Do you know how much your caravan weighs? Loading up for another fantastic journey to or from the Gold Coast can either be fun and relaxing, or a real nail-biting experience.
In my years of towing trailers and caravans, there have been times when I am fully engaged in enjoying the road trip, and other times where I have been driving with clenched fists on the steering wheel! What makes the difference?
My most successful trips are when I am fully confident in knowing my caravan and tow car are properly serviced and maintained. If I know there is a fault somewhere, something like worn brakes, a malfunctioning light, or even just running low on fuel, my whole level of enjoyment changes from a happy occasion to a time of stress.
What things make the trip fun and relaxing?
Start with simple items like tyre pressures and general tyre condition. You can have these items checked professionally or do it yourself.
Mechanically, a caravan is simple, but because a caravan is used now and then, instead of daily, some things can be left needing maintenance.
Other items to keep in check are: brakes, bearings, suspension, indicator lights including blinkers, brake lights, marker lights and tail lights. What about the number plate light? This is a legal requirement and a roaming police cruiser might just pull you over and warn you to have this fixed!
Is your tow hitch fully serviced? Are the safety chains properly fitted with the correct tension on the shakles? Is the towball properly secured? And what about your overall weight and balance?
The benefits of knowing how much your caravan and tow vehicle weighs includes: complying with the traffic laws; satisfying insurance in case of any claim; satisfying warranty claims; vehicle and caravan safety and stability. When you know your caravan and towing vehicle are fully within weight limitations, you have piece of mind that you will be able to manage sudden braking emergencies. You will also experience a more comfortable ride along the way.
A towing rig within manufacturer’s weight limits will lower fuel consumption compared to an overweight outfit. Wear and tear on tyres, suspension, transmission, axles, and the engine will all be minimised and safety will be within limits. It is not worth the risk of overloading.
Our professional weighing service completely removes the guessing of your vehicle’s weights. It is recommended to weigh your caravan and tow vehicle in a way that exactly replicates your regular caravan excursion. Load up the food, the dogs, extra camping luxuries, the fridges and the tools. We can help you locate the best places to store your items. It may be convenient for your tools and annexe to be stored in the caravan’s front boot or the tool box on the draw bar, but if this overloads your tow ball mass or TBM, then you will need to relocate these items. You may have to put them on the floor behind the front seat or your ute, or over the axles of the caravan, but at least you will know exactly what works to keep your caravan within maximum weight and balance limits.
After your consultation with our caravan weight and balance check, you will learn if you are within the caravan’s weight limits, or if you over a little, then you will know how much you can add or remove.
Our caravan weighing service can assist you in many locations throughout Queensland’s Gold Coast City. We can visit you at your home if you have a suitable and level location to set up our caravan weighing scales. We can also arrange to meet you at a suitable location. Our Worongary base means we can travel to most locations from Ormeau through Paradise Point and Labrador all the way to Tweed Heads and even beyond.
How to have the perfect caravan trip.
Many caravanners like to use a checklist. If you only travel once or twice a year, then a caravan checklist is a great way to make sure everything is fully checked before you hit the road in your caravan. You can check items like: folding down the TV aerial; checking doors and hatches are secure; ensure items are stowed properly inside and will not fall out of cupboards; ensure only lighter items like tea-towels are stored in overhead cupboards; check the towing hitch items; check brake lights, and that the brake controller is operating the caravan’s brakes. The list can be as long as you want.
Daily caravan trippers, like when you are on an extended travelling caravan trip from town to town, will either need a much smaller list, or be in such a routine that you do not need a checklist any longer.
My favourite final check is just to walk around the caravan and towing vehicle or ute just when I think everything is ready to go. You might do this at a quiet location just before you get on the road, or before you leave your driveway.
This is when the house is locked up, everything you want is onboard, and you are just about to leave.
Walk around without anything distracting you. Casually look at the towing hitch, check the details like a locking pin on the towball, chains, breakaway cable, and the trailer lights connection. Sometimes you find something like a loose fitting or even something you overlooked earlier.
Stand on something high, like a picnic table or walk away from your caravan so you can see most things on the roof of your caravan. Check for open roof vents, TV aerial storage, and anything that might be loose. Sometimes a tree branch may have fallen on the roof of your caravan. You will need to remove that loose branch because it could be a hazard on the highway.
Look at the tyres, how do they appear? Are the appearing normally inflated or is one of the tyres looking a little flat? Are the wheels in line, or is one not exactly lined up with the wheel in front or behind? This could indicate axle alignment or suspension faults.
Is the caravan level? Looking at the caravan from front to back, does it appear level, or is it pointing downwards towards the front? This will indicate improper hitch adjustments or overloading towards the front.
Observing these things at a time when you are about to leave increases your awareness. If everything is checked, then you know when something appears out of place. I always check the appearance and ‘squareness’ of everything before I leave and during my trip. When I stop for a break, I will look back at the caravan from a distance and see how it appears. If it is slightly lop sided, it may just be sitting in a hollow on one side, or it may have collapsed suspension or a deflating tyre. The load inside may have shifted and needs adjusting, or it may just be an illusion. The important thing is that you are learning and noticing the difference between how the caravan and tow vehicle should appear and what might stand out, indicating a possible fault.
One of my biggest mistakes!
I wonder if others have this problem. I am ready to go, all loaded, checked, engine running and arrive at the first turn. Then I think to myself, which way do I need to turn? OUCH! I have been so focused on getting on the journey, that I completely forgot to determine the first part of the roadmap.
If you go to the same place all the time, or it is somewhere you know extremely well, then you probably do not need to work on the exact directions. Just like driving to work, you never need to plan the route. If you are taking your caravan to somewhere you have never been before, then a thorough rehearsal of the travel route is essential.
It is now one of the first things I check. Usually the night before I will plot the destination in my GPS or smartphone. This helps knowing how far I can plan to travel, where to stop for rests and fuel if necessary and the all-important first step of knowing what is the very first turn to take!!! This might sound obvious, but we have had several occasions where we are just leaving on our road trip and we straight-away need to find a place to stop and punch in the GPS coordinates.
All these things lead to piece of mind. Travelling is so much fun and if you eliminate every possible challenge before you depart, then your next caravan trip will be fun and relaxing!
Do you need to have your caravan weighed?
Gold Coast Mobile Weigh can visit you at your location or you can meet us somewhere suitable for a complete mobile weighing service.
We offer a full consultation to advise you of your caravan weights, or a quick weight check. Sometimes you just want to know what your caravan and ute weighs when you are getting ready to go. You might be on the road already and want a quick caravan weight and balance check. Call us and find when we can make a time to meet up with you.
Our service area is throughout Queensland’s Gold Coast. We can meet you in locations including: Tamborine Mountain, Guanaba, Oxenford, Upper Coomera, Southport, Arundel, Worongary, Mudgeeraba, Reedy Creek and Burleigh Waters. Call right now!
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