Truma Motor Mover help!

[jamestaylor18]

Hi all

I am after some advice on my Truma motor mover. I purchased the van with this already on. Its one of the earlier ones, with manual engage/disengage and the rollers are the gravel type stuff, not the groved alloy ones (if this makes sense?).

The issue i had the first time I used it was, it moved the van for about 30 seconds, then cut out. When i switched off the remote and switched it on again, it did the same, moved for 30 seconds then stopped and so on. Since then i have not used it, as i am not too bad at using my car to reverse (plus only been out once and had the van less than a month).

Does this sound like it could be the batteries in the remote? The issue i have now is that there is another van at the side of mine in the storage yard, and this means that using the mover would now be ideal and would save a lot of sweat and tears!

My battery is showing in the green on the battery status (it is the needle type and doesn't show any volts, just red, yellow or green).

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[NigelHutson]

Yes, my parents have an "old" Carver mover (which was later branded Truma), which does exactly that when the batteries in the remote are getting past their best. Dad tends to take the batteries out if he's not going to use it for a while.

Are you able to check where the needle on the battery gauge is when the mover is working, as it could be the caravan battery if the needle drops significantly, but I'd certainly start with the remote?

 

[jamestaylor18]

Hello, thanks for your reply. This sounds promising then that its the remote batteries if your dad's used to do the same. Fingers crossed 3 new Duracell batteries solves the issue! I have no idea how old the batteries are to be honest in the handset.

If not, i can leave the door open and open the cupboard where the volt meter is, and should be able to see what the volt meter does without too much effort. Obviously, i will just edge forward just to see what it does (safety first ).

 

[brian_c]

Hello James.
Just a thought because I'm sure more knowledgeable forum members may give you better advice later. When I first used a motor mover and that was a new one mine displayed similar symptoms to what you describe. The problem is that I was stood just slightly too far away and the connection I presume is radio control was lost. So it was a bit of a stop start scenario.
Obviously the movers have a fairly high draw from the leisure battery so it is important to ensure the battery is in good condition and well charged.
And finally like you have already said because the connection between the handset and mover control panel is radio. The handset battery needs to be in good well charged condition.
Forgive me if these ideas seem a bit simplistic but lots of problems with equipment usually have a simple explanation.
If Truma are like other movers and I believe they have an excellent reputation you should be able to google the instructions to download to your phone or laptop.
I don't think you need worry about the type of rollers you have lots of movers use those with no issues.
Hope you soon get sorted best is he's Brian

 

[Montrose]

Hello James,
I see you have had some useful advice.
My advice would be also to check the battery clamps.
The press on ones don't make all round contact and the mover uses quite a surge of juice.
I always suggest to ensure you have the bolt on clamps.
Either way that was a solution to my stuttering mover problems
Cheers

 

[jamestaylor18]

Thanks for your reply! No, please do keep it simple! I would much rather look a fool at the storage yard than in front of an engineer. I have look in the manual, and it says keep within a 10 meter range, which i think i was, but on Saturday, there is no harm in standing by the side of the van where the control unit is, then i can rule that out as well as ruling out the handset batteries.

Fingers crossed its one or the other (batteries or remote range) and not something more costly.

To be honest, i enjoy the challenge of reversing using my car, its just there isn't masses of space of the storage site, and using the mover would be perfect and save so much time and patience! Nothing worse than getting stressed before your holiday even starts!

 

[jamestaylor18]

Hello James,
I see you have had some useful advice.
My advice would be also to check the battery clamps.
The press on ones don't make all round contact and the mover uses quite a surge of juice.
I always suggest to ensure you have the bolt on clamps.
Either way that was a solution to my stuttering mover problems
Cheers

I think my battery clamps are the bolt on type, its a 2005 van, so i think they should be. Again, worth checking on saturday if i still have problems. I will be going armed with a massive list of all your super knowledge, you WILL work! ha ha

 

[Damian]

The mover acting in the manner you describe is classic of a failing leisure battery.
Whilst it may show looking OK on a very cheap and uncalibrated indicator in the van it may be far from the truth.
You need a multimeter, a basic MUST for caravanners.

Once you have got one set it to 20v DC then with the mover disengaged measure the battery voltage at the battery terminals.
Now, with mover still disengaged operate it in forward or backwards rotation and note the voltage at the battery terminals.

If the battery is fully charged at the start it should read around 12.8vDC.
When the mover is operated the voltage should drop momentarily but return to 12v and stay there.

You may find that your battery drops well below the 12v , possibly even to 8v or 2v, in which case the battery needs replacing.

 

[jamestaylor18]

The mover acting in the manner you describe is classic of a failing leisure battery.
Whilst it may show looking OK on a very cheap and uncalibrated indicator in the van it may be far from the truth.
You need a multimeter, a basic MUST for caravanners.

Once you have got one set it to 20v DC then with the mover disengaged measure the battery voltage at the battery terminals.
Now, with mover still disengaged operate it in forward or backwards rotation and note the voltage at the battery terminals.

If the battery is fully charged at the start it should read around 12.8vDC.
When the mover is operated the voltage should drop momentarily but return to 12v and stay there.

You may find that your battery drops well below the 12v , possibly even to 8v or 2v, in which case the battery needs replacing.

Thanks for the info Damian. I will get a multi meter and see what this shows at weekend.

Just a question then, if i use the mover in bursts < 30 secs, then rest for a few seconds, should the battery still be able to power it until i get a new battery? I'm not great at understanding batteries and volts, amps, circuits ect let alone fuses & MCB's!

 

[Damian]

Hi James,
The problem with a failing battery is that it will deteriorate much faster with large loads on it and you will find that the time gets shorter between it stopping and the rest period get longer which could leave you in a very precarious position.

It will also be VERY frustrating to use !!!!

 

[jamestaylor18]

Dam! Looks like a new battery then if i have no luck with the batteries in the handset

 

[jamestaylor18]

Hi Damian

Not sure if your still around, but I have just had a quick look at batteries....

I don't use my van battery for anything other than the mover, as i always book pitches with EHU, therefore, what size battery output would i need? I would rather go for a maintenance free battery, as i don't want the hassle of maintaining it and end up with acid on my face. My winter plans are to take the battery off the van, get a trickle charger, fill it up, and just top it up monthly. Does this sound along the right lines?

Thanks in advance for your help

 

[jamestaylor18]

UPDATE
Been down to the van this morning with my multimeter. The battery is reading 12.08 volts. When the mover is engaged and in use, the voltage drops to 11.02 volts.

Am I right in thinking that the battery is fine?

I've changed the batteries in the handset and run it for a good 30-40 secs with no cutting out.

Does my battery voltages sound ok? I didn't get the extreme drop that Damian mentioned, so I'm thinking it was the handset batteries?

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

When was the battery last charged? 12.08 volts is about 50% capacity, has it discharged to that on its own or has it been in use? A fully charged battery reads about 12.7 volts after it has rested.

 

[jamestaylor18]

Hi

I have partially discharged it probably by using the radio when i have been down there this week. I also have an alarm, which i assume uses some battery? Also, my mover doesn't have a power isolation key thing, so i am guessing that uses some power too (or i might be wrong).

James

 

[jamestaylor18]

Sorry, i last charged it 2 weeks ago when i had EHU while on site.

 

[Damian]

Hello James.
With a battery reading of 12.08v the battery is in effect flat.
As it drops to 11.02v then there is not enough power to operate the mover, it must have a full 12v.

If the reading dropped and stayed low then the battery is not able to hold a charge for as long as it should.

As far as replacement battery is concerned the bigger the AH rating the better but as you only use it for the mover then a high AH car battery may be a better option as they are built to stand a heavy short term discharge whereas leisure batteries are built to give long lasting relatively low demand.

The important thing with either option is physical size so that you ensure it will fit in the locker.

The makers recommended battery for movers is 110AH but of course they are talking about leisure batteries.

The other thing to remember is that unless your van has a smart charger, as most newer vans do, then it will only charge the battery to about 80% so you are losing capacity straight away.
The smart chargers are better as they give a boost charge followed by a maintainence charge which keeps the battery in prime condition.

 

[colin-yorkshire]

hi James, couple of points, if you do change the battery on the van, don't buy a leisure battery, buy a H/D car starter battery with a cranking amps above 200 [provided it fit in the box] "it should" it would also be a lot cheaper and do a better job on a van as if you only use EHU while away these are better suited to being on constant charge, plus as Damian pointed out the van charger will only fill it to about 80/85% so there will be plenty in reserve to use the mover.

the problem you have save the remote batteries being flat is probably due to being "out of range" mine used to do the same thing you start it up it moves you back off to see where it is going and it stops, this can be made better by extending the aerial by a foot and arranging it vertical rather than having 3in taped to the top of the box [how they usually are] you get greater range and doesn't cut out so much.

and lastly, this will sound odd, while using the remote turn it round so it matches the direction of the van, ie, front to back, if your behind the van use it the right way round, but if you go to the front turn it round so the buttons match the direction of travel. there is nothing more annoying or embarrasing than wanting it to go left pressing the left button only for it to go right and run into the object you are so carefully trying to avoid. :lol: :lol:

 

[ProfJohnL]

If you are only using the battery to run the mover, then I challenge Damian's statement about the bigger the better in relation to the Ah rating of the battery.

Caravan movers are generally only used whilst you hitch up or unhitch and place a caravan. Let's be hard and assume the average current consumption of a mover is 60A, and it's used for 5 minutes. To work out how much battery capacity that will use Current draw (A) x Min used/ min in an hour = Power used in AH.

(60A x 5Min)/60Min = 5AH

For most caravanners there will be 4 periods of usage which gives a holiday usage of 20AH.

I stress this is probably a worst case scenario and the actual power usage could be far less than this

Consequently if the battery is ONLY powering the mover you don't need a battery with an over large AH rating.

Given this duty cycle, a smallish car battery would be more than capable of running the mover for a holiday. as the total power (AH) taken by the mover is still relatively small, it will not damage the battery to leave it uncharged during the holiday, but it should be recharged when you get home.

A small 35AH car battery should be perfectly suitable for your needs.

 

[jamestaylor18]

Thanks for the info everyone. I have bought a charger now, brought the battery home and slung it on. I think my new plan is to charge it at home, take it to the van on Saturday, use it, charge while on EHU, then once back in storage, volt test the battery, if it's not fully charged I'll take it off and charge at home before I next use it again. If it is full, I'll disconnect the leads to prevent any battery drain, and check the night before I next use the van, just incase I need a top up. I'm going out every other weekend at the min, and over winter it will live at home where I can keep and eye and top up as required.

 

[bertieboy1]

Prof,
Your reply is entirely in terms of Ah.It neglects battery voltage,generally a bigger Ah capacity battery voltage will not reduce as much as a smaller Ah capacity battery during the same discharge.The concern here is the smaller battery voltage could reduce below the operating voltage range of the equipment causing it to cease operating.

 

[Dustydog]

Prof.
Thinking of my old physics days I thought a battery AH decreased inversely to time used at full discharge rate rather than in a linear fashion as you describe.
Apologies now if I've got the wrong end of the stick.
Isn't this the main reason why Truma and Powrtouch recommend a high AH battery
Also a smaller lower AH battery tends to cost a lot more than a big run of the mill one. The MX-5 one is twice the price of our 4x4.

 

[jamestaylor18]

I'm confused with all this ah, volts etc! Let's hope a charge is going to work miracles and I won't have to worry about it.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

When we are just moving our van to/from storage to/from home we use our smaller 86 Ah battery rather than the 110 Ah and it works fine, even driving it down our drive forward and then reversing back up to the road.

 

[Gagakev]

My mover is powered by a 85AH battery and it shoves around 1700kg,

Well not very often... as I can also reverse (most of the time) :kiss: