Moving caravan sideways

[K_5123733]

Can anyone help please?

We are in the process of moving house and will be storing our twin axle caravan on our front lawn parallel to the driveway, the length of the garden is not excessive so using a motor mover may need lots of shuffling back and forth to get it in position, ideally I would like to be able to "slide" the van to the side by about 10 feet to get it on the lawn, does anyone know of any system whereby the caravan could be reversed onto some form of wheeled platform & then moved sideways to a parked position?

Thanks in Anticipation of any advice.

Kev B.

 

[WatsonJohnG]

Machine Mart do trolley dollies at

 

[parker1158]

Hi K

The dollies that john describes are Ok on a very smooth surface, we used to use them in a workshop some years ago but they will snag on the slightest imperfection especially with that weight on them (Perfect for car body shells) but then you will have to raise the van to get them under and raise it again to get them out. Some time ago my mother had an appliance delivered for her kitchen and she was concerned the floor covering would be damaged when the machine was slotted in so I was there to lend a hand. The delivery guy said no worries produced a square of lino-squirted floor polish on it and slid the washing machine in with one hand. He then went on to explain that he got the idea from seeing some one do a similar trick with a sheet of lino and soapy water to move a car sideways. Although I have never tried it I am reliably informed it works a treat.

 

[NorfolkMike]

The problem with the dollies is that when moving sideways the leading side in the move will dig into the lawn as soon as that edge reaches the lawn. You also have to remember that the leading edge when moving in becomes the lagging edge when moving out.

I recon that taking the previous sugestion and modifying it you could try, at a faily low cost, the following.

one sheet of 10*5foot (Phonolic ply)*will explain later*,cut into 18" strips. cut off one sheet, two 18" squares. Put the strips in line with were you want the van to go. place the two 18"square bits on the runner( the strips of ply)the van wheels onto the 18" sections, oil, or grease them and as long as the surface is reasonably flat it should be pushable. That move is also reversable. if nessery you could if you have an inward and outward fixing point fit a hand winch as an aid.

ttfn

 

[WatsonJohnG]

I said a firm surface in my posting and I would think that for it to work it would have to be across a concrete/paved strip across the grass.

I couldn't see anything else that would do.

You could join two dollies together to be the same as the caravan track but you would still need to get the van onto them either with ramps or by jacking.

 

[Iain]

There used to be a firm advertised such things for caravans - not seen 'em for a while though.

 

[BrianStAlbans]

I have moved a caravan sideways before by parking it on an old length of kitchen worktop ( any thing with a shiney finish will do) and then after applying plenty of washing up liquid it is easy to push the van into position Brian (",)

 

[K_5123733]

Hi all,

Thanks for giving this some time,

I thought about dollies at some stage, but keeping them still whilst trying to get the van on could be a problem, jacking the van up to get them under could be a pain as we use the van most weekends, the drive is block paved, the lawn i was going to gravel but could easily concrete some "tracks" in it for whatever means I end up using.

I quite like the idea of the greased plywood sheets, would a 1750kg van really be that easy to move by this means?

Has anyone had experience at moving a van in this way with a motor mover? the concern about 1 of these is that to move sideways the front/back would have to swing right in & out with the axles being in the centre just to get it or shuffle back and forth loads of times to get it across, how much battery power would this take??

As posted by Fab, I thought there was a firm that made something for this sort of situation, but cannot remember where I saw it or if it still exists.

Thanks again,

Kev.

 

[PC_5119929]

When I first looked at this site a few months back this subject was covered with a description of rollers! Can't find on search but look back through the pages.

Remember that pushing the van into place is one thing, but will you have room to get to the other side to push it out again of will you have to pull it.

 

[Bigpow_5039962]

Not sure how far you want to push the van but another idea is to lay twin steel 3" channel tracks flush with your drive at 90 degrees (Galv would be best)and 4 plates with guides for the wheels and shouders so that they run in the tracks. Not a great idea but will take a lot more punishment than wood