Getting caravan down 20" step. Ramps or what?

[miranda22]

I am wanting to site my touring caravan in my garden. Unfortunately this would involve getting it off my drive so would involve about a drop of about 20". I was thinking about getting some long plant/trailer/recovery type ramps and was wondering:
(a) where to get them and approximate cost?
(b) would there be problems with approach and departure angles?
(c) what would be the best motor mover for this?
Another idea would be to make a permanent slope.
Has anyone done this or have any ideas please. Thanks in advance.

 

[OmOnWeelz]

http://www.theramppeople.co.uk/
These people have made and supplied a numer of ramps for us. Give them a call and explain weight, length and what you want to achieve.

 

[miranda22]

http://www.theramppeople.co.uk/
These people have made and supplied a numer of ramps for us. Give them a call and explain weight, length and what you want to achieve.

Thank you for the link - much appreciated.

 

[forestgump]

some long planks like scafold planks and some bricks at even spaces alomg the planks down to a point.

 

[RayS]

Once you have got your ramps sorted out, have a look at the possibilities of fixing a boat winch to something firm and pulling the van up the ramp with it (and under control of the rachet, letting the van back down the ramp with it when you come home). This will save you battery for use on your mover when you get on site.
I did this in 1967 long before movers existed and I needed to get my van up about the same distance onto a raised lawn area at the back of the house. I built a reinforced concrete pillar onto which the winch bolted when required, and made a bird feeder wheich was bolted in it;s place for most of the time. Apart from solving the problem of space it was a great security device as the van was sitting 2ft (in my case above) the driveway with a sheer drop in between.
Any marina or trailer supplier will have winches - work out the maximum van weight and add a factor of safety. These days you could actually get an electric one (Warn etc.) but the manual ones are geared well down so not too much muscle is required.

 

[Steve L]

I've had to do simlar in the past, getting my van down into the garden.
First of all do as much as you can with the tow car attatched. Preferably if it is a straight line manouver you should be able to do it with the tow car. Using a winch is a good alternative but will require a lot of planning to achieve a result. Using the van mounted mover would be a good safe way to do this as the mover acts as both brake and drive to both wheels by direct contact.
I used (and still have) a motormover ET jockey wheel mover, combined with chocks with long handles fixed to avoid trapping fingers. I had to zig-zag the front end with the mover while chocking wheels to "walk" the van up and down, as my route had a bend in it which only allowed partial use of the car. It took about an hour to move the van. But I found my jockey wheel mover invaluable for this task. I even moved a twin axle van this way too.

I would use the builders plank method myself as a permanent drive way would give ready made access for thieves.

 

[miranda22]

Thank you all for the information and advice and especially to Ray and Steve for taking the time to go into details. It gives me much to think about. As I am not intending to be taking the caravan out that often the planks or ramps idea would probably be best and certainly would make it difficult for thieves!