Which mover?

[Grahamh]

And how do I get a show deal without going to the show? Cheapest appears to be the purpleline. Pwrtouch seems to be the best thought of. After a bad experience with powertouch(admittedly with an old, discontinued model) I am loathe to go there again. How can I get the best price on a pwrtouch evolution?
I want to organise it to be fitted at the dealers before I pick up the new van on 1st March. I know there'll be deals at the show but I'd prob spend more getting there than I'd save.

 

[RayS]

Surprised to hear you've had bad experience with Powrtouch - most feedback including my own has been very positive.
The new Evolution is a considerable improvement. The drive motors are 4 pole rather than two. The drive rollers are fluted aluminium rather that 'textured' and the covers keep the moving parts much cleaner. Powrtouch themselves used to offer a 'match any genuine price' deal, or at least go quite a way towards it.
See if any of your local dealers offer Powrtouch as a discount with new vans. If so, they are probably buying in reasonable quantities and may offer a better price.

Finally, unless you really need the assistance of the automatic roller engagement system I would avoid it. Not only will you save money, but because the additional drive extends further forward under the caravan it is more prone to damage by speed bumps etc. Just helped a friend replace one of his for this reason.

 

[Surfer]

We have the Powrtouch Evo auto engage. Although we have only had it since April last year, we have no issues with it. The rollers grip much better than our old mover.

 

[Grahamh]

I had one on the last van. The controller failed within 6 months; it was the old hard start/relay controlled model. Purpleline swapped it out but it failed again after another 9 months - the relay contacts corrode. They refused to swap it out and I argued that it was not fit for purpose. They said liability was with the dealer who of course had been taken over. It dragged on over the winter and then they offered an updated model at cost and I accepted(50%of retail cost). Its no good arguing when the season is coming and you've no mover. It's not the mover I doubt it's the company. I realise this is cutting off my nose etc as the savings(£300+) would fund the rest of the stuff I need for the new van(battery, hitchlock, hitch cover and second gas bottle)
Is the latest purpleline eccentric camm engagement? I don't want an automatic. And does it include cross actuation?

 

[mealsonwheels]

Powrtouch, without doubt. We've had excellent after sales treatment. They once sent an engineer out to a CL we were staying on, to fix a problem. Wouldn't be without a mover now and worth every penny.

 

[Grahamh]

Yes that's the point really - the 5 year warranty is a big plus. Now to find one on sale.....

 

[Dustydog]

Graham

I'm a Powrtouch dog. Excellent piece of engineering. So do Truma own Powrtouch? Both makes have a good pedigree and no quibble guarantee. My ta wyoming moves very well with the Powrtouch.
Good luck

 

[otherclive]

Had the Reich Move Control2 which is now their basic model for 9 years. Cannot say what Customer Service is like as its never given any problems. It is fitted to the front of my wheels and looks low but never had any clearance problems on ferries or speed humps. I did hit a French kerb once with the near side assembly, which dislodged a large kerbstone from its footing, but nay moved the mover one jot!

 

[RichL812]

On our old van we had a Rhyno plus and it was very poor and underpowed moving a 1700kg SA van. With our brand new Crusader Superscirocco that we get in the next couple of weeks we bit the bullet and bought the Powrtouch Evolution AWD Auto ... being fitted by the dealer for us for when we collect the van and from all the comparisons we did, nothing came close. You get what you pay for ....

 

[Sproket]

Yes that's the point really - the 5 year warranty is a big plus. Now to find one on sale.....

Have a look on this web site to compare movers

 

[Grahamh]

It's interesting to see the differences. The purpleline is much heavier and the pwrtouch recommends a min 85Ah which is also lighter, although I shall get a 110Ah.
Pwrtouch it is then. Now just need to find a deal - the dealer will match any I find he says.
Thanks for your help.

 

[otherclive]

If you use EHU when on site and don't have to do much manoeuvring to pitch up or store the van then 85ah should be ample for most movers. After all just look at the power available from a 85ah compared to the power consumed by a mover while manoeuvring.

 

[Surfer]

If you use EHU when on site and don't have to do much manoeuvring to pitch up or store the van then 85ah should be ample for most movers. After all just look at the power available from a 85ah compared to the power consumed by a mover while manoeuvring.

We found that with an almost brand new 85 amp battery on out twin axle, it would trip on the slightest slope and would need to reset it which was a PITA. Changed for 110amp and now more problems.

 

[FrintonMike]

I have a Powrtouch and do not know if it is better than other makes but their aftersales service is second to none.
My first mover was on a second hand caravan that I purchased and after a while the mover stopped working. I phoned Powrtouch and they offered to send new parts free of charge or have an engineer call the next day to fit.
This sold me on the company and I have since always had a Powrtouch mover fitted

 

[RayS]

Is there a little confusion in this thread ? The origianl mention diffculties with Powrtouch but later refers to purpleline - so far as I am aware these are quift different organisations ?

 

[Grahamh]

Very Sorry,
I have only just spotted my stupid mistake in my posting. As you surmise I had a bad experience with PURPLELINE so have(now) decided that the Pwrtouch is a better option.
BTW i had an 85AH battery in my last van which, over 5 years, never gave me a problem(it was only guaranteed for 2 year and cost £49). I have to get the measuremnts of the battery comp in the Elddis but think I will opt for a 100AH battery as we hope to use CL's more from now on.
Sorry again about the 'little confusion'. I blame the tonic;-)

 

[xtrailman]

Buy a Riech, my 9 year old basic model still moves my 1565kg caravan, on its 9 year old battery. I have a comfort with the inboard motors, fitted behind the wheels.
They also do a 5 year warranty on some models.

I did think about a Evo for my next mover, once the reich starts giving problems, but theres far too many reports of failure for me, even on the latest models.

 

[Surfer]

Very Sorry,
I have only just spotted my stupid mistake in my posting. As you surmise I had a bad experience with PURPLELINE so have(now) decided that the Pwrtouch is a better option.
BTW i had an 85AH battery in my last van which, over 5 years, never gave me a problem(it was only guaranteed for 2 year and cost £49). I have to get the measuremnts of the battery comp in the Elddis but think I will opt for a 100AH battery as we hope to use CL's more from now on.
Sorry again about the 'little confusion'. I blame the tonic;-)

If it can fit, go for a 110 or even a 120amp battery. You will not be sorry!

 

[otherclive]

The OP doesn't say what weight van he wants to move so just advising larger and larger batteries can be counter productive. One criteria for choosing a battery would be its CCA rating whereby a cheap large battery may be inferior to a smaller AH but of good quality.

 

[Grahamh]

Ordered my mover today. Pwrtouch evolution manual.
I rang pwrtouch and asked them if they were doing 'a show offer?' The chap on the phone said that basically it would be £1000 fitted. I thanked him for his time and started looking on the web. I had already asked my dealer what he could offer and the answer was not a lot less, and he readily agreed to let me get someone else onto his forecourt to fit one. I found a firm in Derby who offered to come down to Wilts and fit it for me for £800 all in. He also offered to bring a 110AH battery with a 3 year warranty with him for an additional £80. When I rang the dealer to arrange for the guy to come and fit it before the dealer did the PDI he said that his Pwrtouch rep would fit it for the same price! I explained that I could not agree to this as I had already ordered it and didn't want to mess the chap in Derby about. Also the chap fitting it didn't want payment until after he had fitted it. More than happy for me to give him a cheque on the day. So thats all sorted.
Thanks for all your advice

 

[CyberCynth]

I have a Powrtouch and do not know if it is better than other makes but their aftersales service is second to none.
My first mover was on a second hand caravan that I purchased and after a while the mover stopped working. I phoned Powrtouch and they offered to send new parts free of charge or have an engineer call the next day to fit.
This sold me on the company and I have since always had a Powrtouch mover fitted

I would agree wholeheartedly with this posting; had a powrtouch on my previous caravan (an Elddis) and was very impressived with their service, so was very pleased that the Carousel I have now has one fitted. Great product and great service!

 

[ProfJohnL]

The basic mechanical technology that goes into caravan movers is very similar for all manufactures, so it is likely that failure rates are also similar for all manufactures.

So you should carefully read recommendations for caravan movers and put such reports into their proper context. The vast majority of caravanners have only experienced one mover, and yet they will glibly recommend their model or manufacture implying its better than others. The fact is in most cases they don't know if other manufacture's products would have performed equally well. It is simply unsound to make recommendations on the basis of only one sample.

The second amazing leap of faith we so often see, is a manufactures products being recommended on the basis that their after sales service. Reality check here - caravanners only discover the after sales service because the product has failed in the first place. Is that really a sound recommendation for the product?

There could be good reasons as to why we hear of more failures and repairs by one manufacture compared to others. Perhaps they have sold more than anyone else, in which case there would be greater numbers of failure reports even though the failure rates may be the same as other manufacturers. But it is also a possibility their products are actually less reliable than the competition. The facts are as we don't have access to the commercial data we will never be able produce a definitive statement of mover reliability.

 

[robisoncity]

Prof,
I agree with the overall thrust of your argument but I think most readers, hopefully, take all the individual recommendations with the understanding that it is from a sample size of one and get a more rounded view by reading all the reviews.
What information do you think should be used, just the price and manufacturer's data or the journalists reviews? Personally I take more notice of the users reviews than I do from the majority of the journalist's reviews as these just seem to regurgitate the user manual and offer no opinion.
Don't take this as a major criticism of your post, I thought it was a refreshing piece of common sense but, if we wait for a thorough statistically sound analysis I'll have already slipped a disc hoiking my van around.

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Robinsoncity A well though out reply

, Currently there is no sound way of assessing which product may be best, and on the basis that no one manufacture has a radically better mechanical solution than the others, then in theory at least, you should be able to use any mover that is correctly specified for your caravan. So you can use what ever method you wish to seek that elusive 'better' product, What I can't argue against is feelgood factor of knowing that if you do have a problem, then the manufacturer has a good reputation of puting things right, so if that makes you feel better, thats fine, For anyone who knows my stance on manufactures moral responsibilities, they may find it rather hypocritical of me to critisise a company for trying to be helpful, its just that I have that nagging doubt about why this one company has found it necessary to put so much effort and expense in to their aftersales service provision. Putting my ISO 9000 consultancy hat on, the costs of their after sales service would be of more benefit to the business (and the customer) if they put more effort into improving the products reliability. (this sounds all too much like other parts of the caravan industry) It's easy to show how the cost of aftersale corrections or repairs are often several hundred even thousands percent more expensive than doing it right in the first place. All warranty costs directly deminish the businesses profitability. A business worked out that if it put the wrong washer on an electrical connection in a major appliance and that product was fitted into the end users home, tacking into account administration, labour, parts and transport, etc it would cost on avarage £75 to put each one right. - Food for thought.

 

[otherclive]

Prof
I wholeheartedly agree with your views on quality and warranty. I recall years ago when Datsun first introduced the Cherry I read that their costs were less than one fiftieth of Volkwagen for the original Golf. But both rusted at similar rates! It was their reliability combined with keen pricing that led to their establishment as a major brand in Europe and globally.