7 Mistakes To Avoid On Your Next Caravan Trip
Are you planning to get out of the big smoke and head off on a road trip for the mid-year school holidays? There is nothing quite like the feeling of freedom you get when you head out on the road with the family with no alarm clock to wake up to, not having to check emails every five minutes and being able to leave the mobile turned off for most of the day.
Whenever you head out on the road, you can never be too prepared! That is exactly why we have come up with a list of things that you need to be mindful of when planning your next escape.
In this article, we won’t be looking at smaller mistakes such as forgetting to bring things like insect repellent or sunblock, we will be focusing on bigger, more important reminders that can potentially save you immensely.
So with this in mind, let’s take a look now at seven common mistakes you should avoid on your next caravan trip.
1). Choosing The Wrong Caravan
Your caravan is the centrepiece for all the fondest memories you make on your adventures. However, you need to be mindful of choosing the right caravan for your next road trip. You need to consider factors such as how many people you plan to travel with, how far you will be travelling, and what amenities are necessary for your road trip. For example, a camper van may not be the best option if you are travelling with the family.
2). Overloading Your Caravan
Overloading your caravan is probably THE mortal sin when it comes to caravan adventures. Before embarking on your next road trip, make sure you know the load capacity of your caravan. For example, you don’t really need to fill up your cupboard completely. Try to think smarter and be more practical with the items you bring with you that can potentially lead to overloading.
Remember that quite often, people do not include the water weight from the tanks or the gas bottles in their load capacity calculations! Make sure to clarify this beforehand.
3). Not Considering Load Distribution And Vehicle Weights
This is related to the mistake we mentioned previously. Load distribution is very important especially if you plan to put heavy items into the caravan. Part of this is considering the load of your car, as even cars have their own load limits especially if put together with a towable unit!
4). Forgetting To Test Run The Caravan
You arrive home with your new caravan, admire it in all its grandeur, load it up with all your travel essentials, but then you forget to take it for a test run. Taking a test run is important for you to understand if the caravan is in tip-top shape.
Sometimes, even a brand new caravan might have minor concerns here and there. Take the caravan around the block a few times or up the highway for a couple of kilometres or even to a local caravan park to familiarise yourself with the unit for the next trip.
5). Not Carrying Out Regular Servicing
Regular servicing is often forgotten by many caravan owners but this is something you should never forget to do. As part of your servicing, your dealership will examine things like your bearings, tyres, hitch, battery quality, suspension and more to make sure that your caravan is in top shape for your next trip. Make sure you schedule an appointment now!
6). Failing To Plan Your Travel Route In Advance
For any type of road trip, it’s very important for you to plan out your travel route not only to plan how you’ll reach your destination but also for any stops you need to make along the way. Consider accounting for backup routes just in case the original route you planned to take becomes unavailable under unexpected circumstances such as roadworks or floods.
You also need to make sure that the roads you travel on are big enough for a caravan so that you don’t end up in any tight squeezes, and that certain bridges and river crossings can also be safely negotiated.
7). Forgetting To Download Maps Beforehand
Just about everyone has GPS applications on their smartphones, but what if you lose service or reception? You need to make sure you have a backup prepared in case of events such as this especially if you’re going somewhere remote.
Final Thoughts
We hope that you have found this blog useful and that these tips and tricks help you to avoid these 7 common mistakes on your next caravan trip so you can enjoy a stress-free adventure full of fun and great memories.
If you are looking for the best caravans in Australia for your next big adventure, you can’t go past Retreat Caravans. Please check out our full range of caravans below, all carefully designed with you in mind:
