How to hitch up your caravan

Hitching up your caravan is an important job, and one you’ll want to get right. It’s the only point that connects your van to your vehicle, and taking the time to do it correctly will ensure the safety of you, your caravan, and other road users.

So, we’ve made this guide to help you hitch and unhitch your caravan easily and safely.

Before you hitch up

There are a number of steps to complete before you begin physically attaching your caravan to your car. First, you’ll need to remove any security systems or locks that you have on the caravan – this includes hitch locks, wheel clamps, and other locking mechanisms.

You can then apply the caravan handbrake, chocking the wheels if your van is on a slope or uneven ground, and raise the corner steadies.

 Next, raise the nose of the caravan by winding the jockey wheel down. You can now reverse your towing vehicle towards the caravan, lining up and positioning your tow bar for an easy fit. You may want someone to help you do this, especially if it’s your first time.

Hitching up

You’re now ready to begin the process of connecting the car to the caravan. This should always begin with the breakaway cable – this cable activates the caravan’s handbrake if it were to somehow detach from the tow ball, so it’s an important safety feature.

You can now open the hitch handle and lower the nose of the caravan onto the tow ball until you feel the caravan connect. There should be a coloured indicator on the hitch to let you know that the caravan is connected properly.

To be certain that the caravan is connected, you should wind the jockey wheel down to lift the nose of the caravan. This should result in the back of the towing vehicle being lifted, with no indication that the towbar has detached.

You can now wind the caravan back down and stow away the jockey wheel, making sure that both the wheel clamp and winder are tight.

Then, connect the electrics by attaching the 13-pin power cable to the plug on your tow bar. Again, we’d recommend locating this before hand and practicing a few times to make the process easier.

With everything attached, ensure that your car handbrake is fully applied and engage the stabiliser if you have one, before releasing the caravan handbrake.

Final checks

Your caravan is now connected, and it’s time to make sure that everything is working properly. Ask someone for help checking the lights at the rear of your vehicle – engage the brakes, hazards, indicators, side lights, and reversing lights one at a time to make sure that each light is functioning. These lights should all be functioning on your towing vehicle, too.

You should then make sure that everything around your caravan is locked tightly and securely, including windows, doors, and service flaps. With that done, you’re ready to go.

Unhitching

The process for unhitching should be the same as hitching up in reverse:

  1. Apply your caravan’s handbrake.
  2. Disconnect the electrics.
  3. Release the jockey-wheel clamp, lower it a few inches from the floor, then unwind the wheel until it reaches the ground. You can then tighten the clamp.
  4. If you have a hitch stabiliser, lift the handle up as far as it will go.
  5. Hold the hitch handle up and wind the jockey wheel until the hitch detaches from the tow ball.
  6. Detach the breakaway cable.