Only third time towing the ‘van and was intending to go to N.Yorks today or tomorrow but looks very breezy.

Ive read all the obvious things like keeping speed down, weight distribution, avoid motorways etc. but any experiences/advice welcome. Wind is forecast to be only 20mph in gusts which I assume is not too bad but how windy would it have to be before you say it’s too dangerous?

Car is a Saab 9-5 and caravan is a two person single axle.

Cheers

First time I towed our 1500kg caravan we were heading for the Derbyshire Peaks, on a really windy day. 50mph gusts. Ended up turning back, heading somewhere local.
I remember driving past a gap in the hedge & all of a second the van was at 30deg to the car. 😯
20mph you’d be fine.

The XCweather wind map is very handy Link

I have driven from Cumbria to Edinburgh in the 29-45mph zone up the M6 and it was absolutley fine. Our Adria Altea is very stable and well matched to our Golf.

The main thing is to drive slower and keep over to the left of your lane if lorries, vans or Range Rovers overtake, probably avoid overtaking too. Twisty A roads are generally fine

We went to N Wales in January once, in what you’d call pretty windy conditions although not exceptional. I was expecting it to be a nightmare but it was in reality not that bad. The van had a stabiliser on it, but even then it wasn’t the most stable van. Most of it was on the A55 though so no nearby hedges, and it was quite late so not many lorries.

I do try to avoid either overtaking or being overaken by lorries anyway.

Done many thousands of miles towing a caravan and only once have i had to pull off a motorway because of the high winds.Gusts of 20 mph should be no problem.
Take care on long descents as this is when the van is trying to push the car.
The worst vehicles for causing turbulence are car transporters so if overtaken by one let it pull away quickly.I find overtaking lorries uphill gives the least movement.

If you have stability protection on the car and the caravan is wired up properly (ie, the car knows it’s attached) then trust the computer to keep you straight and brake hard in a straight line if necessary if things feel like they’re getting out of control.

The “accelerate out of a snake” etc is advice from the 70’s.

The stability programme on the car will only help a bit if you skid. It won’t stop snaking because you’re not actually skidding. Modern vans have stability control that does actually stop snaking. It can also be retrofitted.

I’ve never had a problem. I’ve towed in moderate winds, just keep your speed down and I think you’ll be fine.