Motor Movers how good are they?

[Roy_374352497]

We have a steep narrow drive down the side of our house which prevents me backing the caravan down with the car.Just wondered if I had a motor mover fitted to the van would it have the power to negotiate the drive its about a 1 in 6 drop.Any body had any experience of this?

 

[Andrewbutcher]

Hi Roy, i think motor movers are a god send for parking or negotiating tight spaces.

A lot depends on the weight of your caravan in relation to the steepness of your drive, my advice would be to give powrtouch a call or e-mail, they are extremely knowledgable and helpful, i am sure they will be able to recommend the correct unit for your caravan.

Hope this helps, Andrew.

 

[Sproket]

Hi Roy, we have just had a power touch 3 fitted to our Hymer Nova which weighs in at 1.5 tons, they say the power touch 3 will push 1.5 tons up a 1 in 4 hill ! ( at the moment on my drive when the van is leveled up my drive drops 7.5" over 16' at the side of the van ) it would have been impossible for us to move it around without it, this is one of my better buys & I would recommend them I paid

 

[Lord Braykewynde]

My caravan is on a steep drive alongside a wall and the mover is ideal. There is no way I could reverse it into the right place and man handling it is out of the question. Go for it Roy, you wont regret it and it's a cinch to work.

 

[Dave_374330759]

We've got a Powrtouch 3 on a 1400kg van, don't have a steep drive, but up a kerb and into a narrowish slot between the garage and the neighbours fence.. We need to get the van as close as possible to the garage wall so that we have access to the van, wheel clamps and mover engagement nut. I can easily manouver the van on my own with the mover and get it into the gap with about 2" clearance to the garage wall leaving me about 15" clearance to get down the side of the van. Dead easy to move and position the van but the knees take a bit of strain when I'm putting the wheel clamp on in the 15" gap as I'm not as thin as I ought to be. I wouldn't be without it

 

[Steve L]

Hi Roy.

There's a simlar thread running at the moment on the need for a motor mover which would make interesting reading too.

I have a twin axle van and use a Motormover ET to move it. I am a very competent tower who can reverse with ease, I expect 30 years of practice has a part to play in that. But when I had a major shoulder operation 18 months ago, it brought home to me just how vunerable you can be when it comes to moving a 1350Kg van by hand. My other half while she is very capable of towing on the open road, is not a s confident as me at reversing, she can reverse into a side road for instance but a gap tolerance of under a foot is not her cup of tea.

So that was where my A frame mounted motor mover came into it's own. I was able to use it even with my right arm in a sling and guide the van onto our drive with her ladyship on hand to operate the hand brake should we go west. While the motor mover is somewhat dated compered to the chassis mounted units you can get today, at

 

[Roy_374352497]

Good to hear of the capabilities of the mover,remeasured the drop of the drive and its more like a 1 in 5 ,this carries on for about 30ft.Just wondered which way round would it be best to drive the van down ,if the towbar is at the back I would think there is a good chance the van could tip up because of the gradient.If the towbar goes down first if anything goes wrong with the mover once onto the drive then would not be able to retrieve the van back up the drive with the car.

 

[Steve L]

HI Roy.

With my hitch mounted mover, I would reverse the van up and come down forwards. By coming down forwards you will also have full handbrake efficiencey on the van. But if you go down hill backwards you will not have much brakeability at all due to the design of the brakes, as they are designed to release to allow for reversing with the car after stopping.

Steve L.

 

[JTQ]

Roy, I would advise: with the steepness of your drive at 1:5 make really sure that you know the true weight of your van and that the chosen mover is designed for that mass and incline. Further get this performance requirement an agreed clause in your purchase contract. One in five is very steep and for 30 feet some climb.

 

[J.Lo]

Roy I have a powrmover fitted on my van,the conditions you describe are about the same as mine. Mine has been in use for about 4 years now, I go out about 30 times a year no probs. Make sure you have full battery 110 amps charge with a charger not the caraavan, it dose make a difference Regards J.Lo

 

[Roy_374352497]

Roy I have a powrmover fitted on my van,the conditions you describe are about the same as mine. Mine has been in use for about 4 years now, I go out about 30 times a year no probs. Make sure you have full battery 110 amps charge with a charger not the caraavan, it dose make a difference Regards J.Lo

Thanks J.LO sounds like I've got to get a heavy duty mover plus a 110 amp battery.Could I just ask you which way round do you drop your van down your drive