Hitchdrive Caravan Mover
Keith Dunbar (2)
(http://www.hitchdrive.com/main.html)? I'm moving house soon and the
caravan will be in a more confined space. This would seem ideal to help
manoeuvre it without spending a fortune - but does it work???
Keith
Me
Dave
"Keith Dunbar (2)" <k.du...@virgin.net> wrote in message
news:23%qh.547$8j7...@newsfe1-win.ntli.net...
Harry Bloomfield
> Keith
You crank an handle at the top, which provides reduction drive to a
couple of wheels hi grip wheels. As there is not much weight on the
jockey wheel, they supply a bracket you can stand on - thus increasing
the weight/grip on the two wheels where needed. An arm swings out and
locks in place to enable the wheels to be steered. The crank lever fits
both the wheel drive and the normal jockey wheel jacking function.
How well do they work - pretty good for what they are, providing you
don't expect too much. Perfect for manouvering on the flat on good
ground, not so good on loose gravel or wet grass. Take the 'able to
push it up a 1 in 10' with a pinch of salt. They work much better
pushing up hill than trying to pull. They provide much more leverage
than the tyres have grip. The stand on bracket seems no better than
simply putting your foot and weight on the wheel.
My drive slope is probably a touch less than 1 in 10 and it doesn't
have the grip to push it up that, so I use a home made winch. Once up
the steepest part, I use the Hitchdrive. I could push it manually at
this point, but the Hitchdrive gives you perfect control of the
direction it takes and with a controlled speed of progress. If
necessary I can do the manouvering by myself - move it a bit, then go
look at clearances.
Once its finished with and you are on the road, they don't seem to have
put much thought into parking the handles adequately or protecting it
from the weather. I ended up wrapping a bungy cord around them to stop
them flapping and rattling, but it really needs some sort of cover.
Worth it - a qualified yes, unless you are willing to fork out for the
much more expensive powered main wheels and the extra weight. I wasn't
and for me this is a reasonable compromise.
--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk
Tinkapace
van but on any incline or gravel mine is about as much use as a pork pie at
a Jewish Wedding. On wet grass even with the footplate it's as good as
nothing
--
Tim Pace
Elite Mortgage Solutions LTD
Regulated and directly authorised by the FSA (302528)
Home, Life,Travel,Caravan & Pet Insurance, stand alone sickness & redundancy
cover, & all types of Mortgages.
Mary Fisher
"Keith Dunbar (2)" <k.du...@virgin.net> wrote in message
news:23%qh.547$8j7...@newsfe1-win.ntli.net...
We have one and are very pleased with it. Yes, it takes some effort and
learning but it's easier than manhandling the van.
Our drive has a slope and once you understand the physics of the device,
that is to *push* the van up the hill (which goes against the grain!),
putting the weight onto the Hitchdrive, it works very well.
It's far, far cheaper than the built in ones or even the Powrwheel and
nowhere near as heavy.
Mary
>
>
Harry Bloomfield
> IMHO its a waste of time. On a perfectly flat tarmac drive it will move the
> van but on any incline or gravel mine is about as much use as a pork pie at a
> Jewish Wedding. On wet grass even with the footplate it's as good as nothing
I made clear that it does have its limitations, but once you understand
them it has it still has its uses. I would not attempt to drive it
uphill on wet grass or gravel, because I know it will most certainly
slip. I tow it up, then use the hitchdrive to finalise the position.
Hooking up I use it to get it spot on over the tow ball, if I can't do
that I move elsewhere. I have not yet had to move elsewhere.
Tinkapace
than to push the caravan by hand, however on level ground it will work.
Also on level ground mywife can move the van where as without it she cannot.
Its just that personally I cant be bothered with it and think it is vastly
overpriced. I also think it has a couple of design faults, It's a bit like
akwrights till and will have your hand off with the spring loaded handle,
ampongst other things.
Keith Dunbar (2)
"Tinkapace" <tp...@nospamblueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:6B4rh.76990$QY6....@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
have a slope - it's just manoeuvring in a tight spot I'm after help with.
It sounds as if it might well do the business. Many thanks to all for all
the really helpful feedback.
Keith
Keith Dunbar
"Tinkapace" <tp...@nospamblueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:6B4rh.76990$QY6....@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
raising and lowering the hitch, which I also find a bit of a struggle at
times. Do people find it helpful in that respect?
Keith
Harry Bloomfield
> Keith
It will handle the 17', mine is a 15' 6".
It does do the raising/ lowering of a standard jockey wheel. It seems
to be quite similarly geared for raising and lowering as a standard
jockey wheel. One point missed, is the fact that the double wheel comes
off - you replace it with a blanking dust cap for travelling and stick
the wheels in a bag in the boot.
Roger Mills
Keith Dunbar (2) <k.du...@virgin.net> wrote:
>>
> Having a 17' van I'm neither willing or able to push it by hand. I
> don't have a slope - it's just manoeuvring in a tight spot I'm after
> help with. It sounds as if it might well do the business. Many
> thanks to all for all the really helpful feedback.
>
My intrepretation of most of the replies is that it works ok in situations
where you could just as easily hand manoeuvre the van - but is little use
for anything more demanding.
So it may or may not work for you.
A much safer bet for anyone who finds it difficult to exert physical force
is a built-in mover - even though it's more expensive and uses up some of
the payload allowance.
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
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PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!
Harry Bloomfield
> My intrepretation of most of the replies is that it works ok in situations
> where you could just as easily hand manoeuvre the van - but is little use for
> anything more demanding.
No it gives you an extra bit of push, I would equate it to three bodies
pushing assuming the surface is on has enough grip.
Three people cannot push my van up my drive, but if I felt inclined to,
I could add weight on the wheels and could just about force the
Hitchdrive to push it up. I didn't really expect it to cope with the
slope on my drive, I got it mainly for its ability to help me maneuver
it up the gentler slope and make guiding it through a narrow gap to its
resting spot easy. It does this with absolute ease.
> So it may or may not work for you.
> A much safer bet for anyone who finds it difficult to exert physical force is
> a built-in mover - even though it's more expensive and uses up some of the
> payload allowance.
If you can justify the cost, the weight and have the need - then yes,
but even they have their limitations.
Mary Fisher
"Tinkapace" <tp...@nospamblueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:6B4rh.76990$QY6....@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
<shrug>
I was giving my experience, as asked for.
Nothing will suit everyone.
'can't be bothered' says a lot though :-)
I don't think it's vastly over-priced either. No doubt some time soon a
version will be available in Lidl but you still wouldn't want to be bothered
with it even if cost a penny, would you? If you were then the price isn't
relevant.
Mary
Mary Fisher
>
>>
> Having a 17' van I'm neither willing or able to push it by hand. I don't
> have a slope - it's just manoeuvring in a tight spot I'm after help with.
> It sounds as if it might well do the business. Many thanks to all for all
> the really helpful feedback.
>
> Keith
Keith, I forgot to say that manoeuvrability is our main problem, getting
through the gate with about an inch at each side then turning the 'van
through 90 deg in a very tight space and up a slope. In the past it's taken
a long time doing it by hand, even with the advantage of an adapted hoist.
Now we do it in about ten minutes.
Mary
>
>
Mary Fisher
"Roger Mills" <watt....@googlemail.com> wrote in message
news:514dhuF...@mid.individual.net...
>
>>>
>> Having a 17' van I'm neither willing or able to push it by hand. I
>> don't have a slope - it's just manoeuvring in a tight spot I'm after
>> help with. It sounds as if it might well do the business. Many
>> thanks to all for all the really helpful feedback.
>>
>
> My intrepretation of most of the replies is that it works ok in situations
> where you could just as easily hand manoeuvre the van - but is little use
> for anything more demanding.
>
> So it may or may not work for you.
>
> A much safer bet
??
> for anyone who finds it difficult to exert physical force
It's not just about physical force.
> is a built-in mover - even though it's more expensive and uses up some of
> the payload allowance.
A LOT more expensive in pounds and payload.
Mary Fisher
"Keith Dunbar" <k.du...@virgin.net> wrote in message
news:Zd6rh.696$8j7...@newsfe1-win.ntli.net...
>
>>
> Meant to say, I gather it also does the normal jockey wheel function of
> raising and lowering the hitch, which I also find a bit of a struggle at
> times. Do people find it helpful in that respect?
>
> Keith
Yes.
Mary
>
>
etomd
"Harry Bloomfield" <harry.m1...@tiscali.co.uk> wrote in message
news:mn.83c37d717...@tiscali.co.uk...
That's fine but what happens if the hitch comes of when moving. It has
happened to me but thankfully the jockey wheel stopped the van dropping when
the brake was automatically engaged. Without the jockey wheel the van would
drag to a halt.
Keith Dunbar
"Mary Fisher" <mary....@zetnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:45ad41d4$0$763$4c56...@master.news.zetnet.net...
Thank you Mary for your really helpful and supportive comments. My
manoeuvrability problem won't be that extreme. I will have a choice of
either reversing the van (a fairly straight line granted) into a moderately
tight space, or driving in forwards, unhitching the car and manoeuvring the
van with the hitchdrive - which I think I would prefer.
I also thought it might be helpful during normal caravanning raising and
lowering the hitch, which you also say it helps with.
Keith
Roger Mills
>
> I also thought it might be helpful during normal caravanning raising
> and lowering the hitch, which you also say it helps with.
>
> Keith
Would you care to elaborate on the problem you have with raising and
lowering the hitch. Since, with a typical hitch load of 70Kg, many people
can just about lift the hitch by hand, so - using a normal jocket wheel
winder which has a huge mechanical advantage - raising and lowering is not
normally a problem. I'm wondering whether the threads on your winder have
seized up through lack of lubrication.
Keith Dunbar
although even after a service the winder seems a little stiff. It's just
that I tend to use more remote and hilly sites where there can be a lot more
adjustment to do if to level the van the hitch has to be quite high -
perhaps having to put a steady down and readjust the jockey wheel clamp.
It's not really a big issue for me. I think what I was really wondering
about was how using the hitchdrive compared on the jockey wheel height
adjustment side if I decided to fit one.
Keith
Harry Bloomfield
> That's fine but what happens if the hitch comes of when moving. It has
> happened to me but thankfully the jockey wheel stopped the van dropping when
> the brake was automatically engaged. Without the jockey wheel the van would
> drag to a halt.
I would imagine if it came off the hitch, then the lack of the wheel
would be the least of your worries. The wheel can be left on if you
prefer, its just that it is removable to improve clearance at the
hitch. Rather than doing the usual trick releasing the clamp and
drawing the jockey wheel up out of the way, you just remove the wheel
on the Hitchdrive.
Harry Bloomfield
> Thank you Mary for your really helpful and supportive comments. My
> manoeuvrability problem won't be that extreme. I will have a choice of
> either reversing the van (a fairly straight line granted) into a moderately
> tight space, or driving in forwards, unhitching the car and manoeuvring the
> van with the hitchdrive - which I think I would prefer.
If you want it for the precise controllability it provides, then it
will certainly achieve that easily.
> I also thought it might be helpful during normal caravanning raising and
> lowering the hitch, which you also say it helps with.
It does that, but no better, no worse than a standard jockey wheel -
providing the jockey wheel is in perfect condition. It is a little
different from the jockey wheel in that whereas you wind a jockey wheel
in horizontal circles, the hitchdrive is wound in vertical circles for
both up/down and driving it forward/backward. You just swap the
cranking handle between two different square spigots depending upon the
intended function.
etomd
Quote "Rather than doing the usual trick releasing the clamp and
drawing the jockey wheel up out of the way, you just remove the wheel
on the Hitchdrive."
The jockey wheel is designed to take the weight of the van in the event of
the van unhitching so moving the wheel completly out of the way could cause
serious damage.
Harry Bloomfield
The jockey wheel is designed only for the purpose of enabling the
caravan to be manouvered once it is off the tow ball, it is certainly
not designed to roll along the road at 40- 70mph after an accidental
decoupling from the tow vehicle. The Hitchdrive even without the wheel
would most likely skid along the road just as well as a conventional
jockey wheel in such circumstances.
Are you sure that many people actually leave their jockey wheel
sufficiently exposed that it would actually make contact with the road
before the front tip of the A frame made contact?
bill lord
>The jockey wheel is designed to take the weight of the van in the event of
>the van unhitching so moving the wheel completly out of the way could cause
>serious damage.
The hitch is designed to prevent unhitching without intent, the jockey
wheel is designed to make unhitching possible and to manoevre the van
once it has been intentionally unhitched. If my van became unhitched
at normal driving speeds I would expect serious damage to my van. The
only vehicle that I have known to become unhitched at normal driving
speeds was written off.
Bill Lord
I've taken a vow of poverty To annoy me send money
e-mail messages to bill hyphen lord at uku dot co dot uk
( Get rid of the spaces and use symbols for the hyphen at and dots )
etomd
"bill lord" <wally...@uku.co.uk> wrote in message
news:nm1vq2hs2qam4v0ik...@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 18 Jan 2007 12:44:19 -0000, "etomd" <nospam@bed> wrote:
>
>>The jockey wheel is designed to take the weight of the van in the event of
>>the van unhitching so moving the wheel completly out of the way could
>>cause
>>serious damage.
>
> The hitch is designed to prevent unhitching without intent, the jockey
> wheel is designed to make unhitching possible and to manoevre the van
> once it has been intentionally unhitched. If my van became unhitched
> at normal driving speeds I would expect serious damage to my van. The
> only vehicle that I have known to become unhitched at normal driving
> speeds was written off.
As stated earlier in this thread my van became uncoupled from the hitch tow
ball (my own fault) - travelling at 25mph - had the jockey wheel not been
able to make contact with the road the van would have suffered considerable
damage. In my case the only damage was a broken break cable (less than £4.00
to replace)
Neil
Due to the shape of my driveway, and the length of my Chateaux 400, I
have to put my 'van onto the drive drawbar first which precludes using
the car to reverse it on.
The drive slopes sufficiently up to the road to make it impossible for
me and my wife to push the 'van up to the road. The drive has just
been renewed with block paving but I am able to do it single-handed
with the aid of a Brunawheel, which is just an earlier single wheel
version of the same thing.
I got the Brunawheel because a local guy was giving up caravanning and
wanted to get rid of it. It works better now that the drive is no
longer crumbling tarmac.
Keith, if you're anywhere near me(Nuneaton) you're welcome to borrow
it and try it out. It would give you an idea of whether the
Hitchdrive is likely to be any good.
Neil
(Reply via NG please)
etomd
"etomd" <nospam@bed> wrote in message
news:45af9ca9$1...@mk-nntp-2.news.uk.tiscali.com...
Perhaps not made clear in my earlier post I do wind the jockey wheel up
untill the actual wheel is about 3" lower than the A frame.
Keith Dunbar
"Neil" <dono...@thisaddy.com> wrote in message
news:ibhtq2po8mb2s4cv8...@4ax.com...
Thanks for the kind offer Neil - but I'm in Norfolk. What has been said in
the NG has reassured me that this would be a good purchase in due course -
but we need to get moved first and see just exactly what we're dealing
with - and see if there's any spare cash!!!
Keith