Winch to move a carvan

Last year at the Perth 4wd Show I saw a small trolley unit that has it's own power supply etc and motor that connects to the trailer and you can move the trailer where you like without effort. Can't remember there name but they where around the $1000 odd dollar mark.....Looked pretty good.

If you will be doing this on a regular basis we use to have a pole that we concreated into the ground then attached an electric boat winch to it. We could only get it so far with the vehicle so would unhitch it from there then winch the rest of the way probably around 15/20 foot up hill worked a treat. Lot less energy used just by connecting to porable 12 volt battery hit the switch and away it went. Just another thought thats all. Regards Steve M

Don't be tempted by the jockey wheels with a ratchet and lever system built into the wheel (they sell for around $150.00) The tyre simply skids without traction if there is any sort of load on and if the surface isn't dead flat. Uphill they would be completely useless.They are also quite difficult to change from forward motion to backwards.

Can you fit a tow ball to the front of your vehicle? A Hayman Reese type reciever works well and can be swapped for a recovery hook when required. You can then push the caravan into position and reverse out, it's very easy.

Rod

Check out this site:

Pirate4x4R4ecovery

In summary, 1800kg Loaded Weight

A pull of 1/10 LW will cause a free wheeling Vehicle to move on a hard, level surface, 1/3 LW on a softer surface such as grass or gravel.

Slope resistance - for 15 degrees uphill add 25% of LW

So, if slightly uphill on a softer surface 1800/3 + 1800/4 = 1,050kg

Regards

The father in law used one of those $99 electric boat winches (the cheap copy of a superwinch) to move a similar sized caravan in and out, worked well hooked up to a battery sitting on the floor which was then recharged for the next use.
Just had an anchor point on the floor at the back of the garage.

Sounds like you might need an AUSSIEWHEEL. There are three models in the range from 1500kg up to 3000kg all 12v powered. Have a look atAussieWheel

I don't know the geography of your situation but I saw a good setup once to do the job. This bloke had fixed a couple of pulleys in appropriate spots, hooked a rope up his vehicle and just backed out to pull the van into his yard. The position of the pulley meant the van went exactly where required. He had one in the centre of line of travel and then another out at right angles to allow the pull to be down the side of the driveway if you get my drift.

As the weight was taken by wheels, the rope and pulleys do not have to be overstrong. He had the pulleys shackled to a post so that he could put the pulleys away when not in use.

Anyway check if simple pulleys and rope can do it for you. Simple and cheap.

Rod, I think you have all the excuses to get a good bullbar mounted one for Christmas. Some of them are really just slightly more expensive than a hand winch.

I have a tow bar also fitted to the front of my Prado; makes it easy to push a 'van into tight places. Sparky