Top Gear On Caravanning

[CTCNetwork]

Hi,

Originally Posted by chow

its up to you how you spend our holidays bob if you want to live in a tin hutch with a chemical bog fair enough, what i hate about the bloody things is the chaos they cause on our roads, there should be a strict curfew on the towing of the things, say only bewtween 2200 and 0500 to protect the rest of us who wish to travel around the country without being subjected to the torture of caravan induced jams/holdups nomally because some pleb is towing with a car totally unsuitable for the task or one of the things has turned turtle and blocked the road. no doubt about it caravan infestation is one of the worst blights of motoring in britain in the sumer months.

I went down to Wiltshire on Sunday.. In a queue, like you are, and yes there was a tower ahead.
Funnyily enough the tower was getting further and further away...
Because the rest of us were being held up by some moron doing 40.
Who was followed by someone else who didn't want to overtake..
SO I think your opinion of "caravaners" is a little one-sided and incorrect and as pleb-like as you think..

Certainly, it takes a little more thought to get past someone towing, but then they are likely to be going at 50 wherever possible, the supposed max for towing on A roads..

Des. . .

[LankyTim]

Caravanners arn't doing anything illegal are they? If people have a problem with sharing the roads with them perhaps they should only drive at night if it gets them that angry.

I dont really think Clarkson and his hangers on have given a fair judgement on taking a caravan holiday, do you? You knew what was going to happen as soon as the programme started. You dont have to use a chemical toilet or an onboard caravan shower as the sites we use have shower and toilet blocks on site.

Ok, being held up by a caravan on an A road can be a pain, but its a fact of life. Like I said they are not illegal so either put up with it or catch a train.

[ivor940]

Hi, We towed a Monza 480CT for 7 years. We regularly checked for following traffic, and pulled in to let them past. The outfit could travel at 80mph ( where allowed) and we loaded the van correctly. The 2.0 Sierra Estate had enough power to not cause traffic blockages as we ran as near as possible to the speed limit bearing in mind the road conditions. We saw quite a few other mismatched, badly loaded outfits during those 7 years towing. We stopped caravanning when the 3 kids became teenagers and the van was too small. We also found traffic volumns ( not other caravans) meant journey times were too long and we passed the van on to a relative. We enjoyed many years of lovely holidays with the caravan. We had an old dog who was too old to leave in kennels when we started caravanning. At one stage we had 2 Golden Retrievers and 3 kids on holidays. We also were laid off for a period and having the caravan meant getting a holiday which would otherwise not have been possible. I think that Topgear was a bit unfair to most caravan users , but they do have an anti-caravan bias. I would agree with Alex that some people use a caravan without any concern for the correct towcar or van loading.

ivor940

[arcturus]

Hi, It's a mindset thing. We see a van on the road in front of us and we see red. Must get past. In fact a modern vehicle towing a van has to keep backing off to stay in speed limit. (Well when there are no speed cameras about) No more difficult to pass on A or B roads than a HGV (where would we be without them, especially when they're carrying our long awaited spare parts) Boy racers in their souped up T5's should have no trouble. On motorways what's the beef. Use the passing lane. Come on, there's room for everyone. George.

[RollingThunder]

C'mon folks - wheres your sense of humour?

TopGear is entertainment, not a documentary - just view everything in that light and you'll keep your blood pressure down I'm completely neutral re caravanning, and I found their exploits quite comical - as previously mentioned, Clarkson is renowned for his destructive behaviour (which made the Toyota HiLux pickup almost legendary remember) - and the caravan was just another obvious target.

It did highlight the difficulty of towing and manouvering a caravan though - and I'd echo the call for an additional trailer/caravan towing test.

[morsing]

Clarkson is still an arrogant idiot, have to agree with Badger-Bob on that. I actually watched the first half of Top Gear last night for the first time this year. I would watch it more often if they let him go.

[CTCNetwork]

Hi,

Indeed, the programme is entertainment...

Whats most entertaining is Clarksons Ford GT40.
Nearly a year old and he has yet to have a day of trouble-free motoring in the thing...

Says alot about ford's don't you think...

LOL...

Des. . .

Well I have to say, Hamish and I were in stiches last night - yes it can be a bit of a p*ss take, but I didn't take offence and I pull a horsebox regulary!!! with a discovery I might add! and I def pull over as soon as a queue appears behind me!

Oh I must get one of those message boards to pin to the back of my horse box LOL

Nat xx
www.chiptuninguk.com

[basher]

I have a huge despise of caravans, but this comes from people who don't load their units properly and are swaying all over the place, or people who use seriously underpowered vehicles and we all end up doing 15mph up the hills. People diectly behind who are not towing but don't overtake are just as annoying, as it makes it harder and harder the further back the line your are to overtake safely. I also tow a tandem axle trailer either with a Discovery TD5 or MB Sprinter, so I appreciate both sides of a story. i also think trailers and caravans should be taxed even if it is a nominal amount of £10 / year, it's all adding to the wear of the roads.

quite right, caravans should be subject to a nuisance tax they cause havoc amongst sane normal motorists with there antics, i reckon 500 quid a year would be reasonable, might make some these masochists think twice before venturing forth onto the highways and byways of this pleasant land and inflicting there miserable hobby on us