A caravan motor mover is essential

There really is plenty of love for the motor mover from caravanners.

Precision parking, help with levelling and making caravanning a breeze for older caravanners or those with mobility difficulties – the list goes on as to why people think a motor mover is an essential piece of caravanning kit.

The mover has been described as a “godsend” as well as an “essential piece of kit” in our latest community poll, with many supporters saying they couldn’t caravan without it!

You responded in your droves when we asked if you used a caravan motor mover.

We received a massive 1,509 votes and the results showed overwhelming support for the motor mover, with 94 per cent saying they owned one and 68 per cent agreeing that it was an essential piece of caravanning kit.

Only four per cent of voters said they could live without one and just two per cent were considering buying one.

Read Caravan Guard’s detailed guide on caravan motor movers here

Your caravan motor mover comments

Thanks to the 45 of you who commented about motor movers. Here are some of our top picks.

Arthritis sufferer Linda Clark said a caravan motor mover was essential: “We could not caravan without it, it makes life so much easier.”

Roy Welch said it was the best piece of equipment ever, David Page Smith said he wouldn’t be without one and Jem Bullock said she couldn’t manoeuvre her caravan without one.

The weight of a caravan and the age of its user is often an important factor in using a motor mover, as well as taking the strain out of parking or pitching up.

Brian Frosdick said he wouldn’t be able to move his caravan without one.

“At the age of 87 the mover enables my wife and I to continue our 54 years of active caravanning joys.”

Peter Griffin has been caravanning for over 50 years. “Until about five years ago I managed without one, but age and the increased weight of caravans forced me to invest in one,” he added. “I now consider them essential not only for positioning of the ‘van on pitch and at home but also for ease of hitching up.”

Geoff Ellis commented: “As one gets older caravans seem to have got heavier and they save a lot of shouting at your partner to push harder!”

Anthony Dangerfield and David Andrew Preece agreed: “Essential if you’re a pensioner with limited movement,” said Anthony. “Got to keep going until you run out of ways of overcoming the difficulties.”

Many of you commented that not only does a motor mover make it easier to park on a variety of terrains and inclines, but it’s also great for manoeuvring into tight storage spaces.

David is a retired LGV driver. “My drive is quite narrow and the mover is a godsend in tight situations. I am now too old and infirm to manoeuvre by hand.”

Andrew lives on a bus route and stores his caravan at home: “The movers are essential for us to put the caravan in its parking place on our property with the least effort,” he said. “I have parked the caravan by using my tow vehicle but with a combined length of over forty feet we did have problems with a bus that would not back up to let me complete a manoeuvre and this made us consider caravan movers and then have them retrofitted to our caravan. I also use them on sites as well, especially when pitched up in tight situations.”

Alan Holmes said he would not be able to get his caravan into and out of its parking space at its storage location without a motor mover.

Similarly, Phil Hewitt Mead said: “Our motor mover is vital to move a heavy caravan down the side of our house where the gap is only a bit wider than the caravan. Also, it is great to manoeuvre the caravan on sloping pitches as there is no danger of it running away. Also great to raise one wheel onto a ramp to level the van when you want the van in a position on the pitch where it cannot be moved by the tow car.”

Robert said it would be nearly impossible to move his twin axle caravan by hand or with a car when storing at home.

“I have a twin axle van which is close to 8 metres in length, the drive is 11 metres long and the caravan goes behind a concrete wall too one side for added security,” he said. “The mover is a BIG help.”

Precision parking and the minor movements needed to the get axle wheel lock in place is another key factor for loving the motor mover.

A Flesher said: “Anyone trying to fit an Alko axle-wheel lock at the same time as using a levelling ramp would really struggle without a mover irrespective of how good they are at manoeuvring with the car-van combination.”

Mike Hardisty said: “Now that we are getting on in years it makes life easier when hitching up, levelling the caravan and when lining up the wheel for the Alko wheel lock.”

Pat Seal said: “I need it to twizzle the caravan around on my driveway, use it to fit the axle lock, and on the days my reversing skills are rubbish I use it to put the caravan where I have to place it on a pitch.”

Mike Ball told us the caravan mover was “essential for turning around at home, was nice to have for locating the wheel lock and for the final movement on some sites.”

Janice Minich thinks the caravan motor is a “brilliant invention” and should be fitted as standard.

“Can’t remember manually manoeuvring a van now!”

David Lomas said “levelling was a doddle” now he’s made a “great investment” in a Reich motor mover.

“Like many things in life, now I have one, I wouldn’t be without it,” he said. “I can turn my van in my driveway 180 degrees to face the other way in moments, and some sea view pitches need the van facing the ocean, which would be impossible without the mover. Expensive, yes, but it can be moved from van to van.”

Many others also found the mover helps to reduce the strain on the car clutch and would rather invest in motor mover than pay for those clutch repairs.

Wayne even said a caravan motor mover was “recommended by a clutch specialist to use”.

And Taylor said he “would struggle without my motor mover. Because I have reversing sensors on my car and it really isn’t happy when I try to reverse with the van on the back.”

Colin Bradford reminded owners to check their caravan motor mover periodically to make sure the motors are equal on both sides and adjusted to reach the tyres together to avoid slipping.

“Always remember to remove batteries from remotes when not in use,” he added. “It can be expensive to have then repaired or replaced if the batteries corrode the contacts.”

Motor movers are designed to make caravanning life that little bit easier and they certainly seem to be doing just that for many of you.

Although, Christian Jose doesn’t think a motor mover is essential but does use one for parking in storage.

“I’ve had a tourer for five years and it’s been used extensively. I’ve never missed a mover. Many of the sites I pitch on are grass and, in Wales, some of the fields are fairly steep. Knowing how to reverse the tourer into its spot and use the car to pull it up onto levelling ramps is a must. Most motor movers don’t do steep and don’t handle wet grass too well, either!
Until recently my van was stored on a farm and I had loads of space to swing the car around to back it into its space…The van is now stored where there isn’t enough space to park it up with the car and I’m not strong enough to manoeuvre the van alone, so, for the sole purpose of parking the van in a very tight spot at the new storage, I bought a Vevor Jockey Wheel mover. It’s perfect for what I need…There is a use-case for a mover but it’s definitely not essential and if it weren’t for the fact I had to find new storage, I still wouldn’t have one!”

And John Holmes said a mover was “OK if you’re having a bad reversing day.” The downside for John is that his takes up a lot of weight allowance (35kg out of 190 kg).

Thanks for sharing your views with us – we really enjoyed reading them.

And don’t forget to read our caravan motor movers gear guide if you’re one of the two per cent thinking about buying one, or you need to upgrade your existing mover!