5 Best Mechanical Tips to Prepare Your Car & Caravan for Holidays

Preparation is vital, whether you've purchased a brand new caravan or take your trusted home away from home to the Australian outback every year. Even if you're an experienced road tripper, you may have forgotten necessary mechanical checks or must-pack essentials. Here is everything you need to consider when dusting off your caravan at the beginning of the holidays.

Pre-Holiday Preparations

Going on holiday is exciting. Few things beat the feeling of hitching up your caravan and hitting the road. Camping is a relaxing, tranquil time—as long as you have everything you need. The last thing you need is to break down miles from the campsite or arrive and discover you've forgotten your water container.

If your caravan has been closed for months, you will need to thoroughly check and clean it inside and out to prepare it for the holidays. You must also prepare your tow vehicle. Create a pre-departure checklist to make sure you sort everything before your getaway.

Give It a Spring Clean

Firstly, you need to dust off the cobwebs and give your caravan a proper spring clean. If you keep your caravan in storage or hidden away in your garage, you likely haven't opened the door since last summer. Your caravan will need thoroughly scrubbing, inside and outside. It's worth spending a day spring cleaning—you will thank yourself when you arrive at your destination.

• Clean the fridge with detergent and leave the door open to dry
• Scrub the kitchen, bathroom, toilet, and sinks
• Look for mildew in corners and crevices—it's bad for your health
• Air mattresses, cushions, and seating
• Wash and replace soft furnishings
• Check fly screens, skylight, and window seals

Develop a Setup and Down Routine

Depending on the type of caravan or camper, your setup and take-down routine could take anywhere from minutes to hours. We've all got memories of arguing about which pole goes where and asking each other, "But why isn't the caravan level?"

Nailing your routine before setting off on holiday could save a lot of time and stress. Moreover, it will prevent your holiday from getting off to a bad start. Even if your road trip only includes one destination, developing a setup routine is still a good idea.

The basics of your routine should include:

• Detaching your caravan, activating the handbrake and driving your vehicle
• Levelling and securing your caravan
• Connecting the caravan to electricity, gas, and water

In addition, prepare an efficient way to pack and unpack your camper. For instance, don't put the essentials at the bottom. Make sure heavier items don't crush food or fragile aspects.

Can Your Car Tow?

If you've never hitched a camper trailer or caravan to your car before, you might not know whether it's powerful enough to tow. Smaller engines, old cars, and electric vehicles may struggle to haul heavier weights. Check your manufacturer's recommendations for towing capacities before hitting the road.

Double-check that there are enough charging points along your route if you own an electric car. Towing a caravan will drain its battery a lot more quickly.

Mechanical Tips to Prepare Your Car and Caravan

Breaking down in the middle of your road trip is a sure-fire way to ruin your holiday. You must perform the necessary checks to ensure your car and caravan are roadworthy and reliable. If you're not confident with mechanics, ask a friend or family member to help.

Additionally, if your caravan or camper is old and requires a lot of repairs, it might be time to upgrade. Speak to our finance brokers about securing a loan for your new caravan.

Replace All Essential Fluids

Towing large camper trailers or caravans can put a lot of stress on your car, specifically the powertrain. To ensure the engine remains healthy, replace all the essential fluids and filters.

Firstly, change the engine oil. Your car owner's manual will detail the manufacturer's recommended oil specifications for towing heavy loads. Fit a new oil filter and washer when replacing engine oil.

Secondly, replace fluids in the transmission and cooling systems. Also, replace the air and fuel filters to help the engine run more efficiently and smoothly. You might also want to pack spares, especially if travelling to dustier areas.

Finally, fill the washer fluid bottle with clean water and screen cleaner. If you're hesitant to perform these mechanical checks, take your towing vehicle to a local garage.

Upgrade the Brakes

Towing a camper trailer or caravan puts a lot of pressure on the brakes. They have to work a lot harder than usual. Not only do your brake pads need to stop the weight of your car and caravan, but all the heavy holiday essentials you've packed tightly. Brakes are vital for your safety.

Before heading off, inspect the brake rotors, pads, and callipers. Plus, replace the brake fluid with high-quality fluid—particularly if you're travelling to hillier destinations with long, steep descents. Alternatively, you might consider replacing your brakes entirely.

Check the Condition of Your Tyres

Towing extra weight puts additional strain on your car's tyres, especially when venturing off the beaten track on rough terrain and gravel roads. You must assess your tread depth and tyre condition to ensure your car is safe to tow.

Check there is enough tread, no leaks, or debris stuck in the tread. Also, inspect your tyres' outer and inner sides for minor cuts and abrasions. If you can afford to do so, replacing all your tyres might be a good idea. Make sure all replacements are the same brand and variant for consistent stability.

Finally, inflate your tyres to the manufacturer's recommended pressures for towing vehicles. Soft terrain, like sand or mud, often requires lower tyre pressures for better traction and puncture prevention. You should pack a tyre gauge and portable compressor to re-inflate tyres when needed.

Perform the same maintenance checks on your caravan's tyres and spare wheels.

Check and Adjust Your Headlights

Even if you don't plan to do a lot of night driving, you need to inspect your headlights. The outback is notoriously dangerous in the early and late hours. Checking and adjusting headlights will ensure you can see properly.

Walk around the car and caravan (hitched up) to ensure headlights, high beams, indicators, and brake lights work correctly. Get someone to stand behind the caravan to check everything does its job properly.

Clean your headlights and adjust their position to ensure maximum visibility.

Replace the Battery

Getting stranded in the middle of nowhere with a flat battery is a quick way to ruin your holiday. Your car needs to work a lot harder to tow a caravan. Moreover, you might think nothing of re-inflating your airbed with your car battery. When camping for weeks on end, your car battery could very easily run flat, especially if it's old.

Car batteries lose performance over time. More so with modern vehicles that rely heavily on the electrical system. Fitting a new battery will offer peace of mind. It might also be worth bringing the old battery with you, just in case.

If you find yourself making a lot of expensive upgrades and repairs to your car, it might be time to replace it. Your vehicle has to work much harder than normal when towing a caravan, so you want it in the best possible shape. Speak to a car loan broker about whether it's time to invest in a new towing vehicle.

Packing the Essentials

Some people love packing for a holiday; others hate it. Packing can be exciting but stressful making sure you have everything you need. Caravans aren't particularly large. While you might have plenty of nooks and crannies for storage, you still need to pack efficiently and sensibly.

Caravan checklist:

• Spare wheel
• Hydraulic jack
• Wheel chocks
• Fire extinguisher and blanket
• Spare water containers
• Mains electrical extension lead
• Cooking equipment and appliances
• Full gas bottles
• Water hose

If you've purchased a used caravan, ensure it has all the essentials.

Car checklist:

• Spare wheel
• Spare bulbs for all lights
• Full tank of petrol and spare full jerry can
• Towing mirrors
• Extra coolant, oil, and brake fluid
• Printed maps and a GPS
• Toolkit

Personal checklist:

• Torches and headlamps
• Clothes
• Food and water
• First aid kit and prescription medication
• Fold up chairs and tables
• Sun cream, hats, and sunglasses
• Toiletries
• Electrical devices and charging cables
• Board games, a pack of cards, and books

Remember to restock the basics, like tins of food or cleaning equipment.

Where Are You Going?

Choosing your destination is a fun part of planning your holiday. However, you must also consider packing the right gear for your environment. Camping in the outback of the Northern Territory is vastly different from setting your caravan on the Gold Coast.

Double-check your chosen campsite has all the necessities—for instance, if your caravan doesn't have a toilet, make sure your campsite's facilities are up to scratch.

Ready for the Holidays

Camping holidays are fun, relaxing, and adventurous. Prepare your car and caravan properly for the chance to make excellent memories without breakdowns or forgotten essentials. If this is your first camping trip or you're considering buying a caravan, speak to our finance brokers about your options.