Caravanning offers more than freedom. As the ideas in this column show, part of the fun is in creative problem solving. Why not send us your suggestions?

When reversing your car to couple up on your own, it is difficult to judge where your towball is in relation to the van's tow hook. Before you start, place a pole, such as one from a windbreak, vertically against the tow hook and put a piece of tape on your back window to indicate the central position of the towball. Look in your rear-view mirror while reversing and line up the pole and the tape.
Gary and Tessa

Let your assistant stand at the towball point with one forearm raised vertically directly above the towball. Reverse the towcar carefully in this direction, the assistant showing the remaining distance by moving their other hand towards the first. Stop when your assistant's two hands are together. You should then be able to hitch up to the towball easily.
Paul and Hilary

When entering a toll booth on European autoroutes, you have to allow lots of space between the caravan and the concrete bollards on either side of the entrance. But this leaves your car too far from the booth for a passenger to reach the ticket without getting out. To get round this, we use a folding 'pick-up' grip, available from Lakeland. It can also be used to pass credit cards and tickets to the attendant.
Bill and Shirley

Sometimes the jockey wheel comes loose when travelling, causing it to lower itself and hit the highway. This usually ruins the jockey wheel, or punctures the pneumatic type, and may cause a serious accident. To prevent this from happening, remove the jockey wheel for your journey, or attach a bungy cord between the jockey wheel handle and an appropriate point on the van to stop it unwinding.
Paul and Hilary

Many S and N plug cables are too long, so unless you adjust them they'll drag on the ground and soon need to be replaced by a workshop. To adjust them, do not twist the cable, because this will destroy the insulation and produce faults at the plug connectors. Instead, tie a simple loop in the cable loosely - over, under and pull through - and then plug in.
Paul and Hilary

Make changing a wheel easier with a bottle jack (£10-£15 from shops like Halfords), small wheel chocks, a tommy bar (50-60cm) and a socket extension. The bottle jack will fit under the caravan axle or jacking point; put a piece of wood under it if the ground is soft or uneven. Put the chocks in place to prevent the wheel from moving. A normal wheel brace is next to useless if the wheel nuts are correctly tightened; a tommy bar makes light work of it, and you'll soon have the wheel off.
Bill and Shirley

There's never enough room in our fridge, so we use an electric coolbox, costing around £30. We run it off a transformer (about £20) to keep wine cool.
Paul and Hilary

When it's wet, caravan steps are an accident waiting to happen. To make them safer, stick thin, ridged doormat, cut to size, to the treads. Then on each step foot put a rubber stopper taken from a walking stick or broom handle to stop the steps from sliding or sinking into ground; they'll also protect your groundsheet.
Bill and Shirley

To rotate tyres evenly during long periods of storage, paint or stick a dot at the tyre's lowest point. When you move the van, stop when the dot has gone a quarter turn. Keep track of the stopping point for each rotation (3 o'clock, for example).
Bill and Shirley

Cooking in a caravan can be difficult, but you can make the job easier by using a steamer. As well as carrying fewer pans - lowering your payload - you'll use less gas and water and, even better, have less washing up. You can cook a wide variety of tasty vegetable and fish dishes using the 'one-pan' principle.
Joe and Blaine

If you suffer from a bad back or hate the cushion gaps in your double bed, use a mattress protector to smooth out your bed. It weighs little, too. Or try a special mattress cover designed to even out bumps. Also, a double sleeping bag can be restrictive and hard to wash, while two single bags are hardly romantic. Instead, sew together two sheets into a simple bag and use a single opened sleeping bag as a duvet. It takes less space and weight than taking a full set of bed linen and duvets.
Adrian and Celia

Keep a spare O-seal - the black rubber ring on some water heaters - with your other spares. Without the seal, your system will not pressurise properly, and your hot water will seep away. When you drain the system for the winter (or between trips for four-season caravanners), it's surprisingly easy to lose or damage this seal. It costs very little, and takes no space.A Terry and Kathy

Our Enthusiast Team are readers who have been hand-picked for their experience and passion for caravanning.

Adrian and Celia Reynolds from Yateley, Hants Baptist pastor and full-time mum 2000 Elddis Crown 505 and 2001 Ford Galaxy 1.9TDi

Bob and Lyn Phillips from Illogan, Cornwall Taxi driver and supermarket sales assistant 1991 Sprite Alpine 400C and 2.9-litre diesel Ssangyong Korando

Joe and Elaine Ormerod from Blackburn, Lancs Retired electronics engineer and accountant Bërstner Ventana 520TL and Discovery GS Auto

Terry and Kathy O'Connell from Great Witley, Worcs Rocket scientist and homecare nurse 1989 Lunar Clubman and 1997 Daihatsu Fourtrak 2.8 DL-SE

Bill and Shirley Billing from Ely, Cambridgeshire Retired aviation consultant and customer relations manager 2003 Bërstner Ventana 455TS and 2002 Citroën C5

Nigel and Kay Hutson from Mansfield, Notts Collision investigator and nurse 2004 Abbey GTS Vogue 416 and 2004 Rover 75 Tourer 2.0-litre diesel

Roy Mann and Laura Truby from Kirton, Notts Retired retailer and retail manager 1996 Buccaneer Elan 15 and 2005 Ford Mondeo 2.0-litre CDi

Paul and Hilary Harris from Alderholt, Dorset Retired funeral director and NHS service development manager Bailey Pageant Vendée and Citroën C5 CDi estate

Gary and Tessa Challenger from Teignmouth, Devon Primary school teacher and design technology technician 1991 Elddis Wisp 400/4 and 1998 Rover 420 SLi