We’ve taken the most popular vanning myths and busted them wide open with the help of our trusted RVing experts
We often see a lot of home remedies or misconceptions in emails from our readers, that’s why we’ve taken the top ten most common caravan myths and busted them wide open with the help of our technical experts – with over 100 years of technical experience, you’ll rest easy knowing you’re doing all the right stuff when it comes to van and tow vehicle maintenance.
1. “IT’S ILLEGAL TO USE UNRATED SHACKLES AND CHAINS WHILE TOWING”
“No, it’s not illegal to use unrated shackles, as currently there is no specific regulation for shackles for towing. There is an Australian Standard relating to shackles, however, it only relates to the use of shackles for lifting, not towing. It’s recommended that the use of shackles for towing comply with the Australian Standard. When purchasing shackles, look for known and trusted brands, i.e. Hayman Reese, which is what I use and recommend”.
2. “EVERY CARAVANNER MUST USE A WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION HITCH”
“No they don’t. A WDH is designed to do exactly that, distribute weight. It is only needed if the car and caravan combination look uneven. If everything is sitting nicely, you do not need a WDH and using one because someone else told you to will offer you nothing at all. Don’t be persuaded into buying one because someone tells you it’s an added safety feature or anything like that. They are not a mandatory item just because you have a caravan.”
3. “IF YOUR OLD DIESEL IS BLOWING SMOKE, IT’S TIME FOR A NEW ONE”
“This is a really common myth and the new car dealers would love it to be true but it’s false. The most common smoke we see out of a diesel is coloured black. Black smoke is created by a ratio of diesel to oxygen that is fuel rich. It can be caused by a few things; As a diesel gets older the fuel injection system starts to go out of tune; the injectors that used to spray like a good fly spray can eventually drop off to a spray more like a water pistol, because diesel is an oil it doesn’t burn easily and so it needs to be highly atomised to burn cleanly. Old injectors mean black smoke and these items are repairable. Excess diesel due to the injection pump going out of tune is another cause. Get it to your diesel expert to fine tune the fuel pump so the exhaust gases return to a clean diesel to oxygen ratio”.
4. “FLOGGING MY DIESEL ENGINE WILL HURT IT”
“It’s actually the opposite that’s true. Idling your diesel for long periods or driving it like its Sunday everyday will not help your diesel. I’ve heard it mentioned many times by customers that they feel they are hurting their diesel having to drive it loaded heavily, but it’s not a concern or problem really. Diesel engines have traditionally been used to live under hard working conditions, from water irrigators to generators and of course trucks and tractors. They would spend days, weeks or even a permanent life running under load. Putting a van on the back of your diesel is the best thing that can happen to it. A well serviced and looked after diesel that lives a life of towing should last as long as ever. Drive to the conditions and it will enjoy being flogged around Australia for many laps”.
5. “ALWAYS STORE YOUR VAN WITH EMPTY WATER TANKS”
“There are two schools of thought here and both are correct – full and empty. You can store your van with empty water tanks only if the drain plug is below the bottom level of the tank, allowing all the water to drain out. Most fresh water tanks have the drain plug higher than the base of the tank, so you will not succeed in truly emptying all of the water from your tank. This can cause algae to build up in the balance of water left in the tank, so unless your drain is below the base level of the tank I would store them full. Storing your van with the water tanks completely full limits the amount of air in the tank, helping to prevent the build-up of algae and other nasties. However, it’s imperative that the tanks are completely full, three quarters is not enough, as this allows space for oxygen and your tanks will develop unwanted growths. No matter which way you choose, it’s a must to flush your tanks prior to using your van again and I would run either a tank cleaner, bi-carb soda or vinegar for 24 hours prior to use”.
6. “ACCELERATING WILL CORRECT TRAILER SWAY”
“This one has been around since Noah was a lad. Once a caravan starts to sways, its building momentum. As it sways sideways, it’s actually moving faster than the car. If you accelerate, you’re literally giving the van more energy to play with – you’re giving it more momentum. If you provide more energy by accelerating, you’re feeding a monster more food – thus resulting in merely a much more spectacular range of movement. You should actually be doing the exact opposite. Instead of speeding up the car, let’s slow down the caravan. Manually apply the brakes on the caravan. It brings everything to a much safer and slower position. This is a common situation and reason to properly educate yourself on the functions of your brake controller. It’s also important that your travelling partner also knows, so they can assist you when you’re driving”.
EXPERTS BUST THESE MYTHS APART
Peter Robinson
ADVANTAGE CARAVAN REPAIRS
7. “YOU NEED TO GREASE YOUR TOW BALL”
“I know some people use grease, others use a plastic bag or carpet – however there is no need. The most important thing is that the coupling bolt is tensioned correctly to suit the tow ball. If this was a requirement, then a specific accessory would be readily available and on the market for this purpose and manufacturers of couplings and tow balls would list this and be selling them. I know many people do this, and you can please yourself as to whether you do or don’t. If you are going to use anything, I feel a small smear of grease is ample. Plastic bags and carpet were not designed to go between tow balls and tow couplings. Personally, I do not grease mine”.
Andrew Leimroth
BERRIMA DIESEL
8. “COMMON RAIL DIESELS ARE NOT MADE FOR TOWING CARAVANS”
“One of the funniest myths I’ve heard is this one. It can only be wrong because technology has allowed safer and more efficient towing with smaller diesels. Common rail diesels make a great towing engine. Whilst we will always remember our first love of diesels, formed by older 4.2L 6 cylinders, we can’t hide from the fact we are seeing good fuel economy returns and good towing ability out of smaller diesels. Most common rail tow rigs have smart transmissions coupled to them as well and that makes the trip even easier. Whilst the technology can be overwhelming, common rail diesels do offer an increased power to weight ability when towing whilst keeping fuel economy low”.
DAVID SLORACH
NORTHERN RV SERVICES
9. “THE MANUFACTURER’S COMPLIANCE PLATE IS THE LAST WORD”
“This is the last word, your compliance plate stipulates your ball weight, loading capacity as well as tare and gross. However, in a lot of cases you can get changes made to increase your payload from the general 300kg on a single axle and 400kg on a tandem axle. Most caravan manufacturers put the minimum carrying capacity on the compliance plate, but in a lot of cases this can be recompiled to increase your payload. You need to look at the chassis rating, axle ratings, spring ratings, Tyre ratings, brake drum size and safety chain rating and if a larger carrying capacity can be achieved. If you are able to legally increase your carrying capacity then this has to be signed off with the services of an engineer and then another compliance plate can be issued through your state transport authority. Please check with your local transport authority as this does vary from state to state, but is always better to travel legally than run the risk of being caught overload if something goes wrong”.
JOHN EGGENHUIZEN
GETABOUT TRAINING SERVICES
10. “YOU SHOULD LOOK TO HAVE NO MORE THAN 10% TOWBALL MASS”
The trailer mass should ideally be 10% of the caravan weight, this will make for the most ideal towing situation. Most Australian manufacturers will work on 7% to 15%, most European ones work on 5%. The problems come when people are over or under and attempt to balance that weight by overloading the front or back of the caravan – this will create a pendulum effect and lead to caravan sway. It’s a little bit of a balancing act – both too little and too much ball weight can result in the same thing, which is a poorly performing trailer that’s prone to sway. When you have too much ball weight, have a look at how you’ve loaded the van. Don’t carry too much in the front boot. The important thing is to do your homework. Make sure the caravan initially has a ball weight roughly 10% of the overall weight, and make sure this matches the maximum tow ball rating on your tow vehicle.