Electric caravan mover

All I know about them is they are really exspensive over 2500.oo and don't really work on any kind of slope.

So maybe an old ride on lawn mower might do the job for a whole lot less money

cheers

Is the area paved?

If so you could try 'go-jacks'. I push the camper hard up against the side of the garage to maximise the space for getting in and out of the car.

It was a painful exercise until I bought the 'go-jacks'. Now it all happens very quickly and easily.

The go-jacks are a pair of hydraulic jacks designed to lift the wheels of the camper off the ground. They are fitted with small wheels so the trailer can then be moved easily in any direction.

Duncs

Perhaps a Hitchdrive may be a cheaper alternative to a 12 volt mover.

I haven't seen one personally, but the demo on their web site makes it look (too?) easy.


Bill.

Hi Flashcher,

A bloke I know uses one and he loves it.
Paid $1200 second hand, for memory he said they are about $1900 new.

This is a place that sells them here in the west.
http://www.travellerwa.com.au/index.html

I went through this exercise last year - in our case it was a total failure as we had a slope and bluestone pitchers to contend with. They are expensive - over $2000 plus freight from WA. They work wonderfully on a flat concrete floor> Someone recently told me about a wheel containing an electric motor but as yet can't find anything on the internet.There certainly is a need for something that works - another thing I did was wire the unit to the van directly thus avoiding the battery piggy back system - used heavy cable to assist.

Hope you get a solution

My neighbour had a Jayco Swan and he used to manouver the van with a Rachet Jockey Wheel, even over grass ect, he bought it from Super Cheap for about $195 you could try one and if it didn't work take it back for a refund or exchange.

Cheer

Gooday Flash', Mark from Ballina, got Jayco Dove, got one of the ratchet drive jockey wheels, works like a treat, even on hard grass, also use 2 bits of heavy ply board for soft ground, use ours as normal jockey wheel in parks & camp grounds, good to staighten van on site.Good for hitch hook up as well, just reverse back level, then crank across, & lower, easier than normal jockey. Did modify mine, took off the non return ratchet, just bolts off...I've a bad back, like most Aussies must be in our genes, wouldn't travel with out ours now............SupaCheap Autos had on sale near half price occasionally. Hope this works.

G'day Flashcer,
I use the Traveller Industries AW3, as I also have very little room to manoeuvre the van. My driveway is level with a deep gutter to cross and I use a board to level this out. It has the power to move it over this but it slows down. If its wet and you need to move it on a hill, you may need to drop dry sand to reduce wheelspin. I have a tandem van that weighs 3 tonnes. I can move it around 95% of the time without assistance. The AW3 is connected to my caravan batteries via an Anderson plug.
If your driveway is too steep it may not be the way to go. iI does the job well for my situation.

Cheers,
Bill

I have never used one but watched one on wet grass - useless. However a few sheets of marine ply that were used as a mobile runway made it all good.
cheers

If you could move the van directly backwards, and do not need to go sideways, I may have another option to consider.

My driveway is straight, but narrow and long. I have about 50mm clearance each side of the van through the gate, then about 100mm each side for the next 15m before it opens out a bit.

The 12V movers were far too expensive for my taste, and I didn't need to change direction, so I built a capstan winch.

It consists of a 1/4HP 240V motor coupled to a 100 to 1 ratio wormdrive gearbox, on which I mounted the 'capstan' shaft. A capstan winch is the type used on boats where you wrap a rope several times around the 'capstan', and it only winches when you apply tension to the free end of the rope - the rest of the time the rope slips on the capstan shaft.
I have the advantage of a good workshop- lathe, welders etc so easy to put it all together. I already had the motor, the gearbox cost $100 second-hand (great Italian box) and I made the capstan shaft from aluminium. I use a 70m length of 12mm 'anchor rope' from the back of the van to the winch and back to me at the front of the van. The winch is mounted on a steel frame, bolted to the concrete path at the back of the driveway. My driveway has a slope (upwards) so I use one of the cheap single-wheel ratchet jockey wheels (chinese copy of Maco) to stop the van running back over me when I stop pulling on the free end of the rope. The winch pulls the van at a very slow walk - probably 10 minutes for 20 metres - but that gives me time to steer the van through the gate and up the narrow drive without fear of running into anything.

All-up cost was under $200 (but as I said, I have the machining capacity).

The system would be difficult to use if you need to change direction, and could not be used safely if the driveway ran downhill.

Works for me - may be an idea to consider.

cheers,
glids

A few ideas on this site:

http://www.caravanmoversonline.co.uk/

Thank you everyone for your replies. We have now ruled out getting the 12v unit. The cost was always daunting to me, but if it made the job easier for hubbie we would had gotten it. But it seems they don't perform well on grass and that is the surface we are working with.
The ride on mower might be the go. We went to the local show last night and watch the show mow racing with all the hotted up mowers. Hubbie is now thinking he can do the same....lol - just add a tow hitch.

Have you considered a tow hitch attachment to the front of the car. It works a treat, perfect control of the c.van, you see precisely where you are going and the car to push it. Cheers

hi
i know its expensive have you looked at the ultimate in movers
www.campertrolley.com.au

Hi Flashcher,

have a look at www.purpleline.co.uk ,

they have a video of the product etc.

I know that the first lot of the units will arrive in Australia sometime in may 2011.