Will it fit - Maths question?

[RoscoMac]

How can I work out for a car and caravan will fit around a corner??? Without trying it! Story is, my folks store their caravan at the bottom of the Garden, which is accessed via a rear access lane. However, the lane has a 90 degree bend half way along. They currently get their 19 foot (shipping length) caravan and 15foot Volvo car around the bend ok. But the question is, would we get a 24 foot shipping length van around? I don't have a mover, so don't want to try it and get it stuck (it is also on a hill!). I can measure the width of the lane before and after the bend - it is wide enough for 2 vehicles to pass.

Any Thoughts how I can work this out before trying (and failing!)?

Ceers

Ross.

[The Hooded Claw]

Ross,

it WILL fit round mate ... BUT... only if you reverse it round You'll get a much tighter turn by reversing than you would by going forwards

You'll be "pivioting" at the "A" frame & not using the Front wheels of the Volvo to make the turn

[JIM C]

Make a scale drawing of the area and a card out of the car and caravan to try it out.
jim

[4 forty]

tape a piece of thin wood or similar 5 feet in length to the rear or your 19 foot caravan,positioning it vertically giving you a simulation of a 24 foot one,

[andy_d]

and please Do get someone to video it when you take the van down there the first time
no, not for us to giggle at, I cant reverse a caravan as well as id like,, i suck at it, but to help YOU see what you cant see from the drivers seat, try it with the smaller van, video it, and preferably with the suggested wooden extention arms

[lyron]

keith has the right idea reverse it round you will find it a lot easier than going in forward..

[Clifford Pope]

You can get a vehicle and trailer round a tighter corner if you disconnect at the critical point and then realign the towing vehicle from a different angle and reconnect.
A vehicle with a tow ball on the front bumper helps too.

[ChrisE]

This isn't a simple maths problem but an easy modelling problem.

I am hoping that the lane is very quiet at some time of day & I know this sounds stupid but a little DIY skill & a triangle of timber that replicates the dimensions of the towball and the two outside caravan wheel locations with the third piece of wood as the axle & even the crudest cut out loose screwed wood wheels of even say 6" diameter (or those very cheap trolley wheels sold by Toolstation:
http://www.toolstation.com/documents...7980&submit=Go
would, if tied to the car towball, let you effectively tow the van around the corner & see what happens. I could make this in half an hour & it could save them £000's. Also seeing is believing.

Once you have got the car/ caravan model on the road it would be very easy to track the outside rear corner point around the corner.

If it was me I would use an additional cross piece to give me the front corners & a piece out back to give me the offside rear corner.

I would happily use 2x1in sawn timber (planed is not necessary) purchased from a timber yard or builders merchants who will supply the longer lengths needed here.

Usual disclaimer: I am not offering advice about the legality of this if the road is a public highway.

[moncman]

tape a piece of thin wood or similar 5 feet in length to the rear or your 19 foot caravan,positioning it vertically giving you a simulation of a 24 foot one,

Nice idea but it won't work unless the hitch to axle length is exactly the same in both cases.

I also don't think that reversing is a great idea as it requires freedom of movement with the car. Yes you may get the backend of the van round the corner but where is the front of the car in all this? If the lane is tight before and after the 90 degree bend it is probably no better forward or back.

Problem with a caravan as I'm sure you all know is the wheels pivot around the middle. This makes it much more complicated than say an artic where the wheels are at the back as the end swings out as much as the inside wheel cut the corner. I'm sure maths could answer the question but I'm damned if I can work it out????

[AlanF]

Not very good at maths or reversing I would use a mover then I know it would go round If I didn't have a mover, I would have to fit one. Seriously however reversing is your best bet at such a tight manouver. Good luck