Bailey underlines importance of safe loading

TOWING stability expert Joss Darling has demonstrated the dangers of poor caravan loading.

Based on the Bailey stand at the NEC show this month, the University of Bath lecturer demonstrated, using the sort of running treadmill found in a fitness club, a model car and a trailer with moveable weights, how, as long as the bulk of the caravan’s payload is distributed over the axle, the outfit remains stable at speeds in excess of 60mph – even when subject to quite powerful lateral forces (i.e. an overtaking HGV or a sudden lane-change manoeuvre).

But when the payload is repositioned at the rear of the caravan, the outfit becomes ‘twitchy’ at much lower speeds, while at higher speeds, even a relatively modest lateral movement can trigger a pendulum effect which ends in a catastrophic ‘snake’.

Dr Darling said: "If you need to stow heavy objects like a big awning or a couple of cases of wine, then the place to put them is directly over the caravan’s axle."

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