When a site owner says, "you'll have to reverse onto your pitch", it makes many caravan owners grimace. With just a few simple pointers though, and a bit of practice in a quiet location, you can reverse with confidence.

Turning the van
It is the steering that people really struggle to get to grips with. The main thing to remember when reversing is that the back of the caravan will always go the opposite way to the back of the car. To reverse the caravan to the left, turn the steering wheel to the right and vice versa.

Reversing straight
Take a mental picture of the view in your mirrors when you are driving down a straight road. This is what you want to see when reversing in a straight line. Start to reverse slowly. Keep checking your mirrors as you move. If you start to see more of the van in one mirror, very gradually turn your steering wheel towards the mirror reflecting the most caravan to straighten up as you continue to reverse.

It's easier to reverse around a right-hand corner because you can see the caravan through the driver's window. Park so that your outfit is in a straight line about three metres past your pitch and so that you have room to move your towcar from side to side.

The procedure begins by moving the van out to the left. As you begin to move, turn your steering wheel one full turn to the right: move slowly and the back of the van will start to curve to the left. Turn the steering wheel two full turns to the left (one turn past straight ahead) – the back of the van will begin to move round to the right – and hold the curve.

Allow the caravan to continue on the curve. Do not straighten the wheel entirely until the caravan is straight. Keep checking where the tyres of the caravan are heading, you may find this more useful than watching the rear of the caravan. As you watch, make any small adjustments you need to. Keeping all the movements small and slow.

If the caravan stops responding to corrections and the angle between the car and caravan keeps tightening or 'jack-knifes', go forward and start again, it's much easier than trying to correct your position. You can over-correct and end up in a mess.