04-04-2025
Warning after Aussie couple's 'scary' caravan rollover just 50km from home
All it takes is a couple of seconds. One minute you're cruising down the road with your caravan in tow, eager to get to your holiday destination. The next, you're swerving across the lane, fiercely gripping your 4WD's steering wheel as your motor home flips onto its side and skids along the ground.
With close to one million caravan users in Australia, who on average travel almost 700km to get where they want to go, there are bound to be a few accidents along the way. While most are undoubtedly nerve-racking, rollovers can be particularly terrifying, with several travellers recently sharing details about their own 'scary' incidents on rural roads and paved highways.
Last week, a Victorian couple were returning after an 'amazing' 5,000km trip when their caravan rolled over just 50km from their house. Photos posted online show the pair's flipped van on the side of the Hume Highway, with the attached vehicle lifted off the ground and directly in the line of oncoming traffic.
'One side of the road had been resurfaced except the other side hadn't. All of a sudden the car felt weird, like someone took control of the steering wheel,' the local woman said.
'We just tried to keep straight, looked in the mirrors and the van was beside the car. Once it flipped that stopped the car from rolling. Only thing we can think is that the caravan wheel got caught on the edge of the raised asphalt (150mm)!'
The woman claimed they had their caravan and car weighed before they embarked on their trip, and had no other problems on corrugated, sand or gravel roads. 'We are so lucky that there were no other vehicles, let alone a semi-trailer coming along in the right lane,' she said.
In another incident, travellers Ian and Debbie were recently travelling through the outback when they were forced to swerve to avoid an oncoming car, causing their van to roll.
'A car came round the bend. I estimated he was doing probably at least 100km/h. I had about two seconds to react, to swerve to the right, and then started to lose control of the van, swerved to the left, trying to bring her back under control again,' Ian explained to Aussie manufacturer Zone RV.
When they finally came to a stop, the couple realised their van was on its side. Ian said their DO35 hitch had kept their 4WD upright, likely minimising the damage. After spending a few days in Alice Springs 'taping up the damage to make it water tight', the pair continued on their travels and slowly made their way home.
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Although caravanning rollovers are not as frequent as car accidents, the repercussions could 'mean your road trip could be severely delayed or even worse, cancelled,' Jason Plant, CEO of Caravan Trade and Industry Association Queensland (CTIAQ), told Yahoo News Australia.
Given the sheer volume of caravanners on the roads now, the propensity of accidents is actually 'really low', Luke Chippendale, with the Caravan Industry Association of Australia, explained.
Out of 223 caravan crashes in 2023, 14 involved rollovers, he told Yahoo. The rate is roughly between two to four [each year], Chippendale said, adding there is a 'greater risk from head-to-head or nose-to-tail incidents, which is generally from following too closely or not knowing your weight and speed'.
Rollovers can be prevented if drivers educate themselves about key issues before hitting the road, the experts insisted.
Gary Gardiner from Total Towing Setups, told Yahoo that while 'caravan rollovers or crashes are something we in the industry read or hear about from time-to-time', there's 'no one thing that could be pinpointed as the single cause'.
A multitude of factors can come into play, he said, including but not limited to the following:
Possible incorrect vehicle and caravan pairing
A poorly loaded caravan/too much weight
A lack of driver's skills in an emergency situation
Road and weather conditions
Using the correct towing equipment and understanding how it works
Servicing and maintaining the van and vehicle
A driver's inattention to others on the road
Gardiner explained that although an incorrectly loaded caravan 'doesn't necessarily cause a crash', it could exaggerate the amount of movement the van makes in response to the driver's reaction and therefore cause it to move more than it should.
'Generally speaking, towing a caravan can be quite simple and easy when all is going well, but when an emergency event occurs the driver may not have the skills or knowledge to know how to respond correctly, or quickly enough,' Gardiner said, adding he suggests to customers they take an accredited driving/towing course and have their van weighed by an expert.
Plant, CEO of CTIAQ, agreed, telling Yahoo speeding can also contribute to a loss of control and potentially result in a jackknife or overturn. 'Moreover, driving a tow vehicle which has low tyre pressure in both caravan and tow vehicles or a longer tow hitch overhang can lead to a lack of stability, increasing the risk of sway,' he said.
If a traveller flips their van, CTIAQ recommends the driver stay calm, turn off their engine if it's safe to do so, unbuckle their seatbelt and exit the vehicle. 'Once safely away from the vehicle, call emergency services to the scene to assist,' Plant said.
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