Biggest Beginner Mistakes Caravanners Make (And How to Avoid Them)

Every caravanner has a story about their first trip that makes them wince. The step that was left down. The antenna that got snapped off. The spectacular reversing disaster witnessed by an entire caravan park. These mistakes are so universal that experienced travellers don’t judge; they nod, laugh, and say “yep, done that.” Here are the classics, roughly in order of how likely you are to do them, and how to avoid each one.

1. Forgetting To Retract the Entry Step

This is the number one beginner mistake, and it’s so common that some manufacturers now fit auto-retracting steps as standard. The fold-down entry step sits low to the ground and is invisible from the driver’s seat. Drive away with it extended and it catches on the first gutter, speed bump, driveway lip, or uneven ground, ripping it off, bending it, or damaging the van’s floor where it mounts.

How to avoid it: Add “step up” to your departure checklist and physically check it during your walk-around. Some people put a sticker on the door handle or hang a tag on the steering wheel as a reminder. If your budget allows, an auto-retracting step ($200-500 fitted) eliminates the problem entirely.

2. Leaving the TV Antenna Up

The roof-mounted TV antenna goes up at camp for reception and down before travel. It’s designed to clear overhead obstructions when retracted and to catch them spectacularly when extended. Drive under a tree branch, a servo canopy, or a caravan park boom gate with the antenna up and you’ll snap it off, bend the mounting, or put a hole in the roof.

How to avoid it: Another checklist item. Look up at the roof during your walk-around. Some antennas have a reminder sticker near the crank handle; if yours doesn’t, add one.

3. Not Checking Tyre Pressures

Caravan tyres are under enormous load and typically smaller than tow vehicle tyres, which means they work harder. Underinflated tyres overheat, which causes blowouts. A blowout at 100km/h on a loaded caravan can cause a loss of control, damage the wheel arch, rip out wiring and plumbing, and in the worst case, cause a rollover. Caravan tyre blowouts are one of the most common roadside breakdowns in Australia, and almost all of them are preventable with a $15 tyre gauge.

How to avoid it: Check tyre pressures before every trip, cold (before driving), with a reliable gauge. Inflate to the tyre manufacturer’s recommended pressure for the load, not the van manufacturer’s sticker (these sometimes differ). Check the spare too. Replace caravan tyres every 5-7 years regardless of tread depth; rubber degrades with age and UV exposure.

4. Overloading the Van

Every caravan has a maximum loaded weight (ATM) displayed on the compliance plate. Exceeding it is illegal, voids your insurance, accelerates wear on every component (tyres, bearings, brakes, suspension, chassis), and makes the van dangerous to tow. The problem is that payload limits are often tighter than people expect. A van with an ATM of 2,500kg and a Tare of 2,000kg gives you 500kg for everything: water (200 litres = 200kg), gas (two 9kg bottles = 18kg+), and everything else you put in it. That leaves around 280kg for your entire life on the road. It fills up fast.

How to avoid it: Weigh your fully loaded van at a public weighbridge before your first trip. If you’re over, remove non-essential items. Be ruthless: do you really need the camp oven, the second set of sheets, and the toolbox with every socket size known to humanity?

5. Not Disconnecting the Power Cable

It sounds ridiculous. It is ridiculous. And yet, people drive away with the 15A power cable still plugged into the van and the park’s pedestal with impressive regularity. The result: ripped cable, damaged power inlet on the van, damaged pedestal, embarrassment, and a potential electrical hazard.

How to avoid it: Disconnect power last during pack-up (so you have lights and power as long as possible) and stow the cable immediately. “Disconnect power” should be in bold, underlined, and possibly highlighted on your departure checklist.

6. Driving Too Fast

Towing a caravan isn’t the same as driving a car. The vehicle is heavier, braking distances are longer, acceleration is slower, and stability is reduced. The legal speed limit for caravans is 100km/h in most states (some are 110km/h; check state-specific rules), but the safe speed is often lower than the legal limit, especially in crosswinds, on undulating roads, or on gravel.

How to avoid it: Slow down. 90-95km/h on highways is a good starting point. If the van starts to feel unstable or sway-prone, drop another 10km/h. Being 15 minutes late to camp is infinitely better than the alternative. Fuel consumption also improves significantly at lower speeds; 90km/h versus 110km/h can save 15-20% on fuel.

7. Reversing Without a Plan

Reversing a caravan is the single most stressful skill for beginners, and the most common source of caravan park arguments between couples. The problem isn’t that reversing is hard (it’s just practice); it’s that people attempt it without a plan, without communication, and often without patience.

How to avoid it: Always use a guide outside the vehicle. Agree on hand signals before you start (pointing directions, fist for stop). Go slowly. Make small corrections. If it’s going wrong, pull forward and start again. There’s no time limit. For your first few trips, book drive-through sites to avoid the issue entirely while you practice reversing in an empty car park.

8. Not Securing Cupboard Contents

The moment you hit a pothole or brake firmly, every item in the van tests whether its cupboard door actually holds. Factory-fitted magnetic catches are often inadequate. Drawers slide open. Pantry items avalanche onto the floor. The fridge door pops open and deposits your eggs and milk across the kitchen. On corrugated roads, the vibration is constant and relentless; anything that can rattle, shift, or fall will do exactly that.

How to avoid it: Test every cupboard and drawer by tugging it firmly. Replace any weak latches with push-button or roller catches ($3-8 each). Line every shelf and drawer with non-slip matting. Lock the fridge for travel. Secure open shelving with bungee cords. Consider this a pre-first-trip job, not an after-first-trip job.

9. Not Levelling the Van Properly

A caravan that’s noticeably off-level has a cascade of minor annoyances that compound into genuine frustration: the fridge struggles to maintain temperature (especially 3-way fridges, which rely on gravity flow), water pools in the shower instead of draining, you roll to one side of the bed, and cupboard doors either swing open or won’t close. It’s also harder on the van’s frame and suspension to be sitting twisted on uneven ground with the stabilisers jacked up unevenly.

How to avoid it: Level side-to-side before unhitching, using levelling ramps under the low-side wheels. Level front-to-back with the jockey wheel. Use a spirit level or phone app. Stabiliser legs are for stability (reducing rocking), not for lifting or levelling; don’t crank them until they lift a wheel.

10. Leaving the Awning Out in Wind

A caravan awning is essentially a large sail attached to your van. In calm conditions, it provides lovely shade. In a 40km/h wind gust, it becomes a destructive force that bends arms, tears fabric, rocks the van, and in extreme cases, rips the mounting rail off the van’s wall. Awning replacements cost $2,000-4,000+. A new mounting rail and wall repair costs more.

How to avoid it: If wind is forecast above 25-30km/h, don’t extend the awning. If wind picks up unexpectedly while the awning is out, retract it immediately, before it gets worse. Never leave an awning extended overnight unless conditions are dead calm and forecast to remain so. Always peg the awning legs when it’s extended, even in light wind, to prevent it catching a gust and wrapping over the roof.