Caravan Storage

[jkspoff]

My caravan storage place has decided to mark out bays for each caravan, there is now about 1 to 2 feet max between each van, making it difficult to manoevre it into its space, as it is also on a slight slope. I was just wondering how this compared to other storage companies that you may have used or use. They charge about

[RADIOTWO]

My caravan storage place has decided to mark out bays for each caravan, there is now about 1 to 2 feet max between each van, making it difficult to manoevre it into its space, as it is also on a slight slope. I was just wondering how this compared to other storage companies that you may have used or use. They charge about

[jkspoff]

Have you got one of these Motormovers ? I was looking at some in a magazine. How exactly do they work ?

[Guest wolfie]

my neighbour has one on his new rig! two knurled drive wheels are applied to the tyres and provide power to them, easy to use, a hand held remote with simple direction arrows and a drive engage disengage button, has a habit of kicking to the left! but thats due to it being a twin axel job!

[springen]

I fitted a mover back in January for the very same reason you need one - storage space slightly up hill, loose gravel and no room to manoeuvre with the Gal. It works great, just like having a radio-control car. I bought a Reich - but cannot really recommend it, as it mounts so low on the caravan chassis (3 inches above the ground), that it is so easy to 'ground' it when the wheel go downs a pot-hole. It looks neater than others, because it is in a plastic casing, but for reasons mentioned above, the casing easily gets smashed. I would suggest a Power-touch model, it's more agricultural but mounts further off the ground. They're not cheap but so so useful. :16:

[Thicko]

I fitted a powrtouch model 3 to my caravan. It's superb. Everyone seems to rate them highly. Ground clearance does still seem poor but I've never noticed any grounding. They're great for hitching up as they start so slowly. Works on any surface. They're great for cheaper campsites like CLs which aren't level. The mover is great for lifting the van onto a levelling ramp. You can park your van places other people avoid - at half term we had our van parked on the edge of Lake Titisee in Germany. We noticed all the vans along the edge had motor movers. Without one you just wouldn't have been able to get it into position. If anyone's interested in fitting one this is what you do:

1)Search the internet for the cheapest caravan mover you can find

2)Phone Powrtouch (Powrwheel) and ask for one at the cheapest price you have found (they price match). I have a suspicion you might even be able to haggle a bit more but I didn't.

3)Fitting is reasonably easy - you need a socket set and a torque wrench

4)The moving units are quite heavy and need supporting on blocks while you attach them to the caravan chassis. You need the torque wrench to secure them

5)The cables are clipped to the floor of the caravan.

6)You have to drill holes for the cable through the caravan floor. I didn't like this bit but it was quite easy. I used bathroom sealant around the cables afterwards.

7)You have two cables from the battery which join the cables from the mover at a control box.

8)Mine all worked first time and I haven't had any problems.

I never manoevre with the caravan attached to the car - I just don't think it's worth burning your clutch out especially after spending so much on a mover.

[Sher]

A good description about self fitting. Yes it is heavy. Adding the powerbar will make it even heavier.

 

My only real gripe about the powertouch is that it is VERY slow. It will not rise up a 5cm step with my caravan at about 1600kg. At higher speed the momentum would carry it up, but this is not available.

 

So I need to take small ramps just in case. (pieces of wood which the tyre will rise over bout 2cm thick)

 

After 30months I had a problem with one of the motors near the waste outlet which shows some signs of water splash, when it refused to operate.

 

The problem was easily fixed after I spoke to Power Products. The carbon brushes needed to be taken out cleaned and the spring retensioned slightly. Once you know how, it takes a couple of minutes. Oh yes, the original Rubber boots/cover fell apart. I wrap it better now.

 

I've seen several others makes which all are a bit lighter in construction but move faster. However, one of these was damaged on one side when a tyre burst. I am not sure that it was the tyre or contact with the ground which caused the damage. The owner was able to get a local workshop to fabricate new pieces without resorting to the manufacturer so it wasn't too bad.

 

When I had a tyre explode there was no damage to the mover at all. Though this may be because I fitted it ahead of the axle, not behind. It will increase the noseweight but it is close to the centre of rotation.

 

Note for 4 axle users. Mount it behind the rear axle. One person I saw with the Powertouch on a twin axle had fitted it at the front because the spare wheel and carrier were in the way at the rear. It took 4 of us pushing and the mover to place it. Standard practice when manoevering with Twins is to raise the front as high as possible raising the front axle. The front axle tends to resist turning the caravan when in ground contact.

Moving the spare wheel carrier would have made the motor mover useful.