Jockey Wheel question
Hi, whilst on holiday recently I noticed that some caravanners retracted their jockey wheels during their stay. I'm not sure if this is correct as I thought that the jockey wheel would bear some of the weight when levelling (front/back) the caravan. The
steadies are there to stabalise the caravan with the wheels supporting the majority of the weight.
Am I correct in my view or does it not really matter providing the axle/wheels are taking the strain?
Comments
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Interesting question - I share the same view as you and is not something I would do myself
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Steadies
As the name suggests, steadies are there to steady the caravan when people get inside it. Without them down, as people move inside it ,say towards the back, it will eventually tip back with the front in the air The steadies are not there to support the weight of the caravan and certainly not there to level it from side to side.
The photo below shows a fairly typical front steady. You will notice it is mounted onto the floor not the chassis. So any lifting force is to the floor at the corner.
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A jockey wheel when down and the steadies up will carry a loading of 70-90Kg depending on the nose weight of your caravan. If you wind up the jockey wheel after levelling and putting the steadies down, this will increase the loading on the front steadies
by say 35Kg each. Now as stated before, on a lot of vans these steadies are mounted on the floor not the chassis. I can see no logic in doing this as I feel the jockey wheel, through the chassis, is helping to distribute the weight. Leaving the jockey wheel
down does not damage it or wear it out, so why not. I know the steadies are rated high enough to take this load, but why stress the floor at the front corners unnecessarily?0 -
A jockey wheel when down and the steadies up will carry a loading of 70-90Kg depending on the nose weight of your caravan. If you wind up the jockey wheel after levelling and putting the steadies down, this will increase the loading on the front steadies by say 35Kg each. Now as stated before, on a lot of vans these steadies are mounted on the floor not the chassis. I can see no logic in doing this as I feel the jockey wheel, through the chassis, is helping to distribute the weight. Leaving the jockey wheel down does not damage it or wear it out, so why not. I know the steadies are rated high enough to take this load, but why stress the floor at the front corners unnecessarily?
Your numbers do not take into consideration that once set up you may have from 2 - 6 people occupying the front lounge raising the nose weight considerabley, so even more weight would then be carried by two little steadies that are not connected to the main weight supporting frame of the caravan but bolted to the floor instead.
There is no way on earth I woudl take the risk of doing this!
Robin
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I thought my statement was quite clear and how would you take into account a variable Figure?? I have Stated facts which as an automotive lecturer are what you use when making a point. I do not understand why you had to post something that is clearly just
stating the facts that i have already mentioned that is that any weight not taken by the jockey wheel will obviously be taken by the corner steadies.0 -
How odd that the steadies at the rear take all the loads that the ones at the front are asked to carry, but without the benefit of a jockey wheel to assist, or even much of a chassis either on some caravans.
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How odd that the steadies at the rear take all the loads that the ones at the front are asked to carry, but without the benefit of a jockey wheel to assist, or even much of a chassis either on some caravans.
Dont forget though:
1. The caravan is naturally nose heavy so the weight of the caravan is less at the back.
2. Living areas are typically at the front of the van so the occupational loads are less also.
3. The shape of the chassis rails are usualy wide to the rear of the van, not like at the front where the A frame is. The steadies are usually much further from the chassis rails at the front. It is not untypical for the rear steadies to be operated from
the rear in heavy vans, where the streadies are in line with the chassis rails or even attached to them (such as on my van) allowing them to take the load better than the floor of the van at the front.0 -
I agree these three points may apply in some situations, but by no means all. People bring stuff into 'vans from their tow vehicle, and also redistribute things when pitched. My Target caravan of a few years ago had the main living area at the rear, with
water tanks below the seats! No idea why steadies are placed across the way on many modern builds - I put it down to those stylists who dont actually ever use a caravam.0 -
I've wondered about this in the past too. Probably triggered by me looking into the Alko jockey wheel with the nose weight gauge. However, as current wheel is solid and leaving it down doesn't appear to damage it, I leave it down.
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Quite apart from the additional unnecessary loading to the front steadies, it seems a pointless exercise as you will have to wind it all down again later.
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I think that down is probably best, (Why Not) but care should be taken not to exert too much down-force, as this will be countered by an excess of up-force on the A-frame when the rear steadies are down. Moderation in all things; as the saying goes.
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I first saw this practice when a caravan was on very sloping ground and the front steadys were on large blocks to level the front , the jockey wheel would not be long enough , or nearly fully extended ...
Unless you do the obvious and put a levelling block under the jockey wheel
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How odd that the steadies at the rear take all the loads that the ones at the front are asked to carry, but without the benefit of a jockey wheel to assist, or even much of a chassis either on some caravans.
Dont forget though:
1. The caravan is naturally nose heavy so the weight of the caravan is less at the back.
2. Living areas are typically at the front of the van so the occupational loads are less also.
3. The shape of the chassis rails are usualy wide to the rear of the van, not like at the front where the A frame is. The steadies are usually much further from the chassis rails at the front. It is not untypical for the rear steadies to be operated from
the rear in heavy vans, where the streadies are in line with the chassis rails or even attached to them (such as on my van) allowing them to take the load better than the floor of the van at the front.Also if you look at the alko chassis the rear steadies are wholly mounted to the chassis wheras the fronts are mainly supported by the floor of the unit with generally just one fixing to the chassis
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My advice would be not to raise the jockey wheel. I place a large wooden block directly under the winding tube, so the tube sits on the block and the wheel is slightly clear of the ground. The weight is transmitted directed straight down the tube and onto
the block and the wheel is unable to roll, so making the van more secure.0 -
The caravan has 4 corner steadies designed to take the load imposed after levelling. Although most wind it down, it doesn't matter whether the jockey wheel is down or up, but should not be wound down over-tight as this may overload the chassis A frame.
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I'm with the majority on this one. I can't see why one would raise the jockey wheel while setting up on site and then put it down just before you hitch up to go - it's just an extra job.
Also, as has already been said, the front steadies are often attached to the floor of the van whereas the rear steadies are usually attached to the chassis. Raising the jockey wheel will put more stress on the floor of the van, in my opinion
David
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