Jockey Wheel Question

[spottie2101]

Hi guys we bought are first van yesterday got it home and then the nightmare begins lol.

When we went to lift it off the tow bar the jockey wheel fell out leaving my hubby yelling and me trying to put it back in quickly.

It's probably a daft question but should it do this????? It's fine when it is down too it etc but as we lift it off the tow bar it falls off and it did this 4 times.

Any help or advice will be greatly appreciated as I bow down to your superior knowledge x

 

[Grahamh]

When you say'lifted off the towhitch' - you do mean that you undid the jockey wheel clamp to allow the jockey wheel to fall to to the floor; then tightened the jockey wheel clamp back up before winding the jockey wheel downwards to lift the hitch off the towball. When it is clear of the towball you disconnect the breakaway cable and electrical plug before moving the car out of the way. Once the caravan is sited then you adjust the noseheight with the nosewheel winder to get the caravan level fore and aft before putting the legs down.
HTH's

 

[Parksy]

You may have unwound the jockey wheel from the internal thread which would be why the bottom part falls out.
When this happens does the top part with the winder handle stay on the A frame or does the whole lot fall out?
If it's just the bottom part simply put the threaded part back into the tube and turn the handle as though you're going to wind up the jockey wheel. It's important not to use the corner steadies as jacks to raise your caravan, if you do this you risk damaging the caravan chassis and floor.
When you've re-engaged the threaded bottom part of the jockey wheel there is a tightening handle on your A frame which, when loosened, allows the entire jockey wheel to slide up or down in the A frame.
Use this to find an ideal position so that you can wind the wheel to the floor when un-hitching. When the caravan is hitched to your towing vehicle the jockey wheel needs to be wound up fully and the assembly raised completely, taking care that the wheel bracket fits into the slots at the bottom of the tube to prevent the wheel from turning and potentially dropping out when you are moving. Click Here to see a short You Tube video about hitching your caravan to your car, the bit with the jockey wheel is about half way through Click Here