Wheel Locks

[smida040]

Not got a mover tbh had one for the last 13 years on twin axles and I bet I had only used it half a dozen times. (Although it was handy when I did use it)
So now back to a single axle although at 7.5metres long it’s almost as long as many twin axles.
So will I really struggle without a mover or jacking it up?

 

[JTQ]

Agreed, with a mover it is so easy.
Also, if you need to level across the axle do so with a stack of decking planks so that you end up with a plateau top, not use any wedge with a sloped top.
The plateau length does not need to be great but enough to roll a bit without changing height. It requires a moments pre thought to place the stack in the right location so the lozenge does not arrive in the tyre valve slot, but that easily judged by finding where it would be right, placing the stack along side, back off van then slide stack into the wheel track and coming up onto it.

Edit; I see now you have no mover. You can still use the same technique using the car to do the climbing haul.
To make doing the fine tuning bit easier here is another tip. Use the flat plateau stack if needed, but in any case place both wheels on planks. Given the "hard surfaces" that gives the wheels, and level, the van uncoupled and brake eased off, ought to be quite easy to manually roll the inch or two needed to get the alignment.

 

[JezzerB]

Likewise if your caravan is light enough you can push it till the wheel lock receiver lines up-however it won't be quite so easy-when you first try it you'll know whether it's easier to jack it up or not.

 

[Beachball]

+1 i am in agreement with a motor mover

 

[otherclive]

Likewise if your caravan is light enough you can push it till the wheel lock receiver lines up-however it won't be quite so easy-when you first try it you'll know whether it's easier to jack it up or not.

Not that easy on gravel or soft grass though. It’s millimetres accuracy is a faff.

 

[smida040]

Sounds like fun and games ahead, point taken by somebody who mentioned jacking it up without the brakes on though🤔
Not sure the bank balance will stretch to a mover

 

[JTQ]

Not that easy on gravel or soft grass though. It’s millimetres accuracy is a faff.

Probably coming from days long before motor movers, back then we had to have techniques to assist moving.
The technique of settling the wheels onto offcuts of decking plank makes a world of difference, and just as effective whether grass or gravel. Mine were bits of marine ply as even decking was not the must have.

Chocking, the other wheel dictates which one moves, so that halves the rolling friction encountered and using the leverage by "leaning" on the hitch, that nears halves the required applied force.
So, first the boards greatly deducing the rolling friction, just moving only one wheel, and exploiting the leverage on offer, the effort now needed, for those savvy enough to use it, is probably about 20% of what some on gravel or grass might take on.

 

[JezzerB]

I have to say motor mover and ep levelling for us -wouldn't really want to do a twin axle without either!

 

[Beachball]

Sounds like fun and games ahead, point taken by somebody who mentioned jacking it up without the brakes on though🤔
Not sure the bank balance will stretch to a mover

Well when we brought our motor mover i had been caravanning for 31 years without one when we got our present caravan after been seasonal we said i would look into a mover i wish now i had brought one sooner it makes it very easy backing the car up to the caravan . so i hope you enjoy having funs and games ahead and good luck .

 

[Galgo slave]

Home made jobbie, every thing else was too light weight. No faith in anything insurance approved or secured by design, I find that a big con by the insurance companies. would rather pay more insurance and have something that actually does work and that i can trust.

Mine is a copy of a world war two design by the dvla to install a wheel clamp on a Sherman tanks, but stronger.

 

[Galgo slave]

The main point of the post was primarily to find out if AlKo is the only way to go. I would like to have my cake and eat it but that’s never going to happen so I either pay out nearly double for an AlKo or I can probably get 2x Nemesis locks for the the same price as one AlKo and have higher insurance payments.
The main question is:

which locks do you all rate?

Contry to popular belief.

Both are reasonable easy to get off. The Alko has it by a nose though for durability. The main selling point of the Alkois purely the fact its so far up the backsides of the insurance firms to warrent a better discount on the premiums.

 

[smida040]

Well when we brought our motor mover i had been caravanning for 31 years without one when we got our present caravan after been seasonal we said i would look into a mover i wish now i had brought one sooner it makes it very easy backing the car up to the caravan . so i hope you enjoy having funs and games ahead and good luck .

Getting a bit worried now, the more I read the harder it seems ALKO locks are to put on😀
A mover does sound like the way to go.
I have much of experience of jacking vans up to level them, but I also recall when lowering the jack, the wheel often has some sort of
movement when the vans weight settles on it, which surely puts stress on the receiver if the lock has already been installed. Or the wheel might move out of alignment when lowered and then the receiver doesn’t line up so you can fit the lock.

Never used the mover on our old van to hitch up, we have reversing camera on the car so I can get it spot on using that. In the days before the camera, my other half would normally wave her arms about and shout at me to get the perfect hitch up position😂

The only thing I know for sure is that the pitches we have booked for this year are level, so for know I will settle for a bit of Manual wiggling and see how we go

 

[JTQ]

You have a very valid point in the van moving slightly when easing off a jack, totally inevitable with the swing trailing arm suspension. This movement can make the Al-Ko Secure a real pig to remove, as it side loads the lozenge, until moved one way or other.
So I would not plan going the jacking route with a SA van.
That all said these locks don't have to be the pain some make it using them. A mover is ideal but if you ensure the wheel is planted onto a firm and flat surface, it really is not that difficult to move the wheel to facilitate fitting and removal.
Where it all goes wrong is where the wheel sits directly on gravel or grass where it is "bogged in" or on inclines where it could move.
See how you get on, but plan to make moving the wheel manually an easy task by providing your own local "hard surface" under at least the affected wheel.

 

[Buckman]

You have a very valid point in the van moving slightly when easing off a jack, totally inevitable with the swing trailing arm suspension. This movement can make the Al-Ko Secure a real pig to remove, as it side loads the lozenge, until moved one way or other.
So I would not plan going the jacking route with a SA van.
That all said these locks don't have to be the pain some make it using them. A mover is ideal but if you ensure the wheel is planted onto a firm and flat surface, it really is not that difficult to move the wheel to facilitate fitting and removal.
Where it all goes wrong is where the wheel sits directly on gravel or grass where it is "bogged in" or on inclines where it could move.
See how you get on, but plan to make moving the wheel manually an easy task by providing your own local "hard surface" under at least the affected wheel.

We found that by applying the hand brake before lowering the caravan reduced the movement quite considerably. When it came to moving the caravan again, we could remove the locks without having to jack up the caravan. Obviously once the caravan was lowered, the handbrake was then released.

 

[otherclive]

As an aside JTQ's approach to jiggling is also a way to aid removing the van from a grass or muddy surface where the cars tyres will not grip. Chock a wheel, move A frame sideways. Handbrake on. Remove chock and place it in front of other wheel. Move A frame sideways again. Repeat the approach until van is able to be towed.

 

[JezzerB]

The caravan drops with the locks on-and the wheels move on the carrier with the alko lock carrier-so we've never ever had any difficulty removing the locks-if the wheel is moving separate to the axle you have a problem-you are on a slope and haven't chocked/handbraked the van.

 

[JTQ]

The caravan drops with the locks on-and the wheels move on the carrier with the alko lock carrier-so we've never ever had any difficulty removing the locks-if the wheel is moving separate to the axle you have a problem-you are on a slope and haven't chocked/handbraked the van.

The wheel has to move on its axle when lowering from a jacked up position, the axle is on a swinging arm.

AK-KO in their FAQ page LINK, answer the very question. "Why is the red insert difficult to remove? "

 

[JezzerB]

Never had this-ours can't move far-and we always jack it up as we have the EP levelling.

 

[otherclive]

The wheel has to move on its axle when lowering from a jacked up position, the axle is on a swinging arm.

AK-KO in their FAQ page LINK, answer the very question. "Why is the red insert difficult to remove? "

Even had to be careful and remember to fit it when the nose wheel is in its correct height to allow water to run forwards off of roof. Lowering nosewheel after fitting lock causes it to be much harder to unlock if you don’t raise nose wheel up again before trying to unlock. I only ever tighten mine to hand tight plus a small bit on the lever.

 

[JTQ]

I only ever tighten mine to hand tight plus a small bit on the lever.

Same here, but less the lever being involved at all, have both had mine and helped others free theirs to ever think of tightening it up more than finger tight.

If I ever damaged the thread on these then, I am sure I would have the extra problem of my dear departed apprentice master sitting on my shoulders and screaming, now non PC correctly, at me!!!!

 

[JezzerB]

Yep never over tighten ours-not worth the risk!

 

[smida040]

I thought I would add my final outcome on this (tbh, I like when people tell you what they actually did and how they got on)
So we got the brand new van, due to a twist of fate we were offered a van from the same dealer which some body else had cancelled on, the dealer had already fitted a motor mover, so a bit of haggling and we sorted a deal to keep the mover. I am so glad we did, as people of said the ALKO lock is quite particular on the wheel alignment. Much easier with the mover.
Not an absolute necessity but it will probably save a lot of arguing!
Now that’s all sorted, I have decided to make it more complicated, I have bought a second hand ALKO lock which I am going to use on the other side. The plan is to make a receiver which has several ports in it, such that when I have got the proper one aligned, the opposite wheel won’t be far off lining up. The receiver is floor mounted and can be moved a little, so I should be able to put the lock on without jacking up etc.
This is not intended to be transportable, just belt and braces when on storage. It’s going to take a bit of designing and fabricating but I am confident o should have something useable

 

[otherclive]

I thought I would add my final outcome on this (tbh, I like when people tell you what they actually did and how they got on)
So we got the brand new van, due to a twist of fate we were offered a van from the same dealer which some body else had cancelled on, the dealer had already fitted a motor mover, so a bit of haggling and we sorted a deal to keep the mover. I am so glad we did, as people of said the ALKO lock is quite particular on the wheel alignment. Much easier with the mover.
Not an absolute necessity but it will probably save a lot of arguing!
Now that’s all sorted, I have decided to make it more complicated, I have bought a second hand ALKO lock which I am going to use on the other side. The plan is to make a receiver which has several ports in it, such that when I have got the proper one aligned, the opposite wheel won’t be far off lining up. The receiver is floor mounted and can be moved a little, so I should be able to put the lock on without jacking up etc.
This is not intended to be transportable, just belt and braces when on storage. It’s going to take a bit of designing and fabricating but I am confident o should have something useable

Why not just use a nemesis or Milenco wraith on the other side then no jigging around required.

 

[smida040]

Why not just use a nemesis or Milenco wraith on the other side then no jigging around required.

Simple, level of security, just had a massive theft claim. You can’t stop theft but you can move it elsewhere. I am hoping having an ALKO on each side of the van is the maximum deterrent (plus several other security measures)

 

[Buckman]

Simple, level of security, just had a massive theft claim. You can’t stop theft but you can move it elsewhere. I am hoping having an ALKO on each side of the van is the maximum deterrent (plus several other security measures)

Hopefully you are aware that if you drill any holes in the ALKO chassis or anywhere else like on the wheels, you may invalidate any warranty on the whole item in question. i.e. chassis and axles? Your choice!