Tel 09 4278247

All about Caravan Motor movers

What is a motor mover?

Motor movers have been around for decades, but I am sometimes surprised that people are flabbergasted when they watch us move a caravan using motor movers in our yard.
Using a remote-controlled handheld device the caravan can be driven into awkward places or onto the tow-bar of the car. See a video of a caravan being moved in our yard


Do motor movers work on all caravans? 

Single axle caravans: A single axle European caravan lends itself beautifully to having motor movers fitted, they are well balanced with very little weight on the front hitch, which allows the jockey wheel to swing around easily.
American and Australian caravans have a lot of weight on the front hitch which makes it hard for the motor movers to swing the front of the caravan round when the jockey wheel is so heavy on the ground.

Tandem axle caravans: A tandem axle caravan behaves very differently when we fit motor movers, if you have ever watched what happens to the wheels when you backup a tandem axle caravan or trailer and do a tight turn, the wheels will deform due to the forces created by the turn and as the wheels overcome the sideway traction. The motor movers can not possibly make the same maneuver, it is just too much to expect. They are only capable of slight turns and require a longer distance to make the turn, having said that, some of the latest models seem to do a better job at turning by using pulse action and locking selected wheels to overcome the traction issues.

Just a couple of notes of caution!
  • The tire traction on asphalt and concrete is very good, so you may find that when turning a tandem axle caravan, it will turn better on a metal road than on a concrete or asphalt road.
  • When you have used your motor movers and parked the caravan in its desired location, always recharge the house battery afterward, the motors are like starter motors and draw a lot of power, and leaving the batteries exhausted will degrade the batteries quickly.
If you want to ask questions you can email us at info@vantagerv.nz

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