Top Caravan Tips for an Easy Life – Part One: Electric Caravan Movers
We all need a helping hand at some stage or another. Even if you’re a huge advocate of motorhomes, caravan tips will always be convenient.
Part One of AiroSpring’s Top Caravan Tips concerns electric caravan movers. What are they, how much do they cost and how do you choose one? Read on to find out more.
What Are They?
Not all of us have the luxury of being of being able to store our caravan in an easily accessible place. If you’re one of the many people facing this problem, an electric caravan mover might be the most useful piece of equipment you ever buy.
They can’t exactly be considered cheap but they do take all of the effort out of shuffling your ‘van around. Whether that’s on your drive, pitching up or stopping at the services, they offer a very useful purpose.
Cheaper models start at around £200 and fit to your caravan hitch or replace the jockey wheel. The more expensive options out there are attached to your caravan’s chassis and drive the wheel directly.
The price of chassis-fitting electric caravan movers starts at around £500 and can rise to over £1500. If you’re a regular adventurer and can often be found exploring the country, the usefulness, reliability and ease-of-use may be worth that extra bit of money.
What’s Your Budget?
Your main point of interest may very well be the cost. As previously mentioned, options are available from £200 all the way up to in excess of £1500.
You’d probably expect the cheaper models to use less advanced or powerful technology and to some extent you’d be right. If you don’t need to use it all that often, there’s generally not too much reason to decide against one of the less dear items.
For those of you requiring an extended or regular use however, you may be better served by the costlier choices. In most cases, they should come complete with better performance, more readily available spare parts and more powerful roller construction for easier navigation.
Whilst we’re on the subject of price, check whether you’re chosen product comes complete with a cross actuation bar. If not, that’s another expense on top to account for. Add this to the extra electrical engagement that will likely need paying for to get a real reflection of overall cost.
Think about Weight and Payload
Your electrical caravan mover is going to add weight to your vehicle. The lightest items out there are around 27kg but others can be as heavy as 40kg. It’s highly recommended that you should never exceed your caravan’s maximum payload so knowing the facts is essential.
The average couple will take approximately 150kg of luggage. If you consider that the average caravan has a payload of around 160kg, you can begin to see a potential issue. Add to that the fact that most trips with a caravan consist of more than two people and it’s clear that things can get out of hand quickly.
Always check your maximum payload allowance before committing to an electric caravan mover.
Sufficient Ground Clearance
In an ideal world ground clearance wouldn’t be an issue as all products will give a suitable level. Unfortunately this isn’t always the case. Products that are too low hanging run the danger of becoming damaged by speed bumps and potholes.
To further add to the frustration each caravan and unit is different in terms of estimating just how much ground clearance will be provided. It’s not all doom and gloom though as suppliers should be able to inform you of the maximum depth an item will hang below the chassis.
You want to be looking at ground clearance of no less than 150mm to be absolutely sure.
A New Battery?
Many caravan tips, especially surrounding fitted electrics concern the battery. An electric caravan mover is no different. The power is obviously going to come from the battery.
The best piece of advice here is to ensure yours if adequately charged. An 85Ah one is undoubtedly better compared to an older 110Ah that has been without charging for a full weekend. You may need a replacement in order to effectively make use of your mover. If you’re unsure, see the advice of the manufacturer or supplier.
Single or Twin Axle?
If your caravan consists of a twin axle, you’ll have to exercise caution when fitting a mover. As they tend to a little trickier to move, you want to consider utilising a mover on both axles.
Of course, that means additional cost and additional weight impacting your pocket and your payload. The alternative is to fit a single axle and adjust the jockey wheel to accommodate movement.
Twin axle caravans won’t turn on the spot if only one of those axles is being controlled. Instead they will show a tendency to curve out so bear this in mind.
Get Ready for Convenience
If you manage to get your hands on the perfect electric caravan mover with the ideal setup, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without one. You can wave goodbye to those parking nightmares, arm-aching fourteen point turns and general all-round frustration.
Getting it right though is of vital importance. What can start as a pretty expensive commodity can ultimately end up costing even more and even harming your caravan if not approached with a steady head.
With that being said, manufacturers, suppliers and fellow camping enthusiasts will always be able to help you out. If you aren’t one hundred percent sure at any stage, don’t gamble. Assistance is your best bet to getting exactly what you need.