Do you take safety seriously when travelling with a caravan attached to your car?
I guess most well travelled caravanners would do. There are a lot of first time caravanners on the road in Australia since we had the COVID experience. We have spoken to quite a lot of ‘first timers’ on our travels.
John has been towing caravans of various sizes for some 50 years, so he knows a little
bit about what to do. He was telling me the other day he took his parents Viscount 21 foot caravan away on his honeymoon in 1972 when he and his late wife (Brenda) married. He towed it with his father’s Holden Premier 186S four on the floor to Port Macquarie. It was in 
the days when there was always a fuel strike happening every other day. Who remembers those days?
Well, anyway, he kinda knows how to tow you might say. On top of that he is super careful and cautious and very particular about safety. When you are on an open road travelling at 90-100klm per hr in a vehicle which weighs between 2000 to 3000 kg with 3000 kg behind you for eg; then safety has to be an absolute priority.
One safety factor we have is a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System. With modern tyre designs it is sometime difficult to see deflated tyres either on your tow vehicle or on your trailer or caravan.
Did you know a 30% under-deflated tyre can look like a fully inflated one?
Did you know that a 9PSI drop in tyre pressure can cause around a 4% increase in fuel consumption?
With the price of fuel going up constantly then it is dollar wise that you take note of your tyre pressures.
We run a tyre pressure monitoring system all the time. Especially with a tandem axle caravan the back axles are not always visible and if you get a puncture in a rear tyre of your caravan it could destroy not only the tyre but the rim as well. This can be a significant cost as well an inconvenience depending on where you are on your journey.
A real life story – We were in an overnight stop in Merredin WA and John was chatting to the van owner parked next to us. He had just been to South Australia and collected his new (secondhand) van. It was his very first van and was really excited about travelling around Australia. He asked John what the “things” were on our tyres. John explained that they were our Tyre Monitoring System.
He was quite dubious about the use of a tyre pressure monitoring system as he said he had never seen a caravan with a flat tyre.
- Side Note: this guy was heading to Toodyay Holiday Park where we were also be staying.
Dah dah! Guess what….
The guy from the park at Merredin that John was chatting to found us in our caravan at Toodyay Holiday Park when he arrived. He came knocking on our van to tell us what he had witnessed later that day……
“he and his wife were having a cuppa coffee in a little town between Merredin and Toodyay when he saw a car and van pull up with the back tyre and rim on the van totally destroyed ….. apparently the driver didn’t even know he had a flat.
Thankfully the guy then informed the driver about the tyre pressure monitoring system that he and John were chatting at Merridin. He was unaware of this safety device. Both parties apparently were then eager to order a set. We purchased ours from Safety Dave.
Do you run a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System in your vehicle?
Safety Dave’s TPMS is a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System which can extend tyre life, reduce driving risks and improve fuel efficiency.
It really is a small investment for your safety and inconvenience as well as the safety of others.