17/07/2025
Get your rig professionally weighed to see where the weight actually is and adjust it as needed. On Your Weigh
CARAVAN SWAY – WHAT TO DO – WHAT NOT TO DO – HOW TO HELP PREVENT IT.
Recent posts and comments on social media regarding caravan sway still cause concern.
Many still recommend accelerating to get out of a caravan sway situation. While there is some merit in the suggestion, unfortunately it is not practical nor safe in real life.
WHY?
1. There are no current vehicles towing caravans that I have come across that will have the acceleration to make a difference in the less than the 5 seconds you have to notice something is wrong, identify what is wrong and think of what to do about it, and IF accelerating, for the vehicle to accelerate enough to ‘pull the rig straight’ as people claim. After a max of 5 seconds, you are just along for the ride and your rig is out of control.
2. Speed is a major cause of caravan sway and the higher the speed the greater the chance of creating sway and the greater the severity of the sway will be. If accelerating and increasing speed there will be more inertia for you to try and stop and the speed of the sway will increase, dramatically making it far harder to stop and requiring a longer time, which you do not have.
In all my years researching caravan towing, after a caravan sway event, I have never heard the driver say, “The van was always swaying”.
The driver will usually say, “My van was stable until ………….”.
Just because you have not felt a sway does not mean it won’t happen, or you may be borderline. It may only take one or two things to come together before the sway starts.
It may be something as simple as Incorrectly loaded and a cross wind impacts the van. Going downhill and a truck passes etc. etc. I call it, “The perfect storm”.
WHAT TO DO.
1. PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE. Set your van up correctly in the first place.
2. Get your rig professionally weighed to see where the weight actually is and adjust as needed.
3. Load so that approximately 10% of the fully loaded caravan weight is on the tow hitch. This 10 % is recommended by the tow vehicle manufacturer, the caravan manufacturer, the tow hitch manufacturer, the caravan industry, the state and federal government and road safety experts.
4. Keep all heavy items placed low over the axles and DO NOT place heavy items at the extreme front or rear of your caravan. Do not place heavy items on the rear bumper. Even a couple of jerry cans will impact on the tow ball weight.
Why? - Think of a pendulum with heavy weights on the end like on a grandfather clock. The weight helps the pendulum maintain sway. Your van will pivot left and right, and up and down with the axles being the pivot point.
KEN’s TIP: - I have weighed many different vans, and the surprising thing is that on my 19.5 / 20 ft vans, just opening and closing the access door will change the tow ball weight by approx. 2 kgs. Try it yourself when you next get your van weighed.
5. Be aware of where the centre of gravity will be on your van. Too high and the van will tip left and right. Too far forward or back we have the pendulum mentioned above one of the major causes of sway.
6. Do not speed above 100kph. It is also law in two states, for very good reasons. Your van should, if set up correctly be able to travel safely at 100 kph. Anything above that you significantly increase the chances of and severity of sway.
7. Ensure your tyre pressures are to the correct and recommended pressures. Incorrect pressure can cause oversteer or understeer impacting on the vans cornering and recovery ability.
8. Be cautious of towing a new unloaded caravan home as ‘some’ may sway at low speeds due to them being designed to have ‘stuff’ loaded in the front boot and water in the tanks, increasing the tow ball weight. Without that weight, ‘some’ may be unstable at highway speeds.
9. DO NOT RELY ON AFTER MARKET ACCESSORIES. While I strongly recommend fitting electronic or physical anti sway technology. It would be foolish to rely on them to compensate for a poorly set up or loaded caravan and tow rig.
REMEMBER: - The towing companies still recover rolled caravans that have anti-sway technology fitted.
10. If you do experience sway, immediately apply the caravan brake override to apply the brakes on the caravan. This will assist slowing the van while the car maintains it’s speed, effectively stretching out the rig to pull the van back into line.
Once under control, slow and find a place to pull over to check your rig to see if a cause is evident.
That is why I always recommend that the caravan brake controller is within easy view of the driver and easily accessible by muscle memory. You may need it very quickly.
KEN’S TIP: -
FIX THE PROBLEM – NOT THE SYMPTOM.
Sway is usually the symptom of a poorly set up caravan towing rig and / or speed.
We can all blame potholes, cross winds, passing trucks and other things, but it still stands that if the rig is set up correctly, and driven correctly it should not sway to any great extent and it will recover quickly and safely.
This and more information on towing can be found in my book SAFE CARAVAN TOWING – THE MANUAL, available from the Truck Friendly web site in both E-Book and in a printed copy posted to all areas of Australia.
https://www.truckfriendly.com.au/safe-caravan-towing-the-manual/
Stay safe and do what you can to assist other drivers on our highways.
No matter what you drive or tow, remember RESPECT IS EARNED.
Cheers
Ken Wilson
Truck Friendly caravan road safety program
[email protected]
