Stop Towing Your Caravan the Full Johannesburg–Durban Route Every Time
If you're a Johannesburg-based owner who caravans on the KZN South Coast, in the Midlands, or in the Berg, there's a good chance your caravan makes the entire N3 haul with you on every trip — even though the caravan itself is really only needed for the last stretch, once you're already in KZN. Oasis Caravan & Boat Storage sits right on that final stretch at Camperdown/Eston, about 4km off the N3 between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, which makes it a natural place to leave the caravan permanently instead of dragging it up and down the whole route each time.
Why Towing Your Caravan the full route is the real problem
The N3 between Johannesburg and Durban runs through Van Reenen's Pass, the mountain pass connecting the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal near Harrismith and Ladysmith — a well-documented hotspot for sudden, powerful crosswinds.
Road authorities have repeatedly issued warnings and activated traffic control measures on the pass after wind speeds exceeding 70–100 km/h were recorded, with anything towing a trailer or caravan specifically flagged as vulnerable to being pushed sideways or blown over.
It's a recurring seasonal risk, not a rare one, and it sits squarely on the route between Johannesburg and Camperdown.
If your caravan is stored at home in Johannesburg, it crosses that pass — loaded, in a crosswind-sensitive vehicle-and-trailer combination — every single time you go caravanning in KZN. Store it at Camperdown instead, and it only needs to make that crossing once: on the trip down when you first drop it off.
Road authorities have repeatedly issued warnings and activated traffic control measures on the pass after wind speeds exceeding 70–100 km/h were recorded, with anything towing a trailer or caravan specifically flagged as vulnerable to being pushed sideways or blown over.
It's a recurring seasonal risk, not a rare one, and it sits squarely on the route between Johannesburg and Camperdown.
If your caravan is stored at home in Johannesburg, it crosses that pass — loaded, in a crosswind-sensitive vehicle-and-trailer combination — every single time you go caravanning in KZN. Store it at Camperdown instead, and it only needs to make that crossing once: on the trip down when you first drop it off.
What towing the full route, every time, actually costs you
5 reasons why You should Store your Caravan with oasis
- Safety risk. Repeated exposure to crosswind instability, reduced visibility in mist, and a steep, heavily trafficked pass — multiplied by every single trip, instead of just one.
- Fuel. Towing a caravan can increase fuel consumption by 20–40%. Over a roughly 1,200km round trip, done repeatedly through the season, that adds up fast.
- Wear and tear. Tyres, wheel bearings, hitch components, and suspension all take extra strain on long tows — and caravan tyres in particular are prone to age-related failure regardless of tread depth.
- Time and fatigue. A full day's towing at each end of a trip, before you've even started relaxing.
- A caravan that mostly just sits in a Johannesburg driveway between coastal trips, taking up space and doing nothing.
The alternative: base it in KZN, near where you actually use it
Storing your caravan at Camperdown/Eston, just off the N3 between Pietermaritzburg and Durban, means:
- One crossing of Van Reenen's Pass to get it there — not one every trip.
- Easy reach of the South Coast, the Midlands, and the Berg without towing from Johannesburg at all.
- Lower cumulative fuel cost and wear across a season of KZN trips.
- A caravan that's ready and waiting, secure and off the N3, whenever you land in KZN — whether you've driven down unladen or flown in.
- For Durban and Pietermaritzburg-based owners, no long-distance angle needed at all — just secure storage close to home, off your own property.
The Bottom line
The N3 haul from Johannesburg should happen once, not every time you want to use the caravan.
Base it at Camperdown/Eston and only make that trip again when it's time to bring it home for good.
Base it at Camperdown/Eston and only make that trip again when it's time to bring it home for good.