Maneuvering Vans with Remote Control Wheel Doodads
mjt57 said
03:25 PM Sep 15, 2015
One of the vans that we looked at the other day has these motors which drive knurled shafts on the van's tyres so you can move them without the car being attached.
By the look of it you can just about turn the van on its own axis.
I was wondering, how do you go with the jockey wheel? Often, when trying to hand maneuvre my trailer at home the wheel gets stuck in the gravel (and caravan parks must have heaps of that) when turning sharply. So much so that I end up having to lift it up, which pretty much negates the purpose of the JW. With a few hundred kilos resting on the JW and loose surfaces, do they get stuck too?
As I type this there is an advert popping up on the top of the screen, "Remote Control Jockey Wheel - Portable and powerful...". Would you need to have one of these fitted as well?
Spydermann said
03:34 PM Sep 15, 2015
I recently bought the smaller camper-trolley www.campertrolley.com.au . Expensive but it was actually cheaper than straightening out my driveway so I could back the van in by car. Easy to fit, easy to operate (once you get use to it). And it goes across a wet lawn. Watch the videos.
hako said
06:20 PM Sep 15, 2015
With the remote control units that drive the van wheels, the jockey wheel just trundles behind and does not drag itself or get stuck. The powered jockey wheels will not drive on grass if there is a slope...they just slip whereas the wheel drive units will even go over gutter. They've come down in price and they on Ebay for under $1500.
ShortNorth said
09:18 PM Sep 15, 2015
I have a gently sloping driveway towards the street - although the Aliner is relatively light, I've always had to rely on my wife to push at the back while I pull the drawbar / jockey wheel. It is just not possible for me to move the van around our property alone. A few months back, she slipped on a wet driveway and broke her left arm - although it has healed and she has titanium plates fitted, she will never have the strength in that arm for the rest of her life. We discussed whether that was the end of our Avanning, but decided to get a set of caravan movers fitted. I researched and chose the Purpleline type, which are now fitted - I can now move the van at home without any assistance - and it will be good at van parks, just park on the road, unhook the van and 'walk' it onto the site.
However, in the 3 years we've had the van I have never been happy with the small 6" jockey provided by Avan - in around 20-30% of sites it tended to dig into the grass or sandy site base. As the new power movers create a fair amount of 'shove' in moving the van, I decided that the old jockey had to go. I fitted one of the new ARK heavy duty off-road units - twin 8" wheels with sealed ball bearings, 90 degree trailing yoke, 4 mounting heights with a full 250mm height windup, side wind type with removable handle, and can take 750kg down-force - a really HEAVY DUTY unit - although it could be considered major over-kill for the Aliner, it just breezes across grassy ground - doesn't dig in anymore. It was worth the extra cost - it will do us until we reach the age and health were we have to stop vanning altogether.
One of the vans that we looked at the other day has these motors which drive knurled shafts on the van's tyres so you can move them without the car being attached.
By the look of it you can just about turn the van on its own axis.
I was wondering, how do you go with the jockey wheel? Often, when trying to hand maneuvre my trailer at home the wheel gets stuck in the gravel (and caravan parks must have heaps of that) when turning sharply. So much so that I end up having to lift it up, which pretty much negates the purpose of the JW. With a few hundred kilos resting on the JW and loose surfaces, do they get stuck too?
As I type this there is an advert popping up on the top of the screen, "Remote Control Jockey Wheel - Portable and powerful...". Would you need to have one of these fitted as well?
I have a gently sloping driveway towards the street - although the Aliner is relatively light, I've always had to rely on my wife to push at the back while I pull the drawbar / jockey wheel. It is just not possible for me to move the van around our property alone. A few months back, she slipped on a wet driveway and broke her left arm - although it has healed and she has titanium plates fitted, she will never have the strength in that arm for the rest of her life. We discussed whether that was the end of our Avanning, but decided to get a set of caravan movers fitted. I researched and chose the Purpleline type, which are now fitted - I can now move the van at home without any assistance - and it will be good at van parks, just park on the road, unhook the van and 'walk' it onto the site.
However, in the 3 years we've had the van I have never been happy with the small 6" jockey provided by Avan - in around 20-30% of sites it tended to dig into the grass or sandy site base. As the new power movers create a fair amount of 'shove' in moving the van, I decided that the old jockey had to go. I fitted one of the new ARK heavy duty off-road units - twin 8" wheels with sealed ball bearings, 90 degree trailing yoke, 4 mounting heights with a full 250mm height windup, side wind type with removable handle, and can take 750kg down-force - a really HEAVY DUTY unit - although it could be considered major over-kill for the Aliner, it just breezes across grassy ground - doesn't dig in anymore. It was worth the extra cost - it will do us until we reach the age and health were we have to stop vanning altogether.
Regards, Brian