What happens on a towing course?

James Batchelor, motor journalist and our new towcar reviewer, shares his experience on a training course with the Club.

So, you’re thinking about taking the plunge? As the Club’s new towcar reviewer, I decided to put myself through the paces at Sparsholt College to see if a weekend really could turn a novice into a (semi) pro. Here is the "lowdown" on what to expect from the Practical Caravanning course.

Before we even touched a steering wheel, we headed to the classroom. Our instructors—David, Lindsey, and David—stripped away the jargon. We covered:

Weight ratios: Understanding what your car can actually handle.
Loading: Why putting your heavy gear in the wrong place is a recipe for a "YouTube moment."
Terminology: Demystifying terms like "Gross Train Weight."

Putting theory into practice
You’d think attaching towing mirrors would be easy, right? I managed to drop mine twice before they stayed on! We practiced the"Mirror, Signal, Hitch" dance, hitching and unhitching until it became muscle memory.

Reversing is the "final boss" of towing. It feels backwards because, well, it is. We used small Adria caravans, which are actually harder to reverse because they respond so quickly to the steering wheel.

Straight-line reversing: Getting the "feel" for the pivot.

The Curved Reverse: Imagining the pressure of a busy campsite while the instructors calmly guided us through.

The Results
The most impressive part? Out of 11 participants, ranging from “never-towed-before” to “accident survivors”, not a single cone was harmed. The goal of the course isn't to make you a master in 48 hours; it’s to give you the principles and the confidence to go home and practice without fear. As one fellow attendee, Ian, noted: it’s the difference between needing a motor mover and having the skill to reverse onto your own drive.