Tips For Caravanning in the Wet

Tips For Caravanning in the Wet: From the Road to Your Destination

Although Australia is famous for its fine weather, storms can be both frequent and severe, and knowing how to navigate wet weather is an essential skill for any caravan owner. While many of the same rules for regular driving in the wet apply to towing a caravan, there are some extra precautions you must take to avoid an accident. In this article, we’ll take you through some of our top tips for caravanning in the wet so that you can stay safe on the road and ensure your caravan remains in good condition.

Pre-Departure Checks and Tests

 

Where The Rubber Meets the Road: Checking Your Tyres Before Departure

The most important step to ensuring safe travel in the wet is to keep your tyres in good condition. It goes without saying that you shouldn’t be towing a caravan with damaged tyres, as even small gouges or missing chunks of rubber can seriously impact your tyre’s performance and increase the chances of a blowout.

Before you set out, inspect your tyres for any visible damage that could put you at risk. The minimum acceptable tread depth on a tyre is 1.5mm, but you will want much more if you know you’ll be travelling in areas with high rainfall, especially around the Top End during the wet season. It is also a good idea to check your tyre pressure before departing and inflate any that are below the recommended levels to ensure maximum grip with the road surface.

It is far better to be safe than sorry when it comes to your tyres, so if your tyres are visibly damaged or perished, or if you’re just unsure about their condition, delay your journey for an extra day and get them replaced – it’s a small cost when compared to that of having an accident.

Stopping and Seeing: Checking Your Brakes and Lights

One of the greatest dangers of travelling in the wet is that it takes your vehicle longer to stop, and when combined with reduced traction, it is easy to have an accident in situations where you usually wouldn’t if it was dry.

Do a thorough visual inspection of your tow vehicle’s brakes and test them at low speeds in wet weather, if possible, as it is your vehicle that is ultimately in control of your caravan. Most caravans in Australia now have separate brake controllers fitted, which will need to be tested as well. Learn how your caravan tows and brakes in both dry and wet weather so that you can understand the difference before you hit the open road.

Another crucial consideration when towing in wet weather is visibility, which can be greatly reduced even in small storms and showers. Check your car and caravan’s taillights to ensure they both work and are bright enough to be seen in low-light conditions. Your car headlights should also be in good working condition but remember to only use them on a dim or fog light setting in wet or foggy weather to reduce glare and avoid blinding other motorists.

Keep The Rain Out: Don’t Forget To Check Your Hatches and Seals

There’s nothing worse than springing a leak. Allowing water ingress can severely compromise the comfort and lifespan of your caravan, often leading to rotting frames and fixtures in old stick and tin models, which is why it’s essential to stop it from entering in the first place.

Unless your caravan is old or in very poor condition, the main points of water ingress will be around your doors, windows and hatches. Checking your seals (and everything else we’ve mentioned so far) should be part of your routine maintenance inspections, but it is especially important if rain is forecast or you’ll be travelling in wet climates.

Get up close to every door, window and hatch on your caravan and check for loose or perished seals that could lead to water ingress. If it is possible and safe to do so, it is also recommended to check the seals on roof openings (such as your air conditioner or extractor fan), as these are often overlooked.

Once you’ve done a visual inspection, put your seals to the test: spending a couple of minutes with a pressure washer or powerful hose is a great way to simulate a storm and will let you quickly find out whether or not your caravan is waterproof. Make sure to get up close with the nozzle and spray any openings from multiple angles, as you never know how the rain will come in!

Driving In the Wet

Everything we’ve covered so far concerns things you should be doing before you hit the road, but to travel in wet weather, you’ll need to know how to drive in wet weather.


Slow Down and Take Your Time

Speed is the biggest cause of accidents in any weather, but the risk of hydroplaning or losing traction means you need to exercise extra caution when the rain starts to fall. Hydroplaning occurs when surface water is present, causing your tyres to plane along the water rather than gripping the road beneath.

If you’re towing a caravan, you should be travelling below the speed limit anyway, but a good rule of thumb is to reduce your speed by an extra 10-2okm/h in wet conditions to minimise the chances of hydroplaning. It is also crucial to avoid braking suddenly or making sudden turns: brake before corners, not as you travel around them, and keep your movements slow and controlled to avoid spinning out or having your caravan fishtail behind your vehicle.

Though it might add extra time to your trip, it is far better to be safe than sorry. Besides, you’re on holiday – what’s the rush?

Beware of Standing Water

It is not uncommon for roads to experience surface flooding after a heavy storm, leading to large puddles or pools of standing water. Even if you have driven a road a thousand times, be cautious when driving through standing water: proceed through slowly or avoid it where possible, as you never know if there is a deep pothole or debris beneath the surface that could damage your car or caravan.

Always Check Before You Cross a Ford

Whether on a well-sealed road or an outback track, you’ll occasionally need to cross a ford. Fords can vary immensely depending on your location, the weather and the time of the year, and can range from a few centimetres deep to a metre or more.

Before crossing any ford, you should stop, exit your vehicle and carefully inspect its depth, ideally by walking the crossing yourself or measuring it with a large stick or rod. When doing so, you also want to check for any boulders, logs or other debris that might have been washed down in the rain and are lurking beneath the surface.

If the ford is clear and not too deep, drive through slowly and steadily to avoid creating a bow wave that could wash over the front of your vehicle or caravan. Experienced off-road drivers and owners that have spent a lot of time in the outback will be able to navigate deep fords more confidently, but it is generally advisable not to cross if the water level goes more than halfway up your caravan’s tyres.

Avoid Crossing Flowing Water

There are some places in Australia (such as the Ivanhoe Crossing) where it is necessary to cross flowing water, either along a causeway or a well-built road. As a general rule, however, you should avoid crossing any flowing water, especially fast-flowing water.

Again, experienced off-road drivers or those who spend a lot of time in the outback may feel comfortable doing so in places where they know the crossing and the conditions, but for most regular caravan owners, it is not worth the risk. Even slow-flowing rivers can be deceptively swift, and there is simply no way of knowing what is being carried by the current, and rocks, logs or other debris can easily damage your caravan or even sweep it away.

If In Doubt, Wait It Out

Hopefully, you now feel better prepared to handle any nasty weather that comes your way with confidence and peace of mind. But remember, when it comes to the safety of yourself and other road users, there’s no need to rush. If the weather is particularly bad or you don’t feel comfortable driving in heavy wind and rain, wait it out – your destination isn’t going anywhere, and there’s no road trip worth putting yourself at risk for.

For more guides on owning, operating and maintaining your Regent caravan, head to our Caravan Tips page for more insight into our caravans and caravanning. Happy travels!