motor movers

[Andrewbutcher]

Hi everyone, i would appreciate your help and advice regarding caravan motor movers, are they intrusive to a new caravan? ie, do you have to drill holes for wiring etc? do you need a second battery, or does it run off your existing leisure battery? and finally, are they any good and which manufacturer is best? my caravan is a Hymer Nova (1700kg). thank you for your help. andrew.

 

[jacky3]

no they do not need any outside work on the caravan,the only place where they drill a hole is inside the front locker wall to accomadate a isolation switch for the battery.it works off the caravan battery,which should be at least 110 amp.powrtouch seem to have a lot of followers, me included, and yes they are absolutely brilliant.used mine today on site when preparing to hitch up,had numerous people round watching and they were all gobsmacked,they all thought it was an ingenious piece of machinery and were all well impressed.the

 

[trevor123]

Hi Andrew, we got a motor mover that fit on the jockey wheel if you can reverse the van on to caravan site that will keep the cost down, but bear in mind that having the motor mover fitted for life you got to lose some of your pay load about 35kg, we been happy with our as we have a slope in our garden, good luck what ever you do, Trevor

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Andrew,

Trevor has added the thought of an A frame mounted mover. These are excellent provided you have solid flat ground, but if you intend to use it on site, then you must be aware of the major shortcoming that A frame drives have, that is lack of traction on slopes and slippery surfaces. As a guide, if you cannot stop a van on a slope by hand (i.e without the brake), then under the same conditions an A frame mover is likely to loose grip, which will not only prevent it from starting a van on a slope but potentially worse it will not be able to control and stop a moving van! You also have to lift and remove the device each time you couple to the car, so consider how to store the device when towing.

Chassis mounted movers can also suffer loss of traction but usually under much more severe conditions. They are always available at home or on site, and most allow you to move around the van so you can see clearly any of teh obsticals you need to avoid.

The choice is yours - happy motor moving

 

[Jim_5068006]

We have a powrtouch and their service has been excellent - just as well as we had some teething problems as the supplying dealer hadn't fitted it properly when we collected the van.

Given the weight of his Nova Andrew should get the heavy duty version of whatever he goes for - we had to upgrade and our challenger is under 1500kg!

Now it's working it's excellent....

 

[Jimbo_5039985]

I have a Reich fitted. One of its features is the soft start. This means that it does not jerk forward or backward when you activate it. This is mint for hitching up as you can drop the van right on the ball with nil effort and without hitting your motor. Highly reccommended.

Jimbo

 

[TonyA.]

I have a Reich, great piece of kit, I have also had great service and back up from Reich UK, they replaced my box free of charge and by return of post, and it was all my fault that it went wrong, I wouldn`t go any were else, Highly recommended runs off existing battery minimal drilling just to let the wires in and everything is sealed afterwards

 

[waffler]

Andrew we have a carver(truma) mover. we are disappointed with it. Fine on concrete or level grass but won't go up the levelling ramps without help from me leaning on the van. (yes it's been back to the dealer twice!) also batteries in the remote failed and we couldn't move the van as there is no back up. also no fine control or soft start. In talking to folks with Reich and Powrtouch they seem very happy.

Chris

 

[PeterT]

Andrew

We have a Powrtouch, confirm all comments. Soft start is a boon. I comes with an alternative cable connection in case remote battery dies, or you have severe RF interference

 

[colin(bridgend)]

I posted a similar question approx. 2 weeks ago as a fellow caravaner had a system professionally fitted to the chasis of his van and he was continually bottoming it on sleeping policemen, thereby requiring repairs at his expence as this was not covered in the warranty. Has anybody else experienced this as I am dubious about havng one fitted. Caravan is Bailey Ranger 500/5 and slight incline to drive with 90 degree bend at gate opening. All replies would be very much appreciated.