It should go without saying, of course, that caravanning is a holiday. So it’s not supposed to be hard work! But sometimes, the towing part of the trip can seem a necessary labour either end of the fun part.
Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be this way. There are plenty of gizmos and gadgets on the market that can make towing a caravan less of a chore.
To help you make towing an enjoyable part of the holiday, I’m sharing a few of my favourite gadgets. These clever devices can make light work of towing and manoeuvring your tourer.
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Towing sat-nav
One of my most embarrassing towing moments was when I decided to take a short cut while returning a caravan to the storage site. Rather than taking my tried-and-tested A-road and motorway route, I thought that I would head across country.
Big mistake. I spotted a width restriction sign a bit too late and found myself towing towards a narrow bridge. I had to unhitch and manoeuvre the caravan to make a U-turn, with the help of a passing van driver.
All of this trouble could have been avoided if a) my brain had been in gear, or b) I had been using one of the best caravan sat navs.
The problem with trying to use regular sat-nav when you’re towing is that it doesn’t take into account the extra length and width of your caravan.
Those corner-cutting narrow lanes that most sat-navs seem to favour are an irritation in regular driving, but could lead to trouble when you’re towing a caravan.
But a towing-specific sat-nav won’t send you down tiny roads. For example, the TomTom GO Camper Max will avoid roads, bridges or tunnels unsuitable for the size of your car and caravan.
Importantly, it also allows you to set different profiles for different vehicles, so you won’t have to go the long way around on journeys when you don’t have your caravan with you.
Another one you could consider is the Garmin Camper 1095, which Practical Caravan’s editor, Sarah, uses. The judging panel at the Practical Caravan Awards 2025 picked it out as the best caravan gadget on the market.
These days, many of us will mirror our smartphones while driving. If that’s how you prefer to navigate, there are apps, such as CoPilot, that will calculate caravan-friendly routes based on your outfit’s dimensions.
At the time of writing, it’s available with a 14-day trial, so you can try before you buy, with versions for both Apple and Android phones.
Noseweight gauge
Although the 85% matching guideline is quite well known, some of us underestimate the importance of noseweight.
A good rule of thumb is that the noseweight should be 5-7% of the loaded weight of your caravan, provided this doesn’t exceed the maximum permitted download on the towball.
If the noseweight is too low, towing can feel vague and even unstable. If it is too high, the back of the vehicle might sag, with too little weight on the car’s front wheels.
Clearly, it’s not possible to judge noseweight by looking, which is why a noseweight gauge is so important.
You can buy a noseweight gauge from caravan accessory shops or online retailers.
I know from preparing tourers for the annual What Car? Tow Car Awards just how much the download on the towball can vary as we move the ballast around inside the caravan.
A good noseweight gauge, meeting the BS 7961 standard, is really a must-have for any caravanner, and gives peace of mind before any towing journey.
Milenco’s Precision Calibrated Noseweight Gauge meets the British standard and promises to be accurate to within 2kg.
Motor mover
Reversing a caravan onto a pitch is something many caravanners dislike having to do.
Agreed, it is a tricky skill at first, although it does become easier with practice (and perhaps some professional instruction).
Then fine-tuning the position of the caravan can take a bit of muscle if you decide to move the tourer after you have unhitched it from your tow car.
In this case, you can make life much easier with the best caravan motor mover. Instead of reversing onto a pitch, muttering under your breath and wishing nobody was watching, let the motor mover take the strain. Unhitch, grab the mover’s remote control and guide the caravan into position with ease.
There are all sorts of motor movers to choose from, at a wide range of price points. One of our favourites is the Towsure MoveMaster Caravan Mover. It’s easy to use and lighter than many others, so it will only put a small dent in your payload.
Once you’ve tried a motor mover, you’ll never want to go back to doing it the hard way!
Reversing camera on the caravan
Being able to see clearly what’s behind you is something we take for granted in regular driving. Simply look in the rear-view mirror or glance back over your shoulder. But when you’re towing, there’s a big white box in the way.
Now if you are caravanning with someone else for company, they can help you reverse safely. By standing behind and to the side of the caravan, but within the view of one of your towing mirrors, they can alert you if there’s any hidden hazard.
If you are a solo caravanner, a friendly neighbour or a site warden may be able to help you, but that’s not guaranteed. The solution is a reversing camera. Install the camera on the back of the caravan and mount the display on your dash or the rear-view mirror. Hey presto, you can see behind you. That pitch marker you were about to clobber? Spotted in good time.
A reversing camera really does make a difference, especially for solo caravanners. These devices are most useful when you are manoeuvring, but they add to your field of vision while towing out on the road, too. You might even receive a discount on your insurance premium after fitting a camera.
You’ll have a choice of wired or wireless systems. Personally, I much prefer a wireless system, where there’s no need to drill holes in your caravan.
Specialist companies such as Falcon Technology and Omni-Vue provide high-tech systems. Some benefit from professional installation, but many can be fitted by the user.
Once you have your gadgets, you can start thinking about setting off on tour – for those of you who will be embarking on a longer journey, don’t miss my tips on how to tow a caravan a long distance to help you stay safe on the road.
Lead image: Alamy
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