Terrifying near-miss with caravan captured on dashcam as wheels break off of moving vehicle

The terrifying moment that a caravan’s axle and back wheels snapped off while being towed at speed has sparked an online discussion about caravan and trailer safety ahead of the festive season.

The caravan parts could be seen narrowly missing the car travelling behind it, in the trailing vehicle’s dashcam footage shared on social media on Sunday.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Caravan wheels come off, causing shocking near-miss on Aussie road.

As the wheels come off, the caravan can be seen fishtailing across the road, and smoke billowing from the van as the body shell dragged along the road.

“S**t. F**k a brick. He was a lucky as f**k,” an occupant inside the car travelling behind can be heard saying in dashcam footage shared on social media by Dash Cam Owners Australia.

“Yeah, nearly went over, let’s just make sure he’s alright,” another occupant in the car can be heard saying in the footage.

Online users commended the ute driver, who managed to pull the vehicle to the side of the road while keeping the caravan from toppling over.

“Great save by the driver,” one netizen wrote. “What a bloody save,” another said.

“He’s done a good job to keep that upright,” another said.

“And that’s why you don’t tailgate,” another said.

“When buying a trailer, check that the hangers are welded on properly and enforced on the sides,” one netizen commented on the video.

Conversation around how the incident was able to occur erupted within the comment section of the post.

“How the heck did that happen?” one netizen wrote.

“It may have just been a faulty U-bolt breaking,” another guessed.

“Was that caravan overloaded? Looked like it bottomed out?”

Overloading a caravan can damage to its suspension and chassis, cause cracks and bends in components that can wear out prematurely or fail.

Caravans are required to limit the weight limit of its load to individual capacities based on the vehicle itself, and the weight of a loaded caravan can be measured at public weighbridges and mobile weighing services.

“Knowing the various weight criteria of your towing vehicle and caravan is important ... to maximise your safety on the road” Transport NSW said.

“While your caravan will have its tare mass, maximum aggregate trailer mass (ATM) and maximum gross trailer mass (GTM) noted on the vehicle plate and in the manufacturer’s handbook, you should still weigh your caravan to ensure you don’t go over these maximum capacities.”

Overloading a caravan comes with a $515 fine and three demerit points in NSW and SA, a $309 fine and three demerit points in Queensland, a $243 fine in TAS, a fine between $288 to $1,923 in VIC, and a fine between $100 to $800 in WA, according to various state government websites.

Caravan components, ‘cowboys’ and compliance checks

Some netizens commenting on the video slammed caravan “cowboys” as the cause, claiming some of Australia’s 200 caravan and trailer manufacturers use imported parts which are not up to scratch — but others disputed that this was a real issue.

“Trailers need to be registered and inspected ... you really can’t have any cowboy putting these things together,” one netizen commented, adding that perhaps it is the regulations that need to be tighter.

“[Caravan components] have to pass our inspections and be within our regulations.”

Registration, safety checks and requirements are required for caravans in Australia, but they vary from state-to-state.

In NSW, caravans are required to have compliance checks under the Vehicle Safety Compliance Certification Scheme (VSCCS).

These checks ensure the caravan complies with Australian Design Rules (ADRs) and safety standards before it can be registered.

That is not the case in Victoria, but if the caravan is modified or imported, it may need to pass a compliance inspection to meet roadworthy standards and ADRs, and caravans being sold or registered for the first time may also require a roadworthy inspection.

In Queensland, compliance inspections are only required of caravans with more than 1 axle, or which have a total mass of more than 750kg. Anything smaller in the state just requires a Vehicle Details Inspection Sheet to be completed when registering it.

Caravans in WA also need to undergo a roadworthy check before they can be registered in the state.

In South Australia, roadworthy checks are required for caravans with a mass more than 4.5 tonnes, and for imported caravans.

In Tasmania, caravans are required to be inspected at an approved inspection station, and any caravans that have never previously been registered, have had registration lapsed for more than three months, or have been transferred from interstate require a pre-registration inspection.