Towing humiliation...........

There is a knack to this touring caravan malarkey and I am still learning it. Our first day of our first trip away this year started so well. We had packed the van the day before and carefully checked nose weight, redistributing caravan contents as necessary to gain the 80 – 85 kg nose weight required.

Up early the following day, mountain bikes had been successfully loaded onto the roof rack, final bits and pieces crammed into the boot and we were away by 9am, where at the caravan storage site, we had the van hitched up and ready to go within twenty minutes of arrival. It was poetry in motion; a finally tuned, well oiled machine. Her indoors and I in harmony, each with our allocated jobs.

One of my jobs was to correctly hitch up the van. Everything went smoothly and in the correct order. I’d written a checklist for departure the night before. Good thinking eh? It included everything and I mean everything. From disengaging motor mover to taking off the handbrake; from making sure the alko secure hitch pin had popped to green to making sure the lights cable went over the top of the tow ball so it wouldn’t drag on the road. You see, thought of everything!

So, as I sat in my fluorescent safety vest on the crash barrier in the layby just south of Liskeard, I mused ruefully on how I had managed to overlook just one item on the list; the one that mentioned the lighting cable going over the top of the tow bar.

Lying at my feet an electrics cable, mortally wounded, its outer tough rubber casing worn through and several internal wires severed and frayed; a testimony to my stupidity.  The cable had dragged across the tarmac for thirty miles. The result? Sadly, cable carnage. The loss of all rear caravan lights only made aware to me by the flashing message on the onboard dash computer display - “WARNING – loss of left hand indicator lights”. That computer sure knows how to make an understatement.

The RAC man, Neil, was very cheerful. Whilst I berated myself, he kindly muttered phrases of solace “it happens to us all”; “you aren’t the first, you won’t be the last”. A true expert he was. He’d stripped the wires, added connectors and taped it all back to working order within 20 minutes of arrival. Sadly, my pride and ego took far longer to regain their composure. That being said, her indoors, who could have had a field day, remained uncannily silent on the matter; unnervingly chilled and relaxed, she didn’t mention it once.

 And whilst that worries the hell out of me, that night's sunset helped calm frayed nerves!