Motor Movers
I'm thinking of having a Motor Mover fitted, probably taking advantage of the Members Offers from Autowfix. Any hints or tips about what type to get? Is it a major drama manually engaging the drive that warrants paying the extra for an auto engagement? I've seen mention of AWD movers which seems to drive all 4 wheels of a twin axle van. I haven't got a twin axle van but what is the advantage of driving all 4 wheels?
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Can't comment on the Autofix brand but we have had two powrtouch ones (two caravans) and they have been great. From posts on here the company does seem to honour its 'no quibble' 5 year guarantee and come out to fix any problems at home or whereever.
As to the auto engagement if we bought another we would get one but only because it is something else to do, find the lever, bend down and put it on the mover and then pull it over. It does take a bit of effort, then take it off while using the mover, then bend down and put it back to remove. Be careful here as it comes off with a fair force and someone on here sadly said it hit them in the face once.
It depends on how young and fit you are. Most manual have a cross activation bar that allows you to put both rollers on from one side but that does take more effort. Actually what we do is both (myself and mrs C) do each side at the same time and that is much easier. I would ask your dealer or someone with one on site to let you have a go?
Apart from that for me its the best thing to have, it makes pitching and hitching up a doddle. No more reversing - just unhitch on the road and let the mover put the caravan in perfect place. And when hitching up you can select slow (ie very slow) to perfectly put the hitch over the tow ball.
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Get a mover that suits your needs & pocket. My current & previous caravan have manually engaged motors, as they were fitted by previous owners, if was buying though , I'd have chosen auto engage because I like gadgets. Others here will disagree saying that there's more to go wrong. If we all lived like that, we'd be washing clothes on a rock in the Irwell & driving an ox & cart.
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We've had 3 Powertouch, the first 2 inherited second hand. Both completely trouble free and both manual engagement. We've now got a new van and as only £200 different (in scheme of things, not a lot when paying out £000s on new van), we opted for auto engage.
It's fantastic! I'm fully fit, but it just makes life simpler, with only a single 'tool' to pick up.
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David, just out of interest. Why do you hate it? My mover is manual too and I am quite content with it. As you say, less to go wrong.
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Another reason for getting an auto mover is if (like us at home) you park the 'van up against a wall on one side. Manual is no good then, no access.
We have a Powrtouch auto, transferred from our old van to our new one last year. Very happy with it.
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Graymee, some have voiced their displeasure with Autowfix's service but I have nothing but praise for it.
I took advantage of the clubs discount with them in Feb/Mar and arranged for a manual, cross actuation Ego titanium to be fitted. They kept me informed by phone to the hour for the allotted time, a good installation and instruction, registered online for the warranty and all went to plan.
Now using it in Italy where last year we were caught out by narrow access that needed some dutch friends to help pitch. It's a good, lightweight unit that does what it says on the tin. Single axle by the way.
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I've had four movers now ( Reich-Truma-Powertouch) the last one was a cross actuation, I'm a fit, strong 67 yr old and must admit the energy required to engage both sides at the same time was beyond me. My friend the dealer advised taking off the cross bar, I did and filed it under B1N. This improved matters greatly. I now have a ALKO auto engage and it really is the best I ever used, would certainly advise spending that extra few quid.
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We too struggled with our key sequences, getting the dealer to demonstrate how it worked on a return visit. Their solution involved resetting things by removing the isolator switch etc. Then 'Eureka' a friend needed some attention to their motor mover, so we asked the technician why it was so difficult. It isn't. He showed us how to watch the LEDs and wait until each operation was complete. There's never a need to switch off the isolator and the handset works first time, every time for us now. It isn't fiddly, but you do need to stick to the simple process. Maybe Powertouch should provide extra training for their dealers.
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Has Brian 1 checked both sides of his van, ours has an actuator on both sides so you can park it against wall/hedge but make sure you can get into battery box to switch mover off as they can drain battery .
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If you are struggling with the manual, cross actuation, why not extend the wrench handle by slipping a 2 to 3 ft. steel tube over its shaft?
This will give you greater leverage to move the rollers against the spring loading.
Works for me!
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so did mine
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Lubricate on a regular basis with motorbike chain oil on all moving parts both sides, but keep off rollers, it makes a world of difference. We have a Powrtouch manual all wheel.
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Ours is an old reich manual that uses the same wrench that winds down the corner steadies , it can be wound on from either side but when i park it on our drive which is sloping one of the wheels skids and it really struggles to get up the drive and onto the main road is this because the van is to heavy for the mover do you think ? ... Its an old hymer nova 555 and we normally keep it in storage but it has to come home for services and repairs and i must admit i get anxious when we have to then manouver it on sloping drive cos one side starts to skid ..... This is mrs bc cos mr bc doesnt get anxious at all lol:/
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No idea on weight / power. However, there was a thread some time ago that discussed this. Apparently the movers should be mounted a specific distance from the tyre, in order they engage with the correct force. It is possible one mover has moved on its mounting and no longer engages fully. So OK on the level but slips on a slope.
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If you do have one fitted and you use a hardstanding make sure you move the van forward slighty and brush away any gravel that has stuck on the tyre as this will do the mover and tyre no good and even if you tow it off check as lump of gravel stuck in your tyre could cause problems
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Thankyou steve l its coming home soon for a service so i shall get the service man to take a look at it cheers mrs bc
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In the distant past we used a manually engaging motor mover with cross actuation, and it was a real effort to overcome the power of the springs. The standard length wrench had to be fitted to actuator with its handle touching the ground on one side, and moved right around until it touched the ground on the other to lock the mover into a new position. It wouldn't allow an extension tube because doing so would have reduced the throw. Our best solution was regular lubrication of the actuating mechanism.
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I have a similar problem to Jenny. I do use the lever when locking on for the first part of the turn with the extension pushed in and only extend it for the final push which is the stiff bit. Releasing is easier and not a problem.
You do need to try one before buying though if you are at all unfit to see if you can manage it.
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We have only had one mover - the power touch with auto engage which is about 6 yrs old now. After about 1.5 - 2 yrs both of the actuating motors failed one after the other within a couple of months. Power touch replaced them under guarantee with no quibble and told me that they had a faulty batch of motors, since then (touches wood!) they have been no trouble.
the only other issue was a flat battery in the hand controller which died while we were unhitched and pitching in front of a queue of other units at Berwick☹️
Thing was the handset was lit up so confusing as to what the issue was. Fortunately we had a spare battery which solved it, so would recommend replacing the handset battery at least every 2 years.
i have never used a manual engage mover, - sounds simple but a backward step if auto engage is a reasonable extra cost.
Our mover has the 'grit' type rollers but there are claims that the serrated roller types apply better drive, have other members used both and is there any advantage either way?
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