Motor Mover owners!

[nrdonnelly]

Do you have a motor mover? Our DIY man Doug King reports hearing stories about movers damaging caravan tyres.

So far, they've been anecdotal with the information coming via third parties. The worry is that if they are correct, then the industry needs to do something about it. So Doug is asking for your help. He would like to compile a survey of movers but with particular reference to tyre damage. These will be collated and sent to the relevant people - which is why he needs your help.

If you have suffered damage to the tyres - or any other damage - as a result of having a mover fitted to your caravan could you please email or write and let us know?

Please give the following details: your name; the make and model of your caravan; the name of the mover; how long you've had it; what damage has been caused; what steps, if any, has the mover manufacturer has taken to rectify the situation. Photos would also be of great value.

Email: doug@practicalcaravan.com or write to:

Doug King, Practical Caravan, Haymarket Consumer Media, Teddington Studios, Broom Road, Teddington, Middx., TW11 9BE.

We will report the findings back both online and in the magazine.

Thanks in anticipation for your help

Regards

Nigel Donnelly

Editor

Practical Caravan

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Nigel

IMO I think Doug should also take into account in his report people like me who have used their mover regularly over all sorts of terrain without any problem.

Does Doug want to hear from people like me?

It could be that the frequency of problem may only be 1 in 1000 and that may due to a number of issues.

Cheers

Dustydog

 

[Damian]

As an Aproved Workshop,and having fitted a lot of movers of all makes to all makes of vans, there has only been one case of damage caused to tyres by a mover that I personally know of, and the actual cause was the owner having fouled the mover when towing with his car, and it moved the mover on the chassis rail and caused the mover to contact the tyre, which scrubbed the tread quite a bit before it made its own clearance.

I take third party information with a pinch of salt.

In almost every case of scary things happening it always "happened to a mate of a mate of a mates wife/husband/partner/cousin"

My own van mover has been used, like dustydogs, in all terrains, all kinds of weather and has behaved perfectly, with absolutely no damage to either van or tyres, over a 6 year period d n two different vans.

 

[Philspadders]

there are too many variables here. The terrain,the rollers and the condition of the rollers, are the rollers fully engaged or not etc.

Unless these form part of an review then the review is worthless.

 

[SteveW77]

I agree with the other post on this subject, I have had a P T mover for 6 yrs now and have had no problems at all. I do think that only those with a problem air their views, most of us just quietly get on with our hobby without any fuss.

Steve W

 

[emmitdb]

Hi Nigel,

You can have my story.

I have a six year old powrwheel mover and in June this year we changed vans( yet again!!!) for a new Lunar Lexon SE.

Old van was a Swift Challenger 560.

As part of the deal I got the dealer (no names unless you ask) to change over the motor mover.

I went home and used the mover to perform a 180 degree which it did on the driveway blocks without a problem.

Two weeks later I went on a rally and, because of the land I was put on, I had to drive one wheel up a ramp. The mover couldn't do it and, although the rollers of the mover were turning, the wheel of the van wasn't.

On going to investigate I noted that the metal rollers of the van were actually chewing off the surface of the tyre.

A complete halt was called and brute force and ignorence put the van up the ramp.

On looking at the mover later that day I noted that the mover was more than the required 20mm from the tyre when not engaged.

As a result, when the roller was put to work, there was insufficient pressure being applied to the tyre by the roller and, as a result, it was in turn slipping and 'chewing up' the tyre.

One snotty 'phone call to dealer and a further visit en route to another rally sorted out the problem.

Want any further info, just ask.

 

[colin(bridgend)]

Another concern to me is the ground clearance over speed humps. I am sure I read an article whereby Alko would not accept damage to a chassis caused by a motor mover unless it was one of their own manufactured movers.

 

[Damian]

Colin, that is quite correct, Al-KO will NOT accept damage to the chassis caused by a third party mover having been fitted, and quite rightly.

The Mamut fits within the chassis rails, not undeslung as all other movers are.

I have never had an issue with speed hump,as long as they are driven over at a sensible speed, which after all, is what they are there for, to slow traffic down.

 

[joeby]

we have a mover on our van for 8 years and never had any damage to the tyres , and we caravan all year spending over 80 nights away per year , lots of things damage tyres potholes for one ,we had a puncture on a hardstanding with granite chippings ,another time a bolt went into the tyre ,also the tyre could have been pre-damaged before the mover was engaged ,also there are people like a friend of ours who leave the mover engaged for the whole time they are on site ,because they are to idle to disengage it

 

[ProfJohnL]

produced the first ever caravan mover that drove the main wheels. I know from visiting his home where he did a lot of the development of the mover, that he did extensive research in to the ability of the caravan tyre to accept the impressed driving roller.

He pointed out that when a caravan tyre mounts a normal kerbstone, the indentation is causes are far sharper and deeper than the mover rollers, a fact that was agreed by several tyre manufactures who were consulted.

The surface of the roller was chosen to provide good grip, but not so much as to cause it rip rubber from the tyre if it stalled. This also explains why some of the earlier rollers did not last as long as perhaps they might.

The other critical factor as emmitdb points out is the adjustment of the roller to the tyre, and not forgetting tyre pressure.

Just as an aside I happen to know that the first productionised prototype mover is still fitted and working on a Vanroyce caravan some where in Derbyshire.

 

[ProfJohnL]

produced the first ever caravan mover that drove the main wheels. I know from visiting his home where he did a lot of the development of the mover, that he did extensive research in to the ability of the caravan tyre to accept the impressed driving roller.

He pointed out that when a caravan tyre mounts a normal kerbstone, the indentation is causes are far sharper and deeper than the mover rollers, a fact that was agreed by several tyre manufactures who were consulted.

The surface of the roller was chosen to provide good grip, but not so much as to cause it rip rubber from the tyre if it stalled. This also explains why some of the earlier rollers did not last as long as perhaps they might.

The other critical factor as emmitdb points out is the adjustment of the roller to the tyre, and not forgetting tyre pressure.

Just as an aside I happen to know that the first productionised prototype mover is still fitted and working on a Vanroyce caravan some where in Derbyshire.

I had the privilege of knowing John Carver of Carver & Co (Engineers) Ltd who ........