Today's challenge. A powered caravan mover...help please

[Graham Orm]

I need a caravan mover but can't afford or justify paying £1000 for one of the purpose made items that fix under the caravan.

We keep the caravan on a farm 2 minutes from where we live. It's not the best spot as it's soft ground and very restricted to turn but because it's on the doorstep we're not moving.
The farmer has done his best and dug out and laid stone on our pitch but it's still 20 minutes of puffing and straining for me & the Mrs to man handle it into a position so it can be hitched as the ground is so uneven. The farmer is happy to do it but has to be found then he has to get the tractor out and set up which adds an hour to the job.

My idea is to rig something like a cheap second hand powered lawn mower with large diameter wheels and a tow hitch. This will fit in the car and can be dropped off at home again before our journey.

Your ideas and input would be most welcome.

We went last night to collect the caravan hauled it out hitched it up and checked the lights to find that they were not working....pushed the van back in and once home found that the van socket was dead. Unable to find the fault I went to North West Towbars in Stockport who located the problem and rectified it for £10

The vehicle had been back on a recall to peugeot for a spare wheel carrier replacement. It appears they had cut through my towing lights feed and folded the wire neatly out of the way!! needless to say I'll be paying them a visit when I get back from my delayed few days away!

 

[Baldhead]

I seem to recall Dodge (Roger Berwick) had a similar problem, if you check his posts you may find an answer to your question, however my memory is not what it was so please go easy on me if I'm wrong. #-o

Baldhead

 

[johnwc812]

Hi
A caravan mover that is small and light enough to lift into a car?
To pull a caravan over soft uneven ground?
My only thought is it is an impossible dream (nightmare).
A challange too far.
Sorry I cannot be more helpful.
Cheers John

 

[AndyT]

Is there any chance that you could use a winch? Your helpful farmer might need to let you install some anchor points to turn corners but it would be much more portable than a ride on mower.

 

[jpt]

If you dont want to buy a chassis fitted one second hand from the bay or similar like THIS, where they are very cheap then you have some other options.

The first is to get a tow ball made that will fit into the front of your car. A friend had a similar problem to you and found that the front tow ball overcame it with no problem cheaply and without problems.

Secondly you could buy a motorised mover that either fits under the tow ball or replaces the jockey wheel when required. I cant find any new ones at the moment but there are a number of secondhand ones around like THIS

The other option is a manual one which again fits in either the tow hitch or in place of the jockey wheel like THIS

There are 2 problems with hitch or jockey wheel movers the first is the lack of traction unless you increase the nose weight or as I have seen a few times get the other half to stand on the A frame. The second problem is with the electric versions some of them can be heavy as they come with their own battery, however they can be rewired to remove the battery and run from either the car or caravan socket.

Hope this helps.

john

 

[dickm]

Not quite the answer you want, but my Atco ride-on is almost entirely used as a tractor, not as a mower, to move heavy-ish trailer around. Basic problem is, as you have realised, turf tyres are carp for traction. So you would definitely need "proper" agricultural field type tyres on any ride-on for the purpose suggested. Even if available in appropriate size, a pair of these plus the basic ride-on would set you back a lot more than a purpose made mover.
Of course, if you could justify getting a Kubota/Iseki or similar compact tractor, you could also use it for all sorts of other jobs...........

 

[Woodchips2]

Body-building course for the Mrs? :roll: :roll:
Regards Keith

 

[Lons]

I'm with Andy.

It's 25 years since we had a tourer and a similar problem,. Initially I used a towrope and just pulled it off the soft ground, Had to make a sort of skate board to fix undr the jockey wheel so it would slide instead of digging in. Worked very well but then I got a cheap s/h manual winch (marine type) which worked even better as it was more controllable.
(bit like this http://www.clasohlson.com/uk/Winches/Pr306220000 ) I bolted it to a length of ply with a hole that slotted over the car towball.

Bob

 

[paulm]

Great idea for mounting the winch Bob, clever solution !

Cheers, Paul

 

[Dodge]

I seem to recall Dodge (Roger Berwick) had a similar problem, if you check his posts you may find an answer to your question, however my memory is not what it was so please go easy on me if I'm wrong. #-o

Baldhead

Bloomin eck you have got a good memory!! :shock:

Anyway I opted for a powrtouch unit fitted to our caravan in the end - best money I have ever spent on a caravan accessory!!

 

[Graham Orm]

Is there any chance that you could use a winch? Your helpful farmer might need to let you install some anchor points to turn corners but it would be much more portable than a ride on mower.

Thanks for the input Andy. I've thought of that, but our caravan faces other caravans with a picket fence behind the, so not much to fix it to.

 

[Graham Orm]

If you dont want to buy a chassis fitted one second hand from the bay or similar like THIS, where they are very cheap then you have some other options.

The first is to get a tow ball made that will fit into the front of your car. A friend had a similar problem to you and found that the front tow ball overcame it with no problem cheaply and without problems.

Secondly you could buy a motorised mover that either fits under the tow ball or replaces the jockey wheel when required. I cant find any new ones at the moment but there are a number of secondhand ones around like THIS

The other option is a manual one which again fits in either the tow hitch or in place of the jockey wheel like THIS

There are 2 problems with hitch or jockey wheel movers the first is the lack of traction unless you increase the nose weight or as I have seen a few times get the other half to stand on the A frame. The second problem is with the electric versions some of them can be heavy as they come with their own battery, however they can be rewired to remove the battery and run from either the car or caravan socket.

Hope this helps.

john

Thanks John those are great ideas. I'll have a weigh up of the front to ball first then one of the powered jockey wheel gadgets. As you say traction will be the problem.

 

[Graham Orm]

I'm with Andy.

It's 25 years since we had a tourer and a similar problem,. Initially I used a towrope and just pulled it off the soft ground, Had to make a sort of skate board to fix undr the jockey wheel so it would slide instead of digging in. Worked very well but then I got a cheap s/h manual winch (marine type) which worked even better as it was more controllable.
(bit like this http://www.clasohlson.com/uk/Winches/Pr306220000 ) I bolted it to a length of ply with a hole that slotted over the car towball.

Bob

Thanks Lons but the problem is that the caravan has to be turned 90 degrees as well. A small car would do it (possibly), but i tow it with a van.

 

[Graham Orm]

Thanks Guys.

 

[Graham Orm]

Thanks again Guys after some thought and a weigh up of the winch options I think it's going to be a Mr Shifta device.