allanandjean replied on 19/05/2021 08:50
Posted on 19/05/2021 08:50
We arrived at Wood Farm Charmouth on Monday and yesterday morning our neighbours hitched up to leave.
We had spoken briefly and as he left, I was standing outside my van, he waved and wished us a happy holiday.
As I turned away I heard a bang and looked around to see his van had detached and was rolling back towards the pitches.
I managed to push the rear to straighten it up and my mate managed to get the handbrake on.
As our heart rates subsided we noticed the breakaway cable was attached to the car but had not pulled on the handbrake.
It was the AL-KO type and the hook that attaches to the handbrake was now straight and had pulled out, distorting the fitting.
The guy was clearly shaken and said he had done the lift test so couldn’t see why it had detached.
Watching him hitch up I noticed he didn’t let the hitch “click” in place but pushed the handle down and maybe that, and simply forgetting the “lift test” explains what happened.
After a pause to gather himself we managed to thread the cable back in place and he departed.
So a very narrow escape for him, however I got a right telling off for attempting to stop a moving van rolling down a hill!!
We did laugh as my mate is a MHer and as he reached the rolling van pulled up the stabiliser handle NOT the handbrake, I was apparently shouting to him to put it on, which led to my wife thinking I was about to disappear under the escaping van.
I noticed last night there is a current thread on Caravan Talk which suggests this is not as rare as I would have thought.
. I was only going slowly over speed bumps on the private road exiting the site. I can only assume operator error. I 'always' do the wind the jockey wheel to lift the car exercise to ensure that all is ok; but, can I guarantee that on that occasion I did? Fortunately, the breakaway cable did what it should do and the 13 pin connection came apart and was able to be reconnected and no damage except to my pride. What is disturbing in the OP's post is that the Breakaway cable failed to operate the break. I hope the neighbour reported the incident to AL-KO for them to investigate. The lesson here is that if your are disturbed in your pre departure checks start again, I have a routine which I always follow: hitch ok (lift up on jockey wheel then secure jockey wheel ), stabilizer handle down (with resistance, if none there is something not right!), 13 pin connected, breakaway cable attached, steadies up, mover off wheels, lights, fridge on 12v, power off at control panel, all internal doors closed (including glass cover on hob), all external doors locked, hand break off. Then off you go.
allanandjean
Caravanner from Cornwall