have just changed the 'van for something about 200kg heavier and the mover [royal titan] comes to a stop when it gets to the kerb crossovers and we have to push it a little then it carries on as normal up a slight gradient to the hardstanding,at present have a 85amp leisure battery,would it help at all if i upgraded the battery to 105amp.although the new van is heavier it is well within the weight limits of the titan[1500kg/1800kg dependent on gradient]the 'van weighing about 1350kg,the previous went over the croossovers no probs.or is it a case of a faulty mover[which is still under warranty]
battery for motor mover
- Thread starter lordmonty
- Start date
Ray
I have a trauma twin axle mover from new and it works very well however when the wheels are on gravel and there is a kerb it does need a slight push to help it.
This in my opinion is due to the lack of traction and nothing to do with the mover or the battery size
I am sure if you put some wood before the kerb creating a slope it would go up.
try this before going to any expense if it goes up then it is something you must accept and save the money of buying a new battery
thats my opinion I am sure others will have their own thoughts
John
I have a trauma twin axle mover from new and it works very well however when the wheels are on gravel and there is a kerb it does need a slight push to help it.
This in my opinion is due to the lack of traction and nothing to do with the mover or the battery size
I am sure if you put some wood before the kerb creating a slope it would go up.
try this before going to any expense if it goes up then it is something you must accept and save the money of buying a new battery
thats my opinion I am sure others will have their own thoughts
John
cheers for that john,but they are proper ramps/crossovers on the kerb for vehicle access,i was thinking in terms that regardless of what size battery you use it was more a question of endurance of the battery rather than power produced[rightly or wrongly]
I think you are correct in your assumption ray
I leave my caravan on charge the majority of time and when not on charge for example using the mover I have a solar panel on the roof so I would imagine that my battery is at full power all the time.
However before going to the expense of a new battery wait and see what the experts say who will be on line later
Regards
John
I leave my caravan on charge the majority of time and when not on charge for example using the mover I have a solar panel on the roof so I would imagine that my battery is at full power all the time.
However before going to the expense of a new battery wait and see what the experts say who will be on line later
Regards
John
John_374564913 said:
I'm afraid the "experts" haven't arrived yet but for what it's worth my opinion is a 12v leisure battery is a 12v leisure battery whatever the amperage is an will not give any more power to your mover. The difference of a 110amp battery to an 85 amp is that it will give the same level of power but for a longer period of time. So unless your mover is totally draining your battery and leaving you with no power then upgrading your battery will not help.
Hopefully the experts will be along later
Robert
Couple of suggestions - have you checkd the mover roller clearances on the tyres - if marginally large then this might just be the cause.
Or, try going up at a slight angle -if you have the width available, -such that one wheel goes up the kerb at a time. I've done this on pitches in Spain which had a kerb all round and while the van stalled if approached at right angles, one at a time worked well.
Or, try going up at a slight angle -if you have the width available, -such that one wheel goes up the kerb at a time. I've done this on pitches in Spain which had a kerb all round and while the van stalled if approached at right angles, one at a time worked well.
Hello Ray,
When Carver produced the very first caravan mover, they demonstrated it at the at the caravan show. It was fitted with an 85AH battery which was only charged overnight. The battery was more than capable of providing the necessary peak current but also the total power for the day's demos.
Now there will have been some differences between demo unit and your caravan, the demo unit was probably much smaller and lighter than your caravan, and of course it is a different make, but in essence it shows that the smaller battery should be able to cope with most real demands.
I do not know the details of the Titan mover, but as a general bench mark movers are normally expected to be able to move a caravan up a 1:4 slope.
I assume from your post , the mover actually stops turning when you breach the critical point on your ramps.
My first suggestion is to check you are not asking the mover to do more than it is designed to do. Just because it moved your previous lighter caravan over the same obstical, does not mean the obstical is less or equal to the design spec.
Secondly; are the tyres are correctly inflated, and the mover correctly positioned. If the mover is too close to the tyre, when the mover is engaged it may be pressing into the tyre with too much force, and that may be adding friction to the movers bearings and impeding its operation which will show up on high load manoeuvres.
Failing that, perhaps the battery is not as good as it could be. as batteries get older they loose performance, both the peak current they can deliver and the total charge capacity. If a battery has been abused (e.g. left discharged, or asked to deliver more current that it is designed to do, run out of electrolyte, left on high charge for too long etc) then this will also impare it performance.
What ever the reason, I am sure its much easier than trying to push teh whole caravan by hand.
When Carver produced the very first caravan mover, they demonstrated it at the at the caravan show. It was fitted with an 85AH battery which was only charged overnight. The battery was more than capable of providing the necessary peak current but also the total power for the day's demos.
Now there will have been some differences between demo unit and your caravan, the demo unit was probably much smaller and lighter than your caravan, and of course it is a different make, but in essence it shows that the smaller battery should be able to cope with most real demands.
I do not know the details of the Titan mover, but as a general bench mark movers are normally expected to be able to move a caravan up a 1:4 slope.
I assume from your post , the mover actually stops turning when you breach the critical point on your ramps.
My first suggestion is to check you are not asking the mover to do more than it is designed to do. Just because it moved your previous lighter caravan over the same obstical, does not mean the obstical is less or equal to the design spec.
Secondly; are the tyres are correctly inflated, and the mover correctly positioned. If the mover is too close to the tyre, when the mover is engaged it may be pressing into the tyre with too much force, and that may be adding friction to the movers bearings and impeding its operation which will show up on high load manoeuvres.
Failing that, perhaps the battery is not as good as it could be. as batteries get older they loose performance, both the peak current they can deliver and the total charge capacity. If a battery has been abused (e.g. left discharged, or asked to deliver more current that it is designed to do, run out of electrolyte, left on high charge for too long etc) then this will also impare it performance.
What ever the reason, I am sure its much easier than trying to push teh whole caravan by hand.
thanks for the input people,just spoke to the dealer that fitted it and his tech guys say i need larger battery but i am still not convinced,will try blocks of wood next to drop kerb to make the climb less harsh,according to the handbook it does say it may struggle climbing kerbs of more than about 3cm depending on weight of van,cheers again.
If you have the standard caravan charger, then your battery is never fully charged, but only up to approx 13.8 volts.
If your tow car is wired to charge the battery, then you should get over 14 volts, depending on the installed wiring sizes, fridge load, ATC if fitted. But your battery may still not be fully charged.
For this reason i always use a 110AH battery.
If your tow car is wired to charge the battery, then you should get over 14 volts, depending on the installed wiring sizes, fridge load, ATC if fitted. But your battery may still not be fully charged.
For this reason i always use a 110AH battery.
Hello Ray,
Providing the the peak current capacity of the battery is greater by a marging of about 20% than the peak current demand of the mover, then the size of the battery is largely imaterial, because the amount of power usage the mover has is suprisingly small.
Without goinig into the detail calculations using two 12W lamps for a couple of hours uses more than most movers need to position a caravan.
Yes charging at 13.8V does not fully recharge the battery, but any reduction in peak current supply due to the reduced charge will be matched to what ever size of battery you use.
However ther is nothing wrong in using a larger battery if you so wish.
Providing the the peak current capacity of the battery is greater by a marging of about 20% than the peak current demand of the mover, then the size of the battery is largely imaterial, because the amount of power usage the mover has is suprisingly small.
Without goinig into the detail calculations using two 12W lamps for a couple of hours uses more than most movers need to position a caravan.
Yes charging at 13.8V does not fully recharge the battery, but any reduction in peak current supply due to the reduced charge will be matched to what ever size of battery you use.
However ther is nothing wrong in using a larger battery if you so wish.
My view on this is that generally leisure batteries are not ideal for driving movers because they are not designed for delivering high current. So IF you always use EHU and don't rely on your battery for lighting etc, just fit a car type battery. The last time I mentioned this some people disagreed and suggested using expensive dual purpose marine batteries. But I haven't heard a good reason why you shouldn't use a car battery, perhaps someone will tell me.
John G has a good point.
Now generally unless your totally incompetent, reversing the caravan with the car on site shouldn't proove to be beyond capability. So rather than use a high discharge battery in place of the standard leisure battery, why not piggy back the leisure battery with a conventional tractor battery.
All you need is to connect the two batteries in the same way you would setup jump start cables to start one car from another. First off, you need a long set of heavy duty jump leads and a tractor battery, both of which should be available from your local agricultural merchants, or tractor sales agencey. Then site the extra battery on the floor inside the caravan. Connect the jump leads posative (+)to posative (+) and negative (-) to negative (-) to both batteries. Now you have the best of both, a rapid high power battery (tractor starter battery) and a sustained discharge leisure battery.
Obviosly this would be impractical to carry a loose battery when towing the van, so it is limited to slow speed manouvering at home.
I use a jockey wheel mounted motor mover ET to move our 1436 Kg caravan when I was at home with a tractor battery for power supply. When out and about on sites, I use the car to move the caravan or if I get stuck, I have a 6'000Lb electric winch which uses the car battery, to pull the van to the car or the car out of the mud, depending on circumstances. But safe winching is another story yet to be told.
Now generally unless your totally incompetent, reversing the caravan with the car on site shouldn't proove to be beyond capability. So rather than use a high discharge battery in place of the standard leisure battery, why not piggy back the leisure battery with a conventional tractor battery.
All you need is to connect the two batteries in the same way you would setup jump start cables to start one car from another. First off, you need a long set of heavy duty jump leads and a tractor battery, both of which should be available from your local agricultural merchants, or tractor sales agencey. Then site the extra battery on the floor inside the caravan. Connect the jump leads posative (+)to posative (+) and negative (-) to negative (-) to both batteries. Now you have the best of both, a rapid high power battery (tractor starter battery) and a sustained discharge leisure battery.
Obviosly this would be impractical to carry a loose battery when towing the van, so it is limited to slow speed manouvering at home.
I use a jockey wheel mounted motor mover ET to move our 1436 Kg caravan when I was at home with a tractor battery for power supply. When out and about on sites, I use the car to move the caravan or if I get stuck, I have a 6'000Lb electric winch which uses the car battery, to pull the van to the car or the car out of the mud, depending on circumstances. But safe winching is another story yet to be told.
Hello John,
I think you have a valid point.
The use of leisure batteries for caravans is probably a throw back to the days when EHU's were virtually unheard of, and you relied on solely battery power for your whole holiday. The battery was being asked to deliver modest currents over long periods, with long times between charging. This could leave the battery in substantially discharged condition for some time. Conventional car batteries were found to be damaged by this regime, hence the need to look for alternatives.
Traction batteries technology had been around for many years (remember the old electric milk floats and local bread deliveries?) Here again the battery would have a relatively long slow discharge to quite a low level with a single recharge over night. So in fact the first purpose built batteries for caravans were basically traction batteries, and even today I believe the same internal plate design principals are used in leisure batteries.
Now as you point out, the use of an EHU does negate the original reason for using a leisure battery so your point is well made.
Now with regard the increased current draw that a caravan mover makes on the battery, provided the peak current draw of the mover is less than the peak current delivery of the battery there should be no problem. Don't forget that the movers peak current draw occurs when the mover is beginning to turn its motors, and so it usually lasts for a fraction of a second. So the actual stress on the battery is very short lived and unlikely to have any significant effect on the life or condition of the battery.
The situation may change if a battery is in poor condition.
I can see no reason for not using a car starter battery provided EHU's are used.
I think you have a valid point.
The use of leisure batteries for caravans is probably a throw back to the days when EHU's were virtually unheard of, and you relied on solely battery power for your whole holiday. The battery was being asked to deliver modest currents over long periods, with long times between charging. This could leave the battery in substantially discharged condition for some time. Conventional car batteries were found to be damaged by this regime, hence the need to look for alternatives.
Traction batteries technology had been around for many years (remember the old electric milk floats and local bread deliveries?) Here again the battery would have a relatively long slow discharge to quite a low level with a single recharge over night. So in fact the first purpose built batteries for caravans were basically traction batteries, and even today I believe the same internal plate design principals are used in leisure batteries.
Now as you point out, the use of an EHU does negate the original reason for using a leisure battery so your point is well made.
Now with regard the increased current draw that a caravan mover makes on the battery, provided the peak current draw of the mover is less than the peak current delivery of the battery there should be no problem. Don't forget that the movers peak current draw occurs when the mover is beginning to turn its motors, and so it usually lasts for a fraction of a second. So the actual stress on the battery is very short lived and unlikely to have any significant effect on the life or condition of the battery.
The situation may change if a battery is in poor condition.
I can see no reason for not using a car starter battery provided EHU's are used.
I dont understand or im reading this wrong,certain people are saying either charging a battery at 13.8v will not fully charge it and/or a battery with 13.8v in it is not fully charged? Dont get it.
A fully charged battery is 13volts,a discharged battery is 12volts.That i do agree on.
An alternator brushpack/regulator charges at 13.8volts.That is clearly written on the reg itself.
This doesnt applie to some modern alternators which are now using PWM to charge the batterys.
Why not check the current(amps) draw with a simple multimetre?
Steve in Leo...
Jonny G occasionally does have a good point, but alas on this topic i have no point at all, and I would never take credit for what somebody else has stated...........
Jonny G occasionally does have a good point, but alas on this topic i have no point at all, and I would never take credit for what somebody else has stated...........
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