Making the most of your caravan pitch
A practical guide from Caravan Information Services
If this is your first time, there’s no reason to worry about pitching up your caravan. After all, you’ve already mastered planning your holiday, hitching up, pre-departure checks and travelling to your destination.
This is an exciting time, but getting apprehensive about pitching up on-site is easy.
So, in this guide, we explain everything you need to know about pitching up a caravan so you can arrive at your destination with a plan.
Choosing a caravan pitch
There are typically three pitches: grass, gravel, and hard-standing.
Some people prefer grass pitches as they feel a little closer to nature. However, the ground can get boggy in bad weather. Gravel pitches can get dusty during hot spells, especially with a strong wind. Hard-standing pitches are always suitable, whatever the conditions.
The choice comes down to personal preference, but it’s always wise to consider the length of stay, time of year, and the potential for adverse weather before booking.
Your options may also be influenced by whether you need external power and other conveniences:
- Fully serviced pitches usually include water, electricity, drainage, and a TV aerial connection. They cost the most and are typically in high demand, so always check the availability in advance.
- Electric hook-up pitches include a single socket to power your lights, heating and appliances. You may need to provide your cable and adapter, so check what you need before you leave.
- Non-electric pitches have no external power source. These pitches are often more spacious and cost less, but you’ll rely on your caravan battery for power.
Other considerations
Managing your expectations is the key to ensuring you have an enjoyable experience on-site. Here are a few things to consider:
- Check the pitch size against your caravan size, considering the space needed for awnings, tents, and bikes. Do you have enough space?
- Be aware of steep or uneven pitches, especially if you are a caravanning beginner. Inclined surfaces can make positioning and levelling your caravan challenging.
- Match the pitch location, position and orientation to your preferences wherever possible. Would you like shade during the hottest parts of the day? Do you value the privacy of being away from busy areas such as shops, shower blocks and toilets? Is part of the touring site close to a main road, and is this an issue? Would you prefer backing onto a hedgerow or trees, or is a central position OK?
Here’s how to pitch up your caravan in six straightforward steps:
1. Driving onto the caravan pitch
Large camping sites often have the room to drive forward onto a pitch. But in most cases, you’ll need to reverse the caravan into place. Read our ‘tips on reversing guide’ for advice.
Double-check that there is plenty of room between adjacent caravans for safety and privacy. Also, consider the space needed for awnings or tents.
Top Tip: If you are pitching up on uneven ground, try positioning your caravan in line with the slope. Levelling a caravan from front to back is more straightforward than side to side. Read more in the next step:
2. Level the caravan (side-to-side)
For safety and practicality, your caravan should be level from side to side (transversely) and front to back (longitudinally).
You can check the level by:
- eye
- with a manual spirit level
- with a spirit-level App on your smartphone.
Top Tip: if you carry levelling ramps onboard, check the transverse level before you unhitch your caravan. If your caravan needs levelling from side to side, reverse onto a ramp behind the lowest wheel.
Alternatively, you can level the caravan after unhitching if you carry a ratchet-type device like the Milenco Aluminium Caravan and Motorhome leveller.
3. Check the hitch shaft compression
Before you disconnect the hitch, check that the hitch shaft is fully extended. Otherwise, the hitch head may spring into your bumper when released. After positioning your caravan, consider driving forward a few inches. This should extend the ram.
4. Decouple the caravan
Follow this sequence to unhitch your caravan:
- Apply the caravan handbrake and chock the wheels if you are on an incline.
- Release the jockey wheel clamp by turning its handle anticlockwise.
- Lower the jockey wheel until it reaches the ground.
- Re-tighten the jockey wheel clamp.
- Detach the 12v electrical cable.
- Release the stabiliser handle if fitted.
- Lift the hitch handle and wind the jockey wheel until the hitch rises enough to clear the tow ball.
5. Level the caravan (front-to-back)
Now check the caravan is level from front to back. This time, you can adjust by raising or lowering the jockey wheel.
6. Lower the corner steadies
Wind the corner steadies down by using the handle provided by your manufacturer. Stop winding when the feet touch the floor.
Refrain from overwinding the steadies to avoid damaging the mechanism. Always remember that corner steadies are not designed to be used as caravan levelling devices.
Congratulations. You now have a plan to pitch up when you arrive at your camping destination.