Pneumatic Jockey wheel recommendations
We have a 2012 twin axle Elddis Buccaneer Schooner which we wish to bring from storage to our new property which has a slate shingle driveway. It is one heck of a weighty caravan and we were advised to change our jockey wheel to one with a pneumatic wheel as this will move more easily with the motor mover. I am looking for advice as to what make of pneumatic jockey wheel to buy for the demand that our caravan will put on it. Also is it a straight forward job to fit it or does it rely on seeking expert help? Any thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Comments
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It's often possible to replace a solid wheel with a pneumatic one but on some vans there is not enough clearance to fit them.
They are normally wider and a larger diameter than a solid wheel and need replacement winding gear.
They do run easier but I would advise some careful measuring and research before spending money.1 -
Thank you for that Tinwheeler I will most certainly do that. I have contacted Elddis and the caravan centre that we used when we lived in Lancashire for advice too. Unfortunately we are quite rural here and I can just pop the caravan anywhere, especially as it’s still in Lancashire 😂😂
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Something else you might like to consider. We bought one of these. Mainly because it is much better made than the standard jockey and stands up to the rigours of powermoving on uneven ground better. It also has the advantage that it shows your nose weight. Plus the spring that does this also acts as a shock absorber to the jockey, when moving on rough ground. The wheel itself although not pneumatic is much wider than standard at 80 mm and handles soft gravel almost as well as the pneumatic one we had.
Disadvantages are price, plus weight if nose weight is a problem. Although the wheel itself, which is a fair bit of that weight can be removed to increase ground clearance. That was an issue with one of the pneumatics we had, due to its larger diameter.
Advantages over pneumatic is no punctures. We never managed to source a decent quality one and the rubber seemed to perish easily and at the most inconvienient times.
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Your advice has been sound. Particularly with a weighty caravan, a Pneumatic jockey wheel is a boon. Especially if you are intending to use CMC sites. The CMC's addiction to ugly gravel on pitches means that solid jockey wheels can dig in especially when moving forwards using a motor mover. Advice from an Elddis dealership is your best bet, hopefully you will just need to change the actual wheel, but they should be able to advise.
Regards Kennine
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just bear in mind that when the air is lost,(as others have said they perish very quickly,)you will effectively be without a jockey wheel!
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Replaced mine on my Elddis Avente with one of these: Replacement Wheel.
So much better than the plastic one. You just need to use a few washers to center it in the original assembly.
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