How Hard Is It?

[MAM]

Ok, I'm sure this thread could raise a number of responses but I'd appreciate your opinion on...

How hard is it to move a caravan up a gentle incline? I pick-up a Bailey Pageant Provence next weekend and I want to store it on my driveway - nose pointing up the driveway.

I have never moved a caravan and with talk of motor movers and winches, I want to know if it will be possible to shift this this 30 foot up a gentle incline (enough to start a car rolling without a push).

Otherwise my options are...

1) Cable from the nose, through a metal loop bolted to the top of the driveway, passed back under the caravan to a car. (£50)

2) Winch (£100+)

3) Motor mover (£400+)

For reference I'm in my 30s with average strength.

 

[sharpy]

it might not be a problem to move your van most of the time... but, imagine, you've just got back from a weekend away in february, its nearly dark, and the sleet is going sideways, and your missus is desperate for the loo, now move the van on your own??? a bit of extra money spent now WILL pay dividends. thats how it happened with me anyway.

cheers .dave

 

[gypsy]

Same here we bit the Bullet and got a motor mover, and our drive is on the Flat, but no more pulling or tugging, it's great, well worth the money.

 

[Martin_E]

Motor mover every time, one person job no problem.

 

[MAM]

Ok, I've just pushed my 3 Series BMW up the drive as a test run. Even though my wife kept dabbing the brakes (her idea of a joke), I managed it with a bit of elbow grease.

For the same reason that I walk up stairs rather than using a lift, walk to the village shops rather than drive, I'm going to try without the motor mover.

If I give in, I will be big enough to come back and admit it.

(It would be nice to hear from someone that doesn't have a motor mover)

 

[Icemaker]

We didnt have a motor mover fitted to our vans for the first few years, our drive is a very gentle slope also and we found we could push the van quite easily, however as has been said allready its a different story when its dark cold and wet after a long journey home, needless to say the last 3 vans have all had movers fitted, it is just so much easier and far more relaxing to know i wont have to struggle once home.

 

[gavin_5121842]

If you can push the Beemer up then you wont have any probs with the caravan. If your going in head first, you'll need one person at the front to 'steer',then you can treat yourself with the wad of dosh you would have wasted on a stair lift, sorry i mean mover,

Gavin.

 

[AlfromYC]

Get a winch or a mover for safety sake. If you pull the van up the drive by hand and you do lose your grip and the van starts to roll backwards, the handbrake will not stop it!. caravan hand brakes only stop forward movement not rear ward, so it`ll carry on backwards until it hits something.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Mike,

It is impossible for anyone on this forum to tell you how hard it will be, that all depends on how steep, the quality of the surface, and how strong the person is that will be doing the pushing and of course teh weight of the caravan.

However several people have already outlined some of your options, and I would add a couple of other points to bear in mind:

You say you would like to have the hitch upper most, so if you are attempting to move the van by yourself, then you would actualy need to be at the hitch end for access to steer and the brake. In this case you would be 'pulling' the caravan. This is very different to pushing, and much more difficult, and as Al the eldisman points out, the hand brake has an automatic reversing feature that might prevent the hand brake from securing the van on a reverse slope.

You would also need to consider how you chock both wheels when you are holding the van by hand?

I do not have any figures but it would not surprise me to find that there are a significant number of injuries from moving caravans - the result of being over tired on the return from a holiday.

Given your scenario, I think you would be wise to consider some mechanical assistance. You have already identified some methods, but you could also consider one of the movers that connects to the ball hitch, though I have reservations about these on poor surfacs or steep inclines.

 

[ThePlotter]

Just a couple of points to consider,when pushing the van take great care where you put the pressure as you may easily cause serious damage to the van in splitting the ABS/GRP panels also I pushed my van a couple of years ago up a very very gentle slope I now have two hernias to prove it,a motor mover whilst heavy and not cheap is the only way.

 

[Damian]

Just to add a point, it has been said that pushing the van , the brake will not work if it runs backwards.

This is , surely, only the case of the brakes not working when the van is being pushed backwards by a towing vehicle and the draw bar is compressed.

Pushing the van from the rear, by hand, and if it does run away, first it has to run over the person pushing, but the brake will work if there is someone at the front ready to apply it, as no pressure is being applied to the hitch and drawbar.

having said that, a motor mover is a good investment, not only for driveway positioning, but also when on site as it removes the need to pull on the rather flimsy grab handles fitted to vans,and removes the possible damage to the van if too much tugging is done on these handles

 

[Ewan_5130997]

Mike

I had a similar problem to yours. I couldn't afford the extra

 

[mcghee]

Mike, if you can push your car in you can push your caravan in, but you might want to consider a pneumatic jockey wheel to make the task a bit easier.

 

[AlfromYC]

For piece of mind, stick your caravan handbrake on. then give it a nudge backwards. It WILL roll backwards without the overrun being pushed in, EVEN with the handbrake fully engaged.

 

[RickyLionheart]

There must be a malfunction with your brakes, what's the point of having a hand brake that will not stop the caravan rolling back wards.

Mine works in both directions and I suspect it's not a one off

 

[AnnM1]

We don't use our motor mover soley to get it on the driveway. It has also proved invaluable when hitching up, expecially on wet/muddy ground.

It is much easier to take the caravan to the car than try reversing it into position using your vehicle.

I would concur with the above and suggest you bite the bullet and invest in a motor mover. It can always be transferred to another caravan if you decide to change models in the future.

Ann

 

[Guest]

Motor movers are absolutely wonderful and I have one.

However, just remember it will 'eat' 30-40 kg of your payload. If your van is one of those where the manufacturer 'skinned' on this it could make a difference.

 

[Rod_5128213]

Motor movers are absolutely wonderful and I have one.

However, just remember it will 'eat' 30-40 kg of your payload. If your van is one of those where the manufacturer 'skinned' on this it could make a difference.

********* For piece of mind, stick your caravan handbrake on. then give it a nudge backwards. It WILL roll backwards without the overrun being pushed in, EVEN with the handbrake fully engaged.*******************

Eldisman, GET YOUR BRAKES SEEN TO NOW, YOU HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM.

Rod.

 

[Rod_5128213]

********* For piece of mind, stick your caravan handbrake on. then give it a nudge backwards. It WILL roll backwards without the overrun being pushed in, EVEN with the handbrake fully engaged.*******************

Eldisman, GET YOUR BRAKES SEEN TO NOW, YOU HAVE A SERIOUS PROBLEM.

Rod.

 

[vernon]

To stop the caravan from running backwards, the handbrake lever needs to be pulled to it's full extent, even then the caravan can run back half a revolution of the wheels until the brake shoes engage.

I used to zig-zag mine up backwards, so that the brake worked more effiently, with the wife moving blocks alternatively behind each wheel - then I saw the light and bought a mover! brilliant - wouldn't be without it now.

 

[Colin_5111401]

Ok, I've just pushed my 3 Series BMW up the drive as a test run. Even though my wife kept dabbing the brakes (her idea of a joke), I managed it with a bit of elbow grease.

For the same reason that I walk up stairs rather than using a lift, walk to the village shops rather than drive, I'm going to try without the motor mover.

If I give in, I will be big enough to come back and admit it.

(It would be nice to hear from someone that doesn't have a motor mover)

i do not have a motor mover i have 2 sons one 17 one 21 as i get within 30 mins of home they both get a call they are the best motor mover you can get oh yes if one is not available they both have mates