Manual moving of Senator 9000

[joan_5093596]

Hello,

Apologies if this is in the wrong section. New to this site (and caravanning!!! arghhhh!) and still finding my way around.

We have bought a 1995 Senator 9000 and are beginning to think we may have been better with a small van for our first time.

Hubby hasn't been on the manouvering course yet, and we are planning to go away before he does! We would like to bring the caravan to our house (it is currently in storage) to get it ready for our holiday but this means we will have to manhandle it backwards onto our drive by ourselves.

Question is .... will it be too heavy for the 2 of us? We are not weaklings but are not yet ready to put on a comedy show for all the neighbours. (We want to wait until we are on our holiday before we give everyone a laugh! watch this space

 

[cris_408518]

We have a Senator 5000, that is virtually the same. I have plenty of space to manouvre it but we man handle it to put it out of sight. On my hard level garden and concrete standing and driveway I can move it with the aid of a tow hitch handle. And lowering the front jockey wheel lifting the front wheels enables easier turning. I'm a very big bloke so I do have an advantage, if any ruts have been made in the garden I am stuck and can't move the thing so need the help of my daughters or wife.

I wouldn,t comment on your chances if you have to push or pull the van over a dropped pavement.

Friends have an equally large van that they turn by hand in line with the drive and roll back as far as they can they then hitch the car to reverse it straight back. They have to hitch to get the van back into the road, then unhitch turn by hand and then re hitch as there is no room to reverse with the van. We have done the same at some sites and when leaving the van at my folks in Devon.

 

[mcghee]

I can't comment on your predicament at all Joan, since I don't know your van. But I'd like to think that in a similar situation my neighbours would lend a hand rather than laugh. It's not nice to see folk struggle.

 

[Lol1]

Joan, I would like to highlight something that Cris touched upon. When turning your van it is easier if you can use the jockey wheel to raise the drawbar as far as possible. This means extending the jockey wheel as far as it will go which will take the weight off the leading pair of wheels. It then handles a little more like a single axle. Just remember to get the nose of the van as high as poss, but beware of any ground clearance at the back.

 

[AnnM1]

If your neighbours are so unfriendly and unwilling to give you assistance why not invest in a motor mover? These are very useful, not only siting your 'van on the driveway but, also, moving it on damp/muddy grass when on site.

 

[joan_5093596]

Thanks for the comments and practical suggestions. Nice to see people so quick to help. I must put the record straight though and say that the comment about giving our neighbours a laugh was more about our total lack of experience at caravanning and not about our neighbours. Incidentally they are lovely but most of them are retired and we wouldn't dream of asking them to help push our 'van around. Fingers crossed we are going to go and get it next week and see what we can do.

We're reading up on all the instruction books and hoping we don't look to 'green' when we go away at half term.

 

[joan_5093596]

just to let you all know we did it!!!

managed to push 'van onto drive no real problems.........not sure whether we were fortunate or not when the gas board dug up the road almost directly opposite our drive the day before (which was a problem) but they also provided temp traffic lights (which gave us a break in the traffice!!!)

Slight hitch when we got it half way and then couldn't budge it at all ...... until we realised that a moment of panic as we headed towards the fence had caused hubby to pull on the handbrake which he then immediately forgot he had done!

Roll on half term when we become "real" caravanners!!!

 

[AnnM1]

Congratulations Joan. I am sure it will become easier with practice. All you have to remember is that we have all been there and entertained the campsite before now! Enjoy your next break away.