15
CARAVANANDTOWVEHICLE
Hitching the caravan to the tow vehicle
1. Ensure that the caravan is in a suitable
position, and secure with the handbrake
fullyon.
2. Fullyraiseallfourcornersteadies.
3. Shutandlockthecaravanexterior.
4. Gaugetheheightofthecar’stowballthen
raiseorlowertheheightofthecaravan’s
towing hitch to ensure that it is high
enoughtopassoveritcleanlyandnothit
thetowball.Rotatingthecaravan’sjockey
wheel handle can do this: Clockwise to
lower,anti-clockwisetoraise.
5. Theassistantshould positionthemselves
by the front near side of the caravan so
thattheycanextendanarmhorizontally
to indicate the position of the caravan’s
towinghitch.
6. Removethecar’stowballcoverandkeep
itinasecureplaceinthecar.
7. Slowlyreversethetowingvehicletowards
the caravan When reversing the towing
vehicletowardsthecaravanalwaysensure
that any pedestrians and your assistant
arevisibleatalltimes.
8. Whenreversingaimthetowballofthecar
directlyatthecaravantowinghitch.
9. When the car’s towball is as near to the
caravan’s towing hitch as possible fully
apply the car’s handbrake, turn off the
engineandleavethecarinrstgear(Park
or‘P’positionforautomatics).
10. Thenalpositioningshouldbecarriedout
bymanoeuvringbyhand.
11. Carefullyreleasethecaravan’shandbrake.
12. Manoeuvrethecaravan’stowhitchdirectly
overthetowingvehicle’stowball.Always
manoeuvrethevehiclebypushing/pulling
on the grab handles. When the caravan
is in the correct position fully apply the
handbrake.
13. Raisethehandleonthecaravantowhitch
untilitclicksandremainsatanangle.
14. Rotatethejockeywheelhandleclockwise
tolowerthehitchontothetowball.When
thetowhitchclicksandthehandledropsto
thehorizontalpositionitisengaged.The
hitchheadisttedwithavisualindicator
onthefrontradiustoshowwhetherornot
itisproperlyconnectedtothetowball.A
green band will show immediately below
theredindicatorbuttononthehitchhead
whenaproperconnectionhasbeenmade.
15. Connect secondary braking cable as per
theinstructionsintheprevioussection.
16. Testthatthehitchisnowfullyengagedby
slightlyraisingthecaravanhitchfromthe
car towball by winding the jockey wheel
handle anti-clockwise. The hitch should
not release from the car towball. Only
raisetherearofthecarenoughtocheck
thehitchisfullyengaged.
17. Turn the jockey wheel winding handle to
lowerthecaravan.Whenthewheelisfully
retracted,releasetheclampandraisethe
jockeywheeltotravelposition.
18. Oncethejockeywheelisintravelposition
and the wheel is located in the recess,
tightentheclampagain.
19. All caravans are tted with a single 13
pin lead. Where the connector for the
car does not match that of the caravan
an adaptor or replacement cable will
be required. Please ask your supplying
retailerfordetails.
Connect the lead to the receiving socket on
the towing vehicle ensuring there is enough
loosecableforcornering,butnottoomuchso
thatitcandragontheground.
20.Checkalltowingvehicleandcaravanroad
lights are working, and the operation of
thebrakelights.
21. Pick up any levelling pads or levelling
boards.
22.Fullyreleasethecaravanhandbrake.
23.Carryoutasecondcheckthatthehitchis
secureandthesecondarybrakingcableis
connected.
24.Adjustthe car’s driving mirrors fromthe
driving seat to ensure good rearward
visibility.