Motor Mover

[SirRogerFFS]

Hi All Im looking for the answer to what might seem a silly question. Right Her Ladyship has decided now Ive gone way past 60 We should have a Motor Mover fitted to our T/A Caravan which my service engineer is fitting at the end of the month. My Question is when its fitted and all working when Im travelling is it correct to switch the battery charger on. This is new area as we dont usual bother as the charger will soon do its job when hooked up on site .Im fully aware that when we use the mover it will take a lump out of the battery which is a 110 amp battery. I look forward to your replies .
Sir Roger

 

[Dustydog]

Hi Sir Roger

I’d say your question is model specific.
On mine all the master panel switches are off whilst towing. However via the 12S plug in my case the leisure battery gets charged direct by the cars alternator. Similarly the fridge also runs on 12v direct from the car but not via the leisure battery.
The movers do not use a great deal of power so you shouldn’t worry.

 

[Craigyoung]

I'm with Dusty on this one , everything is switched off when we travel to , no need for the charger to be on when travelling . And when you arrive on site just put the battery on and formatter of 5 or 10 minutes , that's it , it won't take a lump of your battery as you say. At least you'll be saving on your clutch wear !

 

[otherclive]

All my power switches are off when travelling and the fridge set to battery. The car charges up the van battery but before each trip I connect domestic 240v to bring the fridge temperature down and also switch on the battery charging until departure.

Strange as it may seem unless you are doing a lot of moving with inclines or extracting from muddy field the mover doesn’t take a lot of ampere hours out of the battery. What it does need is a battery capable of supplying the amps at the required rate when demanded. So your 110amp hour is more than adequate for any one who uses EHU.

 

[RayS]

You will find the mover has a master switch that you only turn on when you want to move the caravan i.e. with both car and site EHU disconnected. You turn this master switch off after you have positioned the caravan and before connecting either car or site EHU depending whether you are going or coming.
I'm quite a lot older and have had a mover for 15 or so years and would not be without it. You will be very happy to have it so long as it has been installed correctly and you have been shown how to use it. It does take quite a lot of current from the battery - up to 80 or 90 amps on start up, which is why the cables will appear quite thick, but only for a very short time.
When you get the van serviced next make sure the gaps of the mover rollers are checked and adjusted as necessary and that the cable connections are checked as clean and tight. Carry a spare battery for the hand control. I have no direct experience of TAs but on singles to tun you press the turn buttons such that both wheels are driving - one forwards, one backwards, at the same time for a serious turn. Otherwise the side you have not pressed will scrub and put a higher load on the driven side. This may be more serious on a TA..
I think you have made a wise move and trust it goes well.

 

[ProfJohnL]

.. .Im fully aware that when we use the mover it will take a lump out of the battery which is a 110 amp battery. I look forward to your replies .
Sir Roger

Hello Roger,

What I think you have heard is that caravan movers need a lot of current to work, and by comparison to most pieces of caravanning equipment that is perfectly true. Some movers may try to draw 60Amps but that is a peak value which only occurs for a fraction of a second when the mover is starting to move, or if you are trying to get the caravan over a kerb etc. As soon as the mover is running at near normal speed they normally drop down 10A or less.

It would be a significant draw on the battery if it were sustained for a long time, but again most moving operations are completed in under 5Min, which is means in practice you may use typically about 1Ah of battery capacity.

By comparison, your telly will use more battery capacity if you watch for 30Min, than the mover uses.

 

[Damian]

My Question is when its fitted and all working when Im travelling is it correct to switch the battery charger on. This is new area as we dont usual bother as the charger will soon do its job when hooked up on site .Im fully aware that when we use the mover it will take a lump out of the battery which is a 110 amp battery. I look forward to your replies .
Sir Roger

No, there is no need to switch on the charger on when travelling, it will do nothing as the on board charger is mains operated !

The car will charge the battery as you drive if you have all the connections wired in your plugs and as soon as you connect up to the mains EHU on site the on board charger will take over.

Whilst the mover will take (or can take) quite a big initial amp load to get it moving, that is only for a very short time then it settles down to a much lower draw.

As long as your battery is in good condition you should have no problems.

 

[Dustydog]

Sir Rog,
Are you going for a 2x drive or 4 x drive?
I have the 2x. It is slow at turning . No spinning on a sixpence but by toing and froing it will turn . To do a tight 90 deg turn will take a few minutes. Back and forth and leaning on the corner to help. Your leisure battery will manage. Don’t forget your mover will also erode your available payload. Another reason I opted for the 2x system.

 

[otherclive]

I use the mover more now that the car is a DSG auto as when moving at a slow speed the twin clutches can experience slip. I may be being a bit conservative but the mover is good and if it saves me a gearbox problem then it’s money well spent. The only significant disadvantage is that the voyeurs don’t get any entertainment.

 

[SirRogerFFS]

Thank you all for your contributions to my post much appreciated .My mind is now at rest .
Sir Roger

 

[Woodentop]

I would add one extra point.
If your caravan is say 10 years old or less it will have an electrical relay system that switches when you connect to your tow.
On first connection the caravan battery is disconnected and any 12V needed comes from the car.
When you start the engine a second relay operates that disconnects 12V within the caravan but supplies charge to the caravan battery and to power the fridge (which of course you have previously already switched to 12V operation?)
As such there is no need to turn off the caravan master switch. It is however a good idea to turn the mover power off even if is only drawing a few milliamps - you don't want it to suddenly decide to engage the mover onto the wheels at 60mph on the motorway!