Hand at the bottom of the wheel, small inputs, a jackknife marker and four spotter signals. How to reverse a caravan onto a campsite stand, calmly.
Every caravan park in South Africa has the same evening show. A bakkie pulls up at a stand, stops, reverses, stops, pulls forward, reverses again. A small crowd gathers with their coffee. Someone's uncle wanders over to "help". The caravan ends up at an angle that no stand was ever designed for, and the driver quietly considers selling everything and taking up golf.
Reversing is the part of towing that people lie awake over. It is also the easiest part to fix, because the method is one sentence long.
This is post four in our weekly series built on Kampi Guides, the free library for first-time caravan renters. We have covered what you may tow, the drive itself and collecting the caravan from the owner. This week is how to reverse a caravan (without an audience). In Afrikaans: Karavaan agteruit ry.
Put one hand at the bottom of the steering wheel. Move that hand the way you want the back of the caravan to go. Hand to the left, the back of the caravan swings left. Hand to the right, it swings right.
That is the whole trick. The car's nose goes the opposite way, which is why it feels wrong for the first few minutes and then suddenly does not. Watch the caravan in the mirrors, not the bonnet.
"Everybody tries to work it out from the top of the wheel, and the top of the wheel lies to you," says JP Voogt, Kampi's founder. "Hand at the bottom, eyes in the mirrors. After three goes your brain stops arguing."
Two more things and you have the method. The caravan reacts a moment after you steer, and it keeps swinging after you stop. So steer a little, then wait and look. Once it is turning the way you want, take the lock off and follow it with the car. Hold the lock on and the angle keeps growing until it jackknifes.
Idle speed is enough. In a manual, slip the clutch and let it creep. In an automatic, ease off the brake. Move the wheel as little as you can get away with. Not sure? Stop, adjust the wheel while standing still, then creep again. It looks painfully slow and it is still the fastest way onto a stand.
Scan mirror to mirror. If the caravan starts to fill one mirror, its back end is swinging out on that side. Move your hand away from that mirror and it comes back into line. Cannot see what you need? Get out and look. Nobody thinks less of a driver for walking round the back.
The reverse lock matters because of how caravan brakes work. Overrun brakes apply when the caravan pushes on the coupling. Reversing pushes on the coupling the same way, so the brakes can come on against you. On some couplings a second person flips a lever at the hitch; on others it is built in. Ask the owner to show you yours at handover.
This is the best tip in the guide. Before you start, look in your mirror at the front corner of the caravan and choose something that comes into view just before the angle gets too sharp: the gas locker lid, say, or the edge of the front window. See it, stop, pull forward.
Never steer out of a jackknife with more lock. That is how the coupling meets the bumper.
There is no prize for finishing in one go. Two short reverses beat one long one that ends against a tree. Pulling forward is part of the method, not an admission of defeat.
Experienced towers use a spotter. The spotter stands to the side, where you can see them in a mirror, and walks with the caravan. Never behind it. Lose sight of them and you stop until you find them again.
Agree the signals before the car moves, because shouting through glass over a diesel does not work:
Four signals, nothing else. A running commentary helps nobody, and a husband-and-wife reversing team with no agreed signals is how a lot of caravan holidays start on a quiet note.
Reverse onto the stand as you arrive, from the access road, while you are fresh and before anything comes out of the car. Once the awning is up and the power cable is out, the caravan is stuck where it is. Aim the manoeuvre at open road or an empty stand rather than the neighbours' tent, so a mistake costs a pull-forward and not an apology.
Unhitching and pushing the last few metres is fine on flat, firm ground over a short distance. Chock both wheels, handbrake fully on, unplug the lights, take the weight off the coupling with the jockey wheel, then release it. Never push a caravan on a slope; overrun brakes can slacken if it rolls backwards.
If the reverse lock is engaged and the wheels still drag or lock, the brakes or linkage may be over-adjusted. That is an owner maintenance fault, not your driving. Stop and phone the owner before you force it.
An empty car park on a Sunday morning is the best towing school in the country. Two bags of charcoal mark a stand. Reverse into it from the left, then from the right, then straight back for a good distance. Get out and look after every attempt.
If you hold a Code EB licence, you have already reversed a combination into a marked bay for a K53 examiner. Our EB licence guide notes that the straight-line reverse is the part most candidates fail. You passed it. Nobody at a caravan park holds a clipboard.
"Half an hour in an empty shopping centre parking lot the Sunday before is worth more than any YouTube video," says JP. "The caravan park is not where you want to learn which way the wheel goes."
Is an automatic easier? Many towers find it easier, because it creeps at idle and both hands stay on the wheel. That is club and enthusiast consensus, not test data. A manual works fine with a light clutch and patience.
Can I use a reversing camera instead of mirrors? Regulation 204 names mirrors, not cameras. A camera shows what is directly behind you, which the mirrors cannot, so use it for that. You still steer by the mirrors.
Why does my caravan keep jackknifing? Almost always too much lock, held too long. Stop, pull forward until car and caravan are in line, and start again with a smaller input made earlier.
You have reversed your caravan more times than anyone. At handover, show the renter the reverse lock and watch them do one reverse in your driveway. And check your brake adjustment between bookings: a caravan that locks up going backwards gets reported as "it would not reverse onto the stand". The library's owner maintenance checklist has a driveway reverse test in its monthly list.
Next week: arriving at the campsite and setting up, in the order that means you only do it once. The full library:
Ready for the real thing? Find a caravan near you, and when you book, ask the owner whether they will watch you do one practice reverse at handover. Most will say yes.
Kampi Guides are general information, not legal advice. Check the regulations and your own vehicle's plate before you tow.