jockey motor mover

[jewel1973]

hi, we have just moved, and our new driveway is on a steep slope, and round a tight bend.

we have a 12foot elddis wisp. we managed with 4 of us to get it onto the drive, but getting it off each weekend with 1 or 2 of us, just won't happen.

i was looking to buy a motor mover such as a bigfoot et.

has anyone any experience of how good these types of movers are.

my van is not worth the cost of having a mover fitted to it.

cheers

juliet

 

[Damian]

Juliet, with how you describe the access, none of the jockey wheel movers will be of any use whatsoever.

They are just about useful on level, hard surfaces but anything else is a waste of time.

The problem, apart from trying to get enogh traction to move the van is , on the way down the hill, can you stop the van if it starts to run away?

The answer with any of that type of mover is NO.

Whilst you say the van is not worth the cost of a fitted mover, it wouls still allow you the use of the van, not end up with a wreck after it had run away .

Also, you can move the mover to a new van if you change, or sell it if you no longer need it .

 

[jewel1973]

thanks for your help.

our drive is about 20 degrees from flat, the bend is a the top (the mouth of the drive)

you can get the van off the road, into the mouth of the drive, then you have to turn it about 60 degrees round to the left, and down the slope to the bottom.

any suggestions other than a mover to get it off?

 

[Rick1]

Hi Juliet

I dont know where you are in the country but this chap gets a lot of motor movers and you can haggle http://www.mkcaravans.com/11movers.html

Or give power wheel a ring they have reconditioned units they sell

Rick

 

[jewel1973]

thanks again, but we are in sheffield.

i have emailled motormover to see what they think too.

cheers

 

[Danny_5134221]

Juliet

I move my caravan up my drive using a Bigfoot jockey wheel motor mover and turn it around at the top of the drive onto the road with no problems whatsoever. My caravan is a Bailey Paegaent Bretagne and even fully loaded it copes quite well, our drive is fairly long and has a slope to it, maybe not as step as yours.

My advice to you is to ring Motor Mover and ask for a home demonstration as they did with me and put it to the test !

 

[ProfJohnL]

I reiterate Damians view, and I am concerned for your safety if you opt for an 'A' frame mover. To put it into a little more perspective, on a slope, the 'A' frame movers are only about as effective as a grown man.

Most movers have plenty of power, but it is only any good if you can put that power reliably onto the ground. This grip is equal to and generated by the weight pushing the movers wheel to the ground, and of course the ground conditions. For an 'A' frame mover you have the nose load of the caravan, and the weight of the mover its self. For most caravans that would be about 100 to 125Kg. this is the drawbar effort and is only a little more than the effort that a grown man can produce.

If you have concerns about moving the caravan by hand, because of a slope, then the same concerns would apply even more so to an A frame mover.

It is not so much the moving, but the controlling and stopping. You must also bear in mind that any loose material (e.g. gravel) will deteriorate the grip and control, as will water and of course leaves, slime and ice.

A home demonstration is a good idea, but only if it take place in the worst conditions to prove the device is actually capable of moving the caravan safely.

The same grip limitations apply to the main axle movers, but here the about half the weight of the whole caravan is applied to each wheel so the drawbar effort will be in the region of 500Kg for each wheel. This gives much greater control even in poor conditions.

 

[JTQ]

What Damian and JohnL has said is very true, there simply is not the traction on the "A" frame mounted mover to be safe on such an incline.

Assuming your van weighs 800 kg then on your quoted 20 degree slope that weight applies a 270 kg force [ over 5 hundred weights in old measures]running down hill.At the best the mover would cope with half that force.

It's not safe on a dry day and very dangerous on a wet one.

Cheers John

 

[jewel1973]

hi,

thanks to everyone for your comments.

we want the mover as 'an extra pair of hands', as there will only be 2 of us around to get the the van in and out. the mover is to make things easier. we plan to use the hand break and chocks just in case.

failing that, the van will have to be stored elsewhere.

cheers

juliet

 

[Stephen_374341239]

juliet

My friend uses a Mr Shifta 3 connects onto the towing socket of the caravan. He has a very steep driveway never has any problems. However he has said he only pushes up the steep drive and brings it down the same way so the wieght is on the mover as they recommend in the handbook. Complete control and unit is braked.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Stephen,

You do not indicate how heavy your friends caravan is or how steep the incline is, and what surface, all these are essential factors inteh use of such a mover.

The Mr Shifta is a fine product, and the advice to keep the mover at the lowest point is very sensible, but it suffers the same potential hazards as any other 'A' frame mover. it makes no difference if the unit has a brake, if the wheel slips the brake is also ineefective, as there is no tractive friction.

Juliet,

Even though you say there will be two people helping when the mover is in use, there will be psychological reliance on the mover to take the strain, and that may make the helpers less vigilant and careful. How do you know some one will be able to get to the caravan brake if the worst happens. You may be round the wrong side of the caravan when the person controlling the mover trips up or slips!

In industry such a loose safety arrangement would be wide open the H&SE banning the process until a more reliable safety protocol was established.

Heaven forbid that you do have an unfortunate experience but I very seriously ask you to consider the situation and potential failure modes.

 

[Stephen_374341239]

Hi John L

Yes sorry

25% hill grade,Hard standing driveway,Swift charisma 560 MTPLM 1460Kg.Try,s t moving only in dry conditions as he does not like getting to wet at his time of life. His 72 years young.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hi John L

Yes sorry

25% hill grade,Hard standing driveway,Swift charisma 560 MTPLM 1460Kg.Try,s t moving only in dry conditions as he does not like getting to wet at his time of life. His 72 years young.

Hello Stephen,

Not every one has the luxury of being able to choose only dry weather to move their caravan.