GET A MOVER ON

Grappling your caravan into that perfect pitch or storage position can feel rather like you're going head-to-head with a Sumo wrestler. John Sootheran reveals the best option to take the 'push and shove' out of touring

I’M A 6’ 2” salad dodger, but even I can find shoving a loaded caravan the last few feet onto its pitch pretty strenuous.

While a van weighing the best part of two tonnes might well ‘play ball’ on a flat, hard surface, throw in a slippery grass or an energy-sapping sand pitch and to be honest, grappling with a well-fed wrestler suddenly seems a preferable option.

But there is a smart solution to these touring tussles, where all you need is a dextrous thumb.

What is a motor mover?

A motor mover is just what it says on the tin, a motor that moves your caravan.

The vast majority are powerful electric motors that turn grippy rollers. When engaged, the roller presses against the caravan tyre and turns the wheel, in effect driving your van along without the need for the tow car.

Typically, you’ll have one roller for each wheel, as this allows you to turn – although twin-axle caravans, with four wheels, can be powered with just one motor mover unit on each side.

The electrically powered motors are controlled by a handheld remote control, allowing the van to be driven backwards and forwards and to turn in all directions.

Turning is achieved when the system automatically powers the wheel(s) on one side more than those on the opposite side, causing the caravan to pivot. In fact, a motor-mover driven caravan can almost turn on its own axis.

These powerful and compact units are around the size of a shoebox, and they clamp onto the caravan’s chassis in front of, or behind, the wheels. They are often linked across the width of the tourer with a strong metal tube, which adds strength and rigidity to the chassis.