Caravan & Trailer Motor Movers Installation, Repair, Upgrades
within 50km radius of 16390 St Severin, Southern Charente
Motor movers are the coolest, most useful accessories in caravanning world!
Or so it is said. Certainly there are plenty out there in use and plenty of models on the market. But, they’re not cheap, so you need to pick a new Mover wisely to ensure the right model for your requirements first time.
What is a caravan motor mover?
A motor mover is a device to manoeuvre your caravan electrically (using power supplied by the caravan’s leisure battery) without the need manual pushing and pulling or the use of your towcar.
What do they look like?
Motor movers come in various shapes and sizes. Most are fixed to the caravan chassis and engage with the caravan tyres to propel the caravan. These are, by far, the most popular and are the ones that are the topic of this page. They are readily identifiable by the motor/gearbox/drive-roller assemblies mounted (usually) in front of the caravan wheels under the caravan floor.
How do they work?
In simple terms, a motor mover is an electric motor connected to a roller via a gearbox. The rollers engage with the caravan tyre either manually or electrically, pressing hard onto the tread, so that when the motor turns the roller, it in turn drives the caravan wheel. The motor propels the caravan independently of a towcar, without the need for manual pushing and pulling.
With a roller on each wheel, you can turn the caravan by rotating one wheel faster than the other. A remote handset controls the mover.
Single-axle tourers have two mover units. Twin-axles may have two, more powerful drive assemblies (giving more limited turning capability), or be fully fitted with four drive assemblies for maximum manoeuvrability.
Motor movers are useful in many ways.
When facing a tricky-to-access caravan site pitch, a motor mover can save you time, hassle, embarrassment and towcar clutch wear. Simply unhook the caravan and ‘drive’ it solo onto the tight spot with the remote-control handset.
Likewise, if you store your tourer in a tight spot at home (often good for enhanced security), a mover will speed up the process of positioning it correctly. Many also allow a caravan to be turned very tightly (almost within its own ‘footprint’) which would be impossible with a towcar. Use them to point your caravan’s hitch away from the road, so that a thief can't access it. The majority of steep driveways also pose no challenge to a quality mover.
A motor mover can also extend your caravanning lifestyle, taking the elbow grease and backache out of caravan manoeuvring. It may even allow owners to indulge in their caravanning where without one, the caravan would prove just too heavy to deal with.
The latest movers are also sensitive enough to position the caravan hitch over your towball for hitching, without risking any damage to your tow car's bumper.
In all these ways, a motor mover can save you a lot of grief and repair bills!
Are they simple to use?
They are a very simple to use, and they move quite sedately, so they won’t run away from you. Just release the buttons and the caravan stops dead.
How heavy are they?
As any motor mover is essentially an extra accessory that eats into your payload, weight is an issue to be considered.
A lightweight single-axle mover like the e-go Titanium weighs in at just 24kg, while a highly-spec’d, twin-axle mover, like the Reich Easydriver Pro Twin, tips the scales at a beefy 68kg. That’s a lot of wine bottles that will have to stay on the supermarket shelves!
The Powrtouch Evolution range starts at 35kg. They are believed to be the most powerful mover type-for-type available for their weight and are of course designed, assembled and tested in the UK.
Can I use it to hitch up?
The best new motor movers are very precise and sensitive, so you can use them for fine positioning of the hitch head over the towbar without risking damage to your bumper. A motor mover shouldn’t prevent you using any new wheel lock.
What about fitting my ALKO wheel lock?
ALKO makes some of the best wheel locks available, but fitting them can be a challenge. With a motor mover fitted, it’s easy to make small adjustments to get the wheel-spoke aperture aligned with lock- receptor behind.
A motor mover shouldn’t prevent you using any new wheel lock.
My drive is very steep, will the mover work there?
Most new movers should have no issue with a steep drive, up to one-in-five (20%) – some will even go steeper. It may, however, affect the weight of caravan movable on that gradient.
Are they safe?
Motor movers are generally very reliable, with several backup safety systems incorporated to prevent damage or injury. For example, most won’t work if you put the remote in your pocket and then sit down on it! Buy a quality Powrtouch motor mover from The Leisure Vehicle Artisan (France) and once professionally installed, all your safety concerns will have been covered.
Leisure batteries
All motor movers need 12v power and this is usually supplied by the leisure battery installed in the caravan. Ideally the minimum capacity required for a single axle caravan mover is 85Ah. For twin motor movers on twin axle caravans and 4-motor versions, a 100Ah battery should be considered to be the absolute minimum. That said, to get the best from your motor mover, the leisure battery should be kept fully charged. Many caravan leisure batteries do suffer premature failure and often the reason is down to the following illustrative scenario: The caravan is towed home or to the storage yard. It is unhitched from the towing vehicle and manoeuvred into its parking place by using the motor-mover, thus partially discharging the leisure battery. After such use the battery should be immediately recharged either via the caravans built-in charger (if mains power is available) or removed for on-bench charging. All too often the battery is left in a discharged state and sulphation (the main cause of early battery failure) begins. If this scenario seems familiar, then a fitment of a solar charging kit may be the answer.
The Leisure Vehicle Artisan (France) is pleased to be an Authorised Retailer and Support Engineer for Powrtouch range of motor-movers, the Evolution range is believed to be "Still the UK’s Number One caravan mover".
The Leisure Vehicle Artisan (France) Caravan & Trailer Motor Mover Services
Motor Mover Diagnosis & Repairs
A full diagnostic and repair service for all popular brands of motor-mover is available. Please call with details to arrange a call-out to your home or storage site. As an Approved Powertouch Engineer, warranty work on the Evolution range can be undertaken. In this instance however please contact Powrtouch directly on 01283 587900 first.
The Powrwheel range is justifiably a popular choice and The Leisure Vehicle Artisan (France) believes that they represent a good quality product at a fair price and with a leading 5-year guarantee. However, most leading brands and models of motor-mover can be supplied, fitted and commissioned upon request.
Alternatively if you plan to change your caravan for another, you may wish for your motor-mover to be professionally removed, any required repairs made, and then have it re-installed and commissioned on your next caravan.
Motor Mover Installation
Installation must be to a good standard or it is very likely that the motor-mover system will either soon fail or just slip upon engagement, rendering it ineffective. In order that the chosen system works reliably as intended, the following areas are given particular attention:
Drive assemblies. Drive rollers must be positioned such that under engagement, position is central referenced to the width of the tyre tread. In the disengaged position, the manufacturers recommended clearance must be correctly set to avoid slippage. Drive-motor power cables must be adequately secured and routed to allow drive assembly movement and to avoid insulation chaffing on the caravan chassis.
The control box must be fastened down securely to the inside floor or a secure vertical panel within the caravan, usually in an under-seat locker and near to the battery compartment. Drive assembly power cables must be brought inboard through the floor, the hole sealed to avoid water and vermin ingress.
Connection of power supply cables between the control box and the leisure battery will be via a suitably rated in-line fuse and holder. A key-operated isolation switch will be fitted that normally will be accessible/operated from within the battery compartment. Suitable cable termination to the existing (or where required new alternative) battery terminal clamps.
Motor Mover Commissioning & Demonstration
Once the installation has been successfully completed, the system will be energised and where possible, the system will be operated in all modes whilst the drive assemblies are disengaged from the road wheels. Once correct static operation has been checked as correct, the drive assemblies will be engaged and the system exercised in moving the caravan in all modes. Once complete, the customer will be invited to see the system in use and given the opportunity to try the system for themselves. Once completed, a walk-through of the safety and control features along with handover of documentation, handset and power isolation key will be completed.