jockey wheels

[robert_374565247]

I am in need of a replacement jockey wheel for my abbey expression. just interested in your opinions on pneumatic or solid wheels. the price difference is not extreme and the pneumatics do seem slightly larger in diameter

 

[Bigfoot]

I bought an Al-Ko pneumatic jockey wheel as I had a motormover fitted and it was recommended that I did so. It was worthwhile although a little pricey! It steers much better on any surface and doesn't tend to dig in. I would avoid the cheaper versions, as I have heard adverse comments.

Regards.

 

[MikeyW]

As I understand it if you have a mover fitted you should have a solid tyre jockey wheel. I was told the pneumatic tyres can come off the rim when using the mover.

Mike

 

[RayS]

A correctly inflated pneumatic jockey wheel is fine with a mover and avoids the 'corner dig in' of a flat profile solid wheel on loose or soft surfaces particularly when moving van forward i.e. jockey wheel leading.

The snags are that the pneumatic tyre is generally larger diameter than the solid, and if you have the jockey wheel in the middle of the a frame rather than clamped outside then you may have less ground clearance when it is in the fully retraced position. This can mean grounding particularly on the approach side of speed humps and sometimes on ferries - and even on the very poor road surfaces which are becoming increasingly common.

another nuisance is that some pneumatics are mounted in very wide side pieces and you may find it difficult if not impossible to use a standard car pump with a turn-over locking lever at the top. A bicycle pump will probably be ok but it's one more thing to carry and loose.

there are pneumatic profile solid tyres available, but they are expensive and tend to be narrower than must jockey wheel hubs. another alternative is to fill the tyre with a suitable foam, but at the moment I am having difficulty in finding a soource, so i'm trying the normal builders foam as used for cavity filling. not ideal but it's better than a flat profile wheel.

 

[vauxhall2]

bought a new one for the motor mover and it kept getting stuck under the A frame after hitching up.made life hard work getting it out so i put the old one back on.the tyre was too large.

 

[Rodone]

Be aware that somr of the pneumatics have very poor tyres fitted and can soon crackand perish. Also, if you use the building foam(above) and hit a bump, the foam will dent and not recover a round shapeYou can get quite wide profile solid ones