Jockey wheel - beware of it unwinding
Coming off the A7 [ Spain ] heard a pop looked in the mirrors, van tyres OK car tyres seemed OK then about 6 k further on over a speed bump and a nasty grating sound stopped to take a look, the jockey wheel had unwound itself, destroyed the tyre and tube and buggered [a technical term ] the rim, we know it was wound up ok because the previous night it had not been wound down as it was a one night stop so somehow it unwound itself, summat else to check each time we set off.
Comments
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Happened to me on the way home from picking up our new van. £40 and we hadn't even started!
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Judging by the fact that more caravan jockey wheels do NOT have a bungee cord stopping the jockey from unwinding itself, I'd suggest that the majority don't have a problem because it's wound up correctly & nipped up at the top of its travel. Mine has never unwound itself.
I'd suggest it doesn't just happen.
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It definitely does happen. It happened to us about three years ago travelling on the M6. Luckily there was no damage. Now I always fit a bungee cord after hitching up. It only takes a few seconds but ensures that the jockey wheel can't unwind.
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No s**t Sherlock ...... which bit of the A Frame and to what exactly? ..... my A Frame is covered in a big bit of plastic with a handbrake sticking out of the top next to my jockey wheel, certainly nothing that I could clip a bungee to where it would achieve anything. As above, if the wheel is slotted into the bottom of the jockey wheel tube and tightened up, the wheel is unable to spin and hence unable to unscrew itself
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Suffered from a similar problem a couple of years ago so I was careful to make sure the jockey wheel handle was fully tight. Preparing for departure one Bank holiday the handle snapped off completely. Fortunately the storage site has a caravan repair shop close by and I was able to buy and fit a replacement. £50 down before the weekend had started was not good! I'm careful to apply moderate force and haven't had any more problems.
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I have been there and replaced Jockey wheels - just needs some extra oomph - be it a foot driven kick to tighten it or a hammer to make another turn on the jockey wheel - and then check when stopping during a journey. A check can save a few £££s
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I suffered an unwinding jockey wheel on my current caravan on two occasions but never before that in 30 years of caravanning. My practice had been to wind the jockey wheel up to one turn short of maximum. Then pull the centre column up and next tighten the wheel against the underside of the plastic A frame. On my t/a Bailey there must have been a bit of flex in the A frame cover allowing the jockey to descend. I now wind the wheel up into the two slots on the column as tight as it will go and only then pull the column up against the A frame. In effect you are locking metal to metal rather than rubber tyre against plastic A frame cover. I have never had a problem since and not needed to use a bungee strap.
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I know exactly what the problem is and its not operator error in all cases.
Had it happen on a NEW caravan twice, even though i know it was correctly stored.
Its something as simple as too much lubrication.
Take the assembly apart and remove all but the essential grease required for operation, ours was caked in grease, removed the excess and never had it since.
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There's ensuring something is tight, but using a knocking stick is sure to over tighten the assembly. Using a hammer is sure to break something. My last caravan's jockey wheel assembly fell to bits on me just as I'd hitched up on my way home ... the tension/celloc (call it what you will) pin across the handle sheared on me ... maybe someone had use a hammer on it before my ownership
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The fact is that caravans "shake, rattle and roll". If the wheel or securing clamp are not quite tight enough there is a fair chance that it will unwind or drop down even if the wheel is raised into the A frame recess. Operator error? Well, yes, but a mistake easily made and once it's happened gets added to the experience list - just another thing to double check.
The very last time we collected our van from storage I drove about 5 meters with the Alko wheel lock attached. Most things become second nature but if you haven't used the van for six months it's easy to forget the basics.
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Oh ... but it doesn't, if it's properly tightened, & I'm speaking of personal experience too. ie 35 years of tightening stuff at work. No, still not convinced it's not operator error. Mine has never even looked like it was going to come loose ..... even without a hammer. I often had to unwind the handle slightly on my last caravan if I wanted to open the front locker when hitched up as the door fouled the fully tightened jockey wheel handle. A nudge with the heel of my hand re-tightened it on each occasion until we go to where we were going.
Do you go round your car re-tightening suspension etc that's come lose due to road vibrations? No, cos it was all properly tightened up.
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It can and does. But as usual you wount accept anyone else's opinions so i'm done with replying to your posts on this thread.
Other people will find I'm correct.
It not difficult to store the jockey wheel correctly i've been doing it for a very long time, and never had it unwinded before or after my experience with just one caravan, stuffed with excess grease.
Never had a problem with it after that for the following 7 years.
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Hitch up, wind jockey wheel into recess on the tube, tighten winder handle by hand, undo clamp, swivel tube to ensure wheel is facing fore and aft, lift tube assembly up and into 'A' frame recess, tighten clamp by hand.
Simple, it stays that way until the next time you disturb it, if not then print this out and refer to it regularly
May I add that in about 21 years of caravanning I have never had a jockey wheel unwind on me, if I had it would be 'owner fault' or a defective unit.
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I confess that I've been rushed & set off with the mover still engaged or left the caravan handbrake on
