Twin axle mover

[Roger Chatfield]

Evening caravaning chums.

We have just gone and purchased a rather nice Ace Supreme Sunstar, we are very happy with it but one thing it lacks is a mover.
Now our last van (Avondale Rialto) had a mover and you soon realise that you can't really live without one.

So, we need to fit a mover to the new van... Slight problem... It's a twin axle...

Can anyone recommend a mover suitable for a 1700kg twinny, I'm going to fit it myself and we have blown the budget on our new van so it need to be good value for money.
I've noticed some twin axle movers only drive one set of wheels, are these any good as obviously they are way cheaper than the 4 motor options.

Many thanks

Rog.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Roger,

Most of the mover manufacturers offer a model designed for TA's. And they all work. The ones with only 1 pair of motors usually do some clever tricks to manage the power for turning. Something to bear in mind is that non of the movers (2 or 4 motors) will turn a TA as sharply as a SA, so you need to make sure you have a bit more space to get the caravan around a right angle.

In terms of reliability, there is no evidence to suggest any one make or model is better than the rest, but one make scores very well in terms of after sales service, read into that what you will.

Basically I think your choice will come down to the best deal you can get.

 

[FrintonMike]

I have a T/A of similar weight to yours and have a mover on two wheels only but it is made for a T/A van. It works well but as said before a single axle will turn on a sixpence but a turn with a T/A is more like a six point turn .
The mover is made by the company with the best after sales service.as refered by the Prof.

 

[chrisn7]

We have just gone through this. There are some videos of twin axle movers in use on YouTube - you might want to have a search for these to see them in operation. Overall, opinion seemed to me to favour 4WD rather than two, though no doubt others may disagree. Cost wise, these come up fairly often on an auction site, which is where I found mine, and I dismantled and delivered it to our local powder coating specialist for a thorough clean up to reduce future deterioration. Savings over new are considerable.

 

[WoodlandsCamper]

We have just gone through this. There are some videos of twin axle movers in use on YouTube - you might want to have a search for these to see them in operation. Overall, opinion seemed to me to favour 4WD rather than two, though no doubt others may disagree. Cost wise, these come up fairly often on an auction site, which is where I found mine, and I dismantled and delivered it to our local powder coating specialist for a thorough clean up to reduce future deterioration. Savings over new are considerable.

If 4WD movers come up fairly often does this tell you anything?

 

[Dustydog]

We have a TA at 1700 kgs. Don't waste your money on a 4 motor unit.
You will erode your weights and you will not achieve the same manoeuvrability as a SA.
Ours is a purpose built designed 2 heavy duty motor unit that can be fitted on front or rear axle. Ours is on the front axle. Arguably the rear axle is better but there are fitting problems in our case that rightly or wrongly meant the front axle fitting suited us best.
The unit we have is made with proper gears and lower gearing than those used on SAs.
I assume you are buying secondhand with no transferable guarantees.
If you can find a Truma or Powrtouch you've hit the jackpot.
Other makes get good press but I have no first hand knowledge.
Just remember TA movers are slow almost lethargic but they do work

 

[chrisn7]

We have just gone through this. There are some videos of twin axle movers in use on YouTube - you might want to have a search for these to see them in operation. Overall, opinion seemed to me to favour 4WD rather than two, though no doubt others may disagree. Cost wise, these come up fairly often on an auction site, which is where I found mine, and I dismantled and delivered it to our local powder coating specialist for a thorough clean up to reduce future deterioration. Savings over new are considerable.

If 4WD movers come up fairly often does this tell you anything?

Not especially . By 'often' I meant that they come up sufficiently often to be in with a chance of getting one, whereas 2WD units for TAs appear far more regularly. Its probably to do with the high initial outlay that there are fewer second hand 4WD on the market. Having said this I have zero experience of using one, so I may yet regret my judgement!