know i will probibly cop it for this but oh well. Im sick of people who tow caravans on the open road and sit 20-30 kays below the limit there is no need for it and it is dangerous.This is the reason for this I went for a drive with my mate to willcania in his semi he let me drive to get expiriance ( i have my semi licence) i was going down a slight incline at about 95 when had to jump on the brakes hard to slow down for a caravan doing 80 lost all momentom for the hill and if i hit him it would have been the crazy truck drivers fault then had a chance to overtake and the idiot started to speed up ( by the way it wasnt just one there was about six doing the same thing) so i feel for truck drivers who have to put up with crap on the open roads all so morons can save a little bit of cash if your that tight you should stay home!

How's the semi driving experience aquisition going there? I suspect you might be getting some extra from some of these replies to your post. If you're going to be on the road in a B-double on a regular basis I hope I don't get in your way. Methinks your level of patience needs to be increased as part of the overall experience uptake. Also your sweeping statement is a bit of a tell-tale. 'Morons saving a little bit of cash'?? 'if your that tight you should stay at home'?? Some of these vans are $45K+ and are not cheap to haul. It is a matter of choice, lifestye and freedom. I hardly think its all about saving cash! Maybe with your impatient attitude it is YOU who should stay at home!

[vino3o2]

Originally Posted by LTDHO

As long as they stay to the left, I don't care.

I completly agree....If they consider other drivers then thats cool

[rapidxr6]

I just don't see the point of even buying a caravan these days, buggas to tow and expensive to maintain. Especially with the qaulity of some of the "camping trailers" and "camper-vans" that are on the market today.. BUT.. everyone has there own tastes...

[oyob2003]

I think you will find that in NSW if your van, camper van, box, or boat trailer is under a certain weight laden, you can do the signed speed limit, I cannot remember the weight now, but i have had highway patrol a few cars behind me while doing 100ks, I was towing a 350 kilo camper.

[Black XR6]

Not sure about that oyob2003. As far as I knew it was still 80km limit whilst towing. Even so, id wouldnt begrudge someone driving under the limit whilst towing. Who knows how much experience or confidence they have towing.

[Bluefreak]

Originally Posted by peedee

If you read the NSW road rules when towing a trailer be it a box, boat or caravan behind your car your speed limit is supposed to be maximum of 80kph, even if on a freeway that allows 110kph, lots of people do not seem to know this and the coppers do not enforce it, so stop whingeing, most people do not whinge about trucks being limited to 100kph because it has been advertised for years and there are signs on the rear of the truck, when my van is on the road I will not be going over 80kph and will put a speed restriction notice on the back as well as a long load notice, as it will be towed by a V8 chrysler over 6 meters long. It would be capable of doing 110 kph but if anything goes wrong at that speed could be in deep shiRt, and I have driven trucks professionally and know all about impatient car drivers and being cut off to be left with no braking room.
peter

Those rules weregiven up for a set of national towing guide lines in 1998. You can tow any trailer at the posted speed limit unless the vehicle manufacturers handbook states otherwise.

Towing regulations

[LUXO_8]

everything i'd have said has already been said....
personally if you dont have the patience to sit behind a caravan on the road, you shouldnt be driving........

[Bluefreak]

Originally Posted by max

How's the semi driving experience aquisition going there? I suspect you might be getting some extra from some of these replies to your post. If you're going to be on the road in a B-double on a regular basis I hope I don't get in your way. Methinks your level of patience needs to be increased as part of the overall experience uptake. Also your sweeping statement is a bit of a tell-tale. 'Morons saving a little bit of cash'?? 'if your that tight you should stay at home'?? Some of these vans are $45K+ and are not cheap to haul. It is a matter of choice, lifestye and freedom. I hardly think its all about saving cash! Maybe with your impatient attitude it is YOU who should stay at home!

When driving in NSW to the new driver fatigue regulations(heavy vehicles) and having to nominate where and when you will be stopping, before you even leave the depot, a caravan doing 70-80kph and being plain rude by not pulling over where opportunity arrises or speeds up where overtaking opportunities arrise, can mean a bloody big fine for the truck driver. That is where some of my frustration comes from with some of the "stupid" vanners. I must say that most i encounter are very aware that they are slower than the rest of the traffic and take the opportunity to allow others past.

[LUXO_8]

you will also find cars have a "sweet spot" where they will happily sit when towing a very large load like a caravan..... sometimes in some conditions, this sweet spot just happens to be around 80kph.... pushing past that and you can watch your fuel guage just drop.

(yes, i have towed a large 21ft caravan before behind my fairlane - was moving it for a friend...........
.it hapily sat at 85 - 90kph, pushing to 100 saw me just wasting fuel)

[gz1]

It's not the going slow that really gets me, they can sit on 80k all day long for all I care. it's the going slow where you can't overtake and then speeding up to well over 100 where the road opens up to double lanes. Had many instances of this happen even one bozo going at between 50-60 k's on a single lane double yellow lines strech, and then as soon as we hit the divided road he speeds up to 115k's. Watched him fade into the distance only to catch up to him again at the end of the divided road, single lane double yellows and yep. same bozo back on 60k's. (and yes he was towing a caravan).

[peedee]

I agree there has to be courtesy on both sides of the coin, the speed restriction still applies over 650kg,s which covers all or most vans that are not camper style, mine is only 16foot long but still goes 800+ kg,s and has to have it's own over ride braking system. I spent a number of years towing fully laden semi's prior to the introduction of B doubles,so I do know the difficulty with a double trailer combo, but it still does not give you the right to think you own the road,(that is the cowboy attitude that the industry is trying to stamp out),even though living and travelling around my area with both a freeway and a main highway, I still see the cowboys trying to push their way through,and then coming to a hill and being three abrest holding up the traffic.
As I say there just needs to be more courtesy out there on the roads, and some of the younger drivers need to ride in a large truck and see whats involved in contolling one even at low speeds in traffic, and there might not be so many of them squashed under 40-50 tonne of truck
peter
:monkes:

[blutura]

sorry, but I'm with the anti-caravan crew here.

where are all these courteous caravanners you guys are talking about? the ones that pull over and let people past when the opportunity arises? because they aren't around here.

i live at the sunshine coast, where every second caravan seems to be either coming to or going from, and almost every time i decide to head out and visit family and friends, i get stuck behind some clown with a caravan doing 80km/h. And I'm not talking about 80 on some multi-lane motorway where you can easily pass them, i'm talking about beautiful twisty single lane country roads that i'm dying to attack in my MR2, but can't because i'm stuck behind some old guy with a combover and a penchant for living in a fibreglass shoebox.

But its not just me, oh no, stuck behind me is another 15 cars, but there goes Mr Combover, passing 5 or 6 large driveways and rest zones, any of which he could have pulled over for a minute in and let everyone whose NOT on holidays, past. I mean, if he's driving across Australia at 80km/h, then stopping for a minute every now and again to let people past shouldn't bother him, he's obviously not in any rush.

Honestly, I can't believe how much flack the anti-caravanning squad is copping. I thought this was a forum of driving enthusiasts, not towing enthusiasts. :

[max]

Originally Posted by blutura

sorry, but I'm with the anti-caravan crew here.

where are all these courteous caravanners you guys are talking about? the ones that pull over and let people past when the opportunity arises? because they aren't around here.

i live at the sunshine coast, where every second caravan seems to be either coming to or going from, and almost every time i decide to head out and visit family and friends, i get stuck behind some clown with a caravan doing 80km/h. And I'm not talking about 80 on some multi-lane motorway where you can easily pass them, i'm talking about beautiful twisty single lane country roads that i'm dying to attack in my MR2, but can't because i'm stuck behind some old guy with a combover and a penchant for living in a fibreglass shoebox.

But its not just me, oh no, stuck behind me is another 15 cars, but there goes Mr Combover, passing 5 or 6 large driveways and rest zones, any of which he could have pulled over for a minute in and let everyone whose NOT on holidays, past. I mean, if he's driving across Australia at 80km/h, then stopping for a minute every now and again to let people past shouldn't bother him, he's obviously not in any rush.

Honestly, I can't believe how much flack the anti-caravanning squad is copping. I thought this was a forum of driving enthusiasts, not towing enthusiasts. :

Actually the post started with flack directed at the caravaners, being labeled morons and skin-flints. So far the anti-caravaners have simply had reality spelled out to them What, so everytime a car screams up behind a car towing a caravan, that driver should pull over to the side??? Er, that may not be too practical for the most part. Apart from that being hazardous for many reasons, while they may be in no rush, life IS only so long! If I go on any sort of trip, I anticipate the likelihood of delays of one sort or another, and where and when they occur, I live with it. If I want to fang out my hot little machine I will pick an appropriate road to do it. And what, the moment you choose to tow a van, you cease to be a driving enthusiast???

[chevypower]

I dont mind caravans at all, but yes, get a vehicle capable of towing the trailer with adequate speed, acceleration and stability (eg F250) use Hayman Reece stabilizer bars, have well calibrated electric brakes and there should be no reason for being a slug.

[Black XR6]

i'm talking about beautiful twisty single lane country roads that i'm dying to attack in my MR2, but can't because i'm stuck behind some old guy with a combover and a penchant for living in a fibreglass shoebox.

So your asking a guy towing 800kg's of van to speed upto or over the limit on "twisty country roads"? Your insane.

And how you say you would like to attack them. Maybe you need to read this thread more closely.

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=45157

[max]

Originally Posted by Black XR6

So your asking a guy towing 800kg's of van to speed upto or over the limit on "twisty country roads"? Your insane.

And how you say you would like to attack them. Maybe you need to read this thread more closely.

http://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=45157

I wholeheartedly agree! This entire notion that so called 'driving enthusiasts' lay first claim to the road as their very own speed track is bloody ridiculous!!
Everyone outa the way, I wanna go like the clappers!!! The road is for use by all and sundry. Some fast, some slow, depending on what it is and what the conditions are like. There are speed restrictions which govern up to set limits. You work down from those limits according to what the conditions are.

[Full Noise]

Caravans, hmmmm. Probably best that I leave my comments to myself here, although irresponsible drivers who tow caravans should be removed from their vehicles and bashed to the full extent of the law.

Cheers, Danny

[Full Noise]

A picture paints a thousand words.



Enough said.

Cheers, Danny

[Black XR6]

Dont get me wrong here. Just like every other demographic wether it be driving enthusiasts, people towing, P platers, general mum and pop drivers, hat drivers, whatever, there will always be those who do not do as they should.

But in all instances what are you going to do? Make the situation worse by attempting a dangerous overtake or jamming your nose up the backside of the other car? Driving is not supposed to be a funloving, fancy free drive in the country. Or atleast not only that.

Try being patient, understanding and if the other guy is doing the wrong thing, be more patient until a safe overtaking opportunity presents itself.

[fast gt]

i get impatiant cause as i said its dangerous to be doing 20ks below the limit on open roads and yes i have towed stuff with a car i was driving a nissan navara towing a suzuki sierra and had no trouble doing 110 and id say that weighs more then 800kg, i didnt see any real problems with fuel(oh thats right im using the right tools for the job) drove past high way patrol didnt even get a second look. So why is it that a fully loaded semi that wieghs 45t can do 100 but a person towing a caravan,boat or box trailer that all up may wiegh 2.5-3t if not more can only do 80 seems a bit strange to me. Again they have the right tools for the job. And when i drive the truck i dont think i own the road i just think people should do the posted speed limits! by the way i fly if i go on holliday

[merlin]

Originally Posted by blutura

i'm talking about beautiful twisty single lane country roads that i'm dying to attack in my MR2, but can't because i'm stuck behind some old guy with a combover and a penchant for living in a fibreglass shoebox.

I could say the same thing about your MR2. I've lost count of the amount of times I have been stuck behind a sports car whilst on the bike and just wanting to let loose but can't because they are too slow. HOWEVER I soon learnt (through experience) that this wasn't appropriate behaviour whilst on a public roadway - as someone else said the road is there to share, its not a racetrack (as much as we would all like it to be _2: )

Therefore I am reluctantly going to have to side with the caravaners - I too get the ИИИИs when they slow you down (particularly when driving between Sydney to Brisbane) but hey take a breath, relax and wait for the overtaking lane. Don't blame the caravaners, blame the governemnt for not providing dual lane roads or enough overtaking lanes. A single lane highway between two major cities in the year 2006 is disgusting...

[Black XR6]

Going 20k under the limit itself is not dangerous on the open road. What is dangerous is people who drive the open roads with half their attention on driving, the other half on other things because its the open road. Thus they come up behind a slower car and dont notice till its too late.

Even if these people "should" be going the speed limit it dosnt mean all will be. The speed limit is a limit on top speed. Generally not a limit all should be driving at at all times. Maybe its their first time towing. Maybe they dont feel safe doing those speeds. Maybe alot of things. We all argue speed dosnt kill, bad driving kills. Yet here we are talking about impatient drivers who cant wait to get around somebody.