Mr Eggenhuizen (left) congratulates Doug and Jenny

TOW-ED's nationally accredited caravanning and trailer towing course has successfully trained its 2000th student.

Rookie caravanner Doug Morris received a pair of towing mirrors to mark the event after completing his one-day course with flying colours.

Newly-retired Doug and wife Jenny, of Gwandalon, New South Wales, now plan a round-Australia caravanning adventure. "We will do a few small trips around Victoria and South Australia to start off with, then do a trip around the block next year," Doug explained.

New to towing, they decided to take their Tow-Ed course in Victoria – where they picked up their new caravan – before towing it home.

Tow-Ed was launched four years ago and now, under the guidance of    founders John and Julie Eggenhuizen, offers towing courses all over the country through a network of dedicated instructors.

"It is the only towing course in Australia that leads to a nationally recognised qualification, and we are very proud it is now available right across the nation," managing director Julie told Caravanning News.

"We initially set up in Sydney after identifying a niche in the driver training market. With the growing number of caravans, boats, horse floats and other trailers on the road, there has never been a better time for people to learn or brush up on their skills.

"After talking with the insurance companies we are alerted everyday to different accidents that could easily have been prevented by someone doing this course."

Julie said she regularly heard stories of people retiring early and fulfilling the dream of buying a large 4WD and caravan, spending up to $150,000 in the process, and hitting the road to travel round Australia.

"More often than not they have never towed anything bigger than a box trailer," she said. "We consider this course to be an excellent investment in safety that generally costs less than one percent of the cost of buying their caravan."

The course covers subjects including safety checks, hitching and un-hitching, loading, emergency braking techniques and manoeuvring.

"This is a very practical and hands-on course that concentrates on teaching a solid foundation of basic skills in a friendly and supportive atmosphere," Julie said.

Tow-Ed can organise suitable caravan hire for non-owners and encourages both partners to take the course. "Women tend to get the most out of it, quite often showing up their husbands," she explained.

Julie said some of the training could be likened to "marriage counselling", citing instances she had seen in caravan parks where partners tended to get a little heated with each other.

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