motor mover

[andrew1608]

I am looking for some advise, I have a Elddis Hurrican XL1000 1994, i caravan on my own and find it gives me serious back ache at times trying to manually manover the van especially in the driveway. I did try a purpleline mover but i found that when turning the handle it hit off the gas locker door so it was soon removed and sold on luckily i got my money back when selling it on. But this does not resolve the problem of moving the caravan. I try to use the car as much as possible for moving it, i have a peugeot 406 and luckily it has a ski hatch in the back seat so if i open this along with the boot i can easily hitch up. But when i cannot use the car it is a problem. I cannot afford a motormover that fits the axle, can anyone think of any other options for a motormover. I have throught about getting an electric gold trolley and modifing it and fitting a towball but it would not have the required power or weight in it, any idea's. I could spend upto around £150 on something if it was to work.

 

[PeterT]

Andrew

If you are thinking along the lines of a golf trolley, forget it. Contact Powrtouch to find their reconditioned, second-hand movers, may be accessible to you. I only have a small 'van, but need the 'inching' facility to get through a tight spot. If you try for an electric jockey wheel, they are normally only effective with a very heavy noseweight. The 'mini-tractor' with a mounted towball and a built-in battery needs a lot of manouvering room and their cost is high. The only long-term answer is the chassis mounted version, I say longterm as I have recently transferred mine to it's fourth 'van.

Peter T

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Andrew,

I sympathise with your circumstances, and you have rightly identified that a modified powered golf caddy would probably fail to provide what you want.

A Golf caddy would fail for similar reasons as the Purpleline device; not enough grip, and I suspect that a golf caddy would not be powerful enough or durable enough to with stand the rigours of moving even a small caravan.

There are hitch mounted movers available, and provided the surface on which they are used is good and without too much of an incline, then they work - but if you intend to use them when you go on site, then their limitations become more apparent, also you have to consider how you are going to store and transport them when touring.

If you read the many threads on this forum about caravan movers, I am sure you will conclude that they movers that drive the caravans own main wheels have a significant advantage over the hitch mounted varieties in most users opinions.

Sadly your limited budget is going not going to be enough to purchase a new unit, and it is unlikely to fund even a second hand one (a few do come up for sale, check on Ebay or other similar sites). I do urge you to try and increase your budget, because if you do damage you back, you could loose more than the cost of good mover. - think of it as insurance.

 

[andrew1608]

Hello Andrew,

I sympathise with your circumstances, and you have rightly identified that a modified powered golf caddy would probably fail to provide what you want.

A Golf caddy would fail for similar reasons as the Purpleline device; not enough grip, and I suspect that a golf caddy would not be powerful enough or durable enough to with stand the rigours of moving even a small caravan.

There are hitch mounted movers available, and provided the surface on which they are used is good and without too much of an incline, then they work - but if you intend to use them when you go on site, then their limitations become more apparent, also you have to consider how you are going to store and transport them when touring.

If you read the many threads on this forum about caravan movers, I am sure you will conclude that they movers that drive the caravans own main wheels have a significant advantage over the hitch mounted varieties in most users opinions.

Sadly your limited budget is going not going to be enough to purchase a new unit, and it is unlikely to fund even a second hand one (a few do come up for sale, check on Ebay or other similar sites). I do urge you to try and increase your budget, because if you do damage you back, you could loose more than the cost of good mover. - think of it as insurance.

thankyou for the advice, last night on ebay i spotted a motor mover , it looks a bit of an older one but at