If you choose to go for a fixed motor mover, be sure to consider the cost of the fitting too, which can sometimes amount to another 50% on the price tag. The signal from your remote is received by the control unit and this tells the mover rollers which way to turn. The compact, but powerful, motor turns a series of gears, which maximise the torque and dictate the speed at which your caravan will move. These gears drive the metal rollers, which are pressed into the tyre tread and rotate the wheel. And you’re off! Select your mover carefully, bearing in mind its weight. A very lightweight single-axle motor mover, such as the e-go Titanium, weighs just 24kg, while a top-spec, twin-axle mover like the Reich Easydriver Pro Twin takes up 68kg of your payload. A lightweight mover won’t eat into your payload allowance too much Powrtouch has designed a range to suit every caravan; single or twin-axle with an automatic or manual feature. Turning is the main point to consider. The Powrtouch Freedom range is for single-axle caravans up to a weight of 1,500kg on a 25% slope. When running cable through the apertures in the caravan chassis, protect the cable from rubbing with some short lengths of protective trunking/tubing.

Budget price movers are available but there are many corners that can be cut to reduce costs. Some use a less powerful motor or roller construction, which gives poorer performance, particularly when the tyres are wet and cold. A cheaper cost may also be reflected in poor availability of spares and after sales service, along with a short warranty period. Overall an inferior design may give rise to poor ground clearance and increasing susceptibility to corrosion through a poor paint finish. Protective trunking has been used to protect the mover cables from damage where they pass through any apertures in the caravan chassis All you would need to do is have a fixing either in your garage or in the ground and bobs your uncle and you problem would be solved and you could do it yourself whilst she who must be obeyed puts the kettle on.A motor mover with a quoted maximum caravan weight of 1,800kg may only be capable of moving a 1,200kg caravan on a one-in-four slope. Recent improvements However, we do recommend cleaning and greasing moving parts before your caravan goes into long-term storage, and you should consider activating the units briefly, to minimise the chance of them seizing up, each time you visit your van. How long is the warranty?

Good ground clearance is essential. There's no point having a mover fitted if it hits the first road hump it comes to or falls fouls of a deep pothole. Some movers can be supplied with special tyres to help where softer ground is to be encountered but they're not always successful depending on your exact conditions. Some companies offer to demonstrate at your home or sell on a sale or return basis. The most popular and generally the most effective type of mover is the axle-mounted type, which consists of a frame bolted to the caravan chassis with a 12V electric motor and roller assembly at each end. Using the caravan leisure battery, the rollers operate against the individual caravan tyres to give full manoeuvrability of the caravan, all operated via a remote control unit. Less common are the type that work at the hitch of the caravan, moving it from the front. Evidently lots of people love them (which is why I bought it, I had looked into it extensively) but based on my own experience, I wouldn't bother. I'm now looking at fitting a 'proper' mover so my case is a classic example of "it's better to pay too much than too little, if you pay too little you waste everything whereas if you pay too much you only waste the excess".

Things to consider in use

Older and less mobile caravanners will find that a mover can help to extend their touring lifestyle, because it removes the need for any manual pushing or pulling of the van to get it perfectly pitched.

Manoeuvres with a motor mover are slow and precise, so in tight spaces you’re much less likely to damage your tourer. There's a caravan industry standard recommending a minimum chassis ground clearance of 150mm, so a motor mover with a ground clearance less than this is not ideal. More typical clearance is about 30mm below the chassis at the point of fitting. Battery A well-maintained motor mover from a good manufacturer will easily last for a decade or longer. Who should I get to fit it?The selling dealership should be happy to fit your motor mover, but if you’re buying it from a manufacturer, consider an NCC Approved Workshop Scheme registered caravan technician, or one who is recommended by the maker. Consider using NCC-approved technicians to fit your motor mover Axle movers are engineered to clamp on to modern AL-KO and BPW chassis without any drilling, which is not permitted by the chassis manufactures as it would weaken the chassis.

Soft-start technology makes precision manoeuvring much easier (no dented bumpers) and could save the family china! It’s incorporated in many of the high-quality movers on the market.The potential upside of improved soft ground performance comes with the significant downside of potential punctures and the tyre coming off the rim. The latest movers are also sensitive enough to position your tourer perfectly over the towball when you’re hitching up a caravan, removing any danger of bashing your bumper. Use your mover to shift your tourer safely to the hitch How to use a motor mover There are a multitude of companies offering various motor mover systems at different prices so it's worth asking a few questions to find the right one for you, such as: I also hope you consider coming to visit us here at Horton Common in the near future and our serviced pitches. 🙂