Why do caravans snake?

….and how to avoid it.

Caravan snaking happens when a tow car and caravan become out of sync with each other and veer side to side. This usually happens as a result of a sudden swerve, crosswinds or high speeds, though can also happen when a tyre blows or if the caravan is loaded incorrectly.

Snaking is relatively uncommon thankfully, but can cause serious accidents and major disruption to other road users.

Good towing practice is the first step to prevent snaking, and this begins even before you start the engine. Correctly loading your caravan is vital as one which is unevenly loaded is far more likely to sway. Make certain that the nose of the caravan isn’t overloaded.

Next, make sure your tyre pressures on both your tow car and caravan are at the right pressure. Check out our post on Caravan Tyres for more information about caravan loading.

Snaking can sometimes happen if a caravan is travelling at a high speed and is passed by a larger vehicle like a lorry causing crosswinds. Towing mirrors are therefore essential in alerting a driver to approaching vehicles so that they can slow down.

When it comes to speed, always tow within the legal limit. Don’t feel you need to reach the limit, and take into account weather conditions like rain or high winds.

Anti-snaking stabilisers are available, often attracting a discount on your caravan insurance if you use one. These devices automatically apply the caravan brakes if a snaking movement is detected and cost in the region of around £200.

Best Caravan Sites for Winter Escapes

For some, caravanning isn’t just for the spring and summer months. Exploring during the winter can bring a whole new dimension to touring; waking up to frosty mornings, discovering scenic winter wonderlands, and returning to cosy evenings in your caravan.

If you fancy some all year round caravanning, here are our top caravan sites to pitch up in.

Cornwall

Woodview Campsite in Cornwall is open all year and is located near Bude on the North Cornwall / Devon border.

The site features both hardstanding and grass pitches and have a newly refurbished shower block with under floor heating!

Explore the neighbouring National Trust beach of Sandymouth, or head over to the nearby South West coast path for a windswept walk.

Yorkshire

If golf and spa facilities tickle your fancy, Rudding Holiday Park near Harrogate in Yorkshire offers winter pitches with some added benefits.

Set in the grounds of Rudding Park Hotel with beautiful gardens and woodland, this award winning caravan site features an on-site pub and access to the hotel’s spa facilities and 18-hole golf course.

Grass and hardstanding pitches available throughout the year, including Christmas and New Year.

East Sussex

For a rural winter retreat, book some time at the adults-only quite site Idle Hours Owlsbury Park. Perfectly situated in Crowborough, this site is perfect for exploring the South Downs, and whilst shops, pubs and eateries are all within a mile, the site still maintains a secluded atmosphere.

Wales

Explore North Wales and stay at Islawrffordd Caravan Park, located at the southern end of Snowdonia National Park coastline in the village of Talybont.  

Islawrffordd boasts 75 fully serviced touring pitches, an indoor swimming pool, bar and restaurant, luxury shower blocks and direct access to the adjacent beach. And if that’s not enough, each pitch has its own TV connection the site’s own digital free-view network, so you can while away those long winter evenings.

Cumbria

Riverside Tourer Park in Millhouse, between Keswick and Carlisle, is an adult only caravan site, perfect for exploring the northern Lakes. The CL site is popular with Caravan Club members but also open to non-members.

Riverside is the perfect escape from it all, offering secluded hardstanding pitches, heated shower and toilet facilities, 4G and WiFi. What’s more, Riverside Touring Park is dog friendly.

Scotland

For spectacular highland scenery, try Castle Cary Holiday Park, just a short drive from Newton Stuart and Galloway Forest Park in South West Scotland.

This all year round site is located around a 16th-century baronial castle and features both hardstanding regular and super pitches. The on-site Lairds Inn offers a welcome retreat at the end of a cold winter’s day, and the heated pool is ideal if you fancy sheltering from the weather.

CaSSOA Member Spotlight - The Dorset Hideaway

We’d like to introduce you to one of our members, The Dorset Hideaway.

Based in West Dorset, near to Charmouth, Bridport and Broadchurch, Esther and Mike run their Gold award caravan storage site alongside a camping and glamping site.

Here’s our interview with The Dorset Hideaway, giving you an insight into the running of a caravan storage business.

How long have you been in operation: We opened in the summer of 2015, so will be coming up to our 4^th year this summer.

Have you always been in caravan storage: No. We became storage owners as a result of diversifying our former dairy farm into a campsite and glamping site.

What has been the biggest change in the caravan storage industry since you started?

The biggest change I’ve seen in caravanning in the last few years has been the number of people preferring not to tow anymore - young and old alike. They prefer to stay in an area for a season or two with someone else towing the van to & from storage or seasonal pitch sites and then the van being sited each time for them. They see the cost savings in downsizing their car and running costs and they tend to use their vans more as a result. 

Having an organisation like CaSSOA is helping to consolidate and regulate storage and make it more viable for both customer and business provider with more secure and better insured sites.

What do you find most challenging about caravan storage?

The most challenging thing is getting caravan owners to maintain their units. Once stored, they tend to forget they still need as much maintenance as when they’re in use. They need to be kept roadworthy for us to tow them in and out. Vans sitting up tend to get seized brakes and high spots on tyres like all things they are best used regularly! Thefts are a big issue for the industry but investing in CCTV and security are the best deterrents.

What do you like most about caravan storage?

For us, caravan storage means seeing lots of new faces on site, so getting to know a new family group is nice. It also uses an area on the farmyard to earn extra income from. 

We are a former dairy farming couple of 30 years. My husband’s family have farmed the Marshwood Vale for nearly 150 years! Diversifying has allowed us to keep our land but use it in a different way to earn an income. It has allowed us to stay and live out our later years in the area where we were born and have lived in for decades. It’s great to be able to share this stunning location with many thousands of people every year. With panoramic hills and fields as our backdrop, and the Jurassic coast less than 3 miles away, it’s no wonder people return year after year. 

We provide indoor and outdoor storage, caravan cleaning services, water, EHU in the storage areas, toilets, a site to stay on with fab award winning facilities, a spa with hot tub & sauna, and a fishing pond on site. We put up awnings for customers and we offer to fully set up the caravan for arrival so the only thing our customers have to do is take the beer/wine from the fridge and sit down in their warm caravan! We can even provide pet and babysitting services too! In addition, we have a petting farm and luxury glamping in 6m domes this year. 

What do you like to do in your spare time?

We love the great outdoors, so anything countryside or rural or animal related. We own a menagerie of animals, dogs, 6 cats, 2 miniature Shetland ponies, pigs, goats and chickens. We love gardening and visiting gardens. We have a shared love of history and music and try to go to the cinema and concerts as often as possible. That’s us!

For more information about The Dorset Hideaway, visit the CaSSOA site listing, or head direct to The Dorset Hideaway website.