Thread: Caravan Tiedown Method

While not a caravan owner I have seen several vans tied down, and thats exactly what they do, some are even padlocked to the ground, does not say a lot for the "tourist area"

Alot of parks up that way will have tie down points already installed near the van site. However check out this guide found here http://tinyurl.com/yz5ygzl

Originally Posted by Randylandy

Will be heading off for the big trip in 8 weeks and was just speaking to the Caravan park people in Karatha who advised me that I will have to tie down the van as it is cyclone season.

Anyone have any idears how this is done? I'm gessing a few star pickets hammered in the ground will be the way to go?

Randylandy
The attachment put up for tie-downs is a good one. Bear in mind though that a few star pickets are NOT going to do the job.....ask the park manager/owner what facilities they have for this. Cyclones are very powerful and can rip houses to bits so star pickets are for the lighter winds only. Which park are you staying at? The reason I ask is that if there is a cyclone in the area and we go to yellow alert they most often evacuate the people from the park (not the vans though). They also evacuate certain low lying areas of town due to storm surges of tides.

Cheers,
Mick

At this stage the Aspen parks one. How dp they actually tie them down do you throw a strop over the top or attach to the chassis? I cant imagine the construction of the old van would handle too much stain from strops over the roof.

Tie down as per the attachment put up previously using both the chassis method and over the entire van. Generally you will find that there are metal tie-down links set into the concrete bays so you can utilise these.....I understand your concerns in regard to tying over the roof of an old van, but you really need to appreciate how strong some cyclonic winds get and unfortunately you are picking the cyclone season for a visit....not generally recommended but the saving grace is that historically most of the cyclones come after the Xmas period, maybe only 1-2 prior to that, maybe none, but there is no way of knowing for sure. Remember Tracey and Darwin? I've been here 20 yrs and can attest that it is all simply a matter of chance and luck, no definitive answers.
Like I said previously, contact the park and ask them about their tie-down points, if any. The tourist season stops during the cyclone season with damn good reason.....the roads and entire districts get flooded overnight and can stay that way for some time, particularly when bridges and roads simply get washed away. I don't know what your travel plans are but travelling for a long period of time, especially with a caravan, in the north of this state during the cyclone season is definitely not something I would recommend. Sorry if I sound like a party pooper, but you need to do some research in this regard.

Cheers,
Mick

have you given any consideration to what the weather will be like , its getting to the start of the build up where you could have 35c and perhaps 90% humidity it is not very nice, if you want to go up that way wait till the rains set in and the water falls are fantastic