Any Recommendations for fitting Motor Mover to Box Trailer! (1 Viewer)

[dpsuk999]

Yes unfortunately. There is a lot of extra things when fitting to a trailer, as with a caravan you have all the electrics, battery etc so it's just a matter of mounting the controller in a locker but with a trailer you have to make mounting plates, enclose it in a waterproof box etc.

 

[TheTwoOfUs]

As @zzzzac is buying an enclosed trailer, water proofing the electrics won't be necessary, everything will be inside. In 12 years of towing my trailers I have not needed to charge the battery on site. If it is wired to be charged while travelling the small amount of use on site should not discharge the battery.

 

[zac]

Everything can be kept inside the trailer as it will be covered, dont want to spending £500+ on getting it installed though that would be out of the question and not worth the effort. The earlier price i recieved was around £850 supplied and fitted which was about £300 for fitting which i thought was a lot.

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[dpsuk999]

As @zzzzac is buying an enclosed trailer, water proofing the electrics won't be necessary, everything will be inside. In 12 years of towing my trailers I have not needed to charge the battery on site. If it is wired to be charged while travelling the small amount of use on site should not discharge the battery.

True, my trailer is not an enclosed one so had to enclose the control unit in a waterproof box.

Regarding charging the battery, we all know that a battery is never 100% fully charged via the alternator and that good battery management is to charge a leisure battery via a decent multi stage charger at least once a month. A motor mover pulls some quite high amps from the battery for a good few minutes, hence why they state a starter battery should never be used. I appreciate that in your 12 years you have never needed to charge the battery on site but that all depends on how much use and over what terrain the motor mover is used.

 

[dpsuk999]

Everything can be kept inside the trailer as it will be covered, dont want to spending £500+ on getting it installed though that would be out of the question and not worth the effort. The earlier price i recieved was around £850 supplied and fitted which was about £300 for fitting which i thought was a lot.

£300 is very reasonable but I'd take that quote with a pinch of salt until they have seen your trailer. A good way of getting an accurate quote is by asking them to put the quote down in writing. I can probably guarantee that they will caveat it with something like "subject to visual assessment". I know because prior to me embarking on fitting one myself I contacted 4 companies offering fitting service on trailers and each one said "around xxxx subject to inspection" and when I did take the trailer to one of them they suddenly said "oh it needs extensive chassis modifications so will be an extra £300 ontop of the original quote of £500!!

 

[TheTwoOfUs]

My trailer and it's load weight about a tonne. For most of its life it lives on the drive and is neglected, getting a charge from a cheap Aldi/Lidl charger for a couple of days about once every 2/3 months. When on site it gets used in the way in which I expect most will use them ie from the back of the motorhome onto the pitch, although I have been known to move it from one pitch to another pitch quite a distance away. Usually on gravel or grass and while in no means up a mountain side it can be anything but level. None of my friends with trailers and movers bother with chargers either and they don't have problems holding sufficient charge. I use a Varta motor battery.

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[zac]

Looks as though then i won't be getting this done as i don't want to spend that kind of money getting it fitted. I will get the trailer first and see what happens but i was hoping i could get this sorted for a lot cheaper. That may happen but until i have the trailer nobody can quote so catch 22

Thanks for all the replies.

 

[mjltigger]

Looks as though then i won't be getting this done as i don't want to spend that kind of money getting it fitted. I will get the trailer first and see what happens but i was hoping i could get this sorted for a lot cheaper. That may happen but until i have the trailer nobody can quote so catch 22

Thanks for all the replies.

You might be pleasantly surprised at how easy a tonne is to shift by hand..

 

[PeteH]

I have a Brilliant Motor Mover. Its called a Motor-Home. Just practice reversing. (a reversing camera is useful) If all else fails I use the Punto (toad).

Another suggestion How about a FRONT mounted Removable Tow Ball?.

I constructed and fitted one to a Vehicle in the 90`s when I had a twin axle caravan and it needed to be parked in an awkward spot close to a wall. Worked a treat!.

Conversation on Caravan Club Site:- Warden chap. do you have a Mover?. Me. Yes, (gets in car and reverses within 2" of his peg). !!!


Pete

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[zac]

I have a Brilliant Motor Mover. Its called a Motor-Home. Just practice reversing. (a reversing camera is useful) If all else fails I use the Punto (toad).

Another suggestion How about a FRONT mounted Removable Tow Ball?.

I constructed and fitted one to a Vehicle in the 90`s when I had a twin axle caravan and it needed to be parked in an awkward spot close to a wall. Worked a treat!.

Conversation on Caravan Club Site:- Warden chap. do you have a Mover?. Me. Yes, (gets in car and reverses within 2" of his peg). !!!


Pete

Just not practical to use the Motorhome to get the trailer where I want it. Out Motorhome is 26ft long and although that is not as big as the rv's I want to be able to do this with the least amount of hassle. Some of the places we have been you need to unhitch the trailer park then move the trailer where it needs to go. Impossible to do that with the Motorhome, there is always a way round everything. It is just a matter of finding it and there have been some great suggestions and ideas and I am pretty sure the feedback I have got will enable me to get something sorted.

Thanks

 

[PeteH]

there is always a way round everything.

How about the front Tow ball?

Pete

 

[zac]

How about the front Tow ball?

Pete

Wouldn't work as Motorhome in first and then trailer in front on a lot of sites. Getting one fitted on the front if it were feasible would probably cost a lot as the back one cost £795 which was extortionate.

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[scotjimland]

Just not practical to use the Motorhome to get the trailer where I want it. Out Motorhome is 26ft long and although that is not as big as the rv's I want to be able to do this with the least amount of hassle. Some of the places we have been you need to unhitch the trailer park then move the trailer where it needs to go. Impossible to do that with the Motorhome, there is always a way round everything. It is just a matter of finding it and there have been some great suggestions and ideas and I am pretty sure the feedback I have got will enable me to get something sorted.

Thanks

When full-time, I had a twin axle Lynton Loadlugger, 1 ton payload box trailer, and rarely had an issue parking it.. Towed all over Europe and Morocco.. On the rare occasion it needed man-handled there was always plenty of willing helpers..

I suggest you try without a mover and see how you get on..

parked at CC site near Oban

 

[zac]

Some of the sites we use it wouldn't work and I would have to move it manually. I don't have a good back which probably the same for a lot of people but unfortunately I am still working and self employed so anytime off work is non paid. This increases pulling 1.3tonne about even for a short distance.

Appreciate the input though but I will need to do something with it. Just finding the best solution based on what I have to work with.

 

[zac]

When full-time, I had a twin axle Lynton Loadlugger, 1 ton payload box trailer, and rarely had an issue parking it.. Towed all over Europe and Morocco.. On the rare occasion it needed man-handled there was always plenty of willing helpers..

I suggest you try without a mover and see how you get on..

parked at CC site near Oban
View attachment 88730

I like your rv though what is it and do you still have it? That trailer looks similar to the bv105 I for Williams. That was my first choice but they are sooo expensive.

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[scotjimland]

like your rv though what is it and do you still have it?

No, we sold it in 2010.. after giving up fulltiming

 

[PeteH]

Wouldn't work as Motorhome in first and then trailer in front on a lot of sites. Getting one fitted on the front if it were feasible would probably cost a lot as the back one cost £795 which was extortionate.

I can Sympathise. I fabricated mine. But that`s Me. I made an awful lot of Tow gear over the years. The only ones I bought where for "Lease" vehicles where it might have been an issue. I am currently fabricating one for Triumph Herald, along with a "hidden" Pull bar for a Caratow.

Pete

 

[TheTwoOfUs]

@zzzzac I have just been to BDS Trailers in Sheffield to take a look at the Debon trailers. In my opinion (and theirs) the chassis is not suitable for mounting a mover to it. I got down on the ground to look underneath and could see that the chassis rails are quite lightweight compared to Brian James/Al-ko and more importantly are set well in from the wheels. This distance from the wheel plus the lightweight chassis member would in my experience as a design engineer lead to excessive flexing when the motors are driving. Probably not what you wanted to hear but it may help in your decision making.

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[Littlewheels]

I have to say dpsuk999 has given some very accurate and practical advice, I have Movers on a BJT and have upgraded slightly in Trialer size as I now tow a IQ, I had the Movers refitted from the smaller trailer because of the difficulty in getting Movers fitted to Trailers.

I have a RL2000 Woodford enclosed trailer and I cannot find anyone to do the job,posters on here will advise on who can but they cannot, nobody wants to know because a little bit of fabrication/engineering is required.

Regarding charging the battery I bought a small Solar Panel for about £15.00 on EBay and it sits on top of the battery box using number plate double sided tape,I have never charged it, the Solar does it and it's never let me down.

 

[zac]

@zzzzac I have just been to BDS Trailers in Sheffield to take a look at the Debon trailers. In my opinion (and theirs) the chassis is not suitable for mounting a mover to it. I got down on the ground to look underneath and could see that the chassis rails are quite lightweight compared to Brian James/Al-ko and more importantly are set well in from the wheels. This distance from the wheel plus the lightweight chassis member would in my experience as a design engineer lead to excessive flexing when the motors are driving. Probably not what you wanted to hear but it may help in your decision making.

Really appreciate you doing that, if a mover won't fit I will have to look at another trailer as I will need something.

 

[ambulancekidd]

Lets do a bit of lateral thinking here. Try looking at the "Mr Shifta" movers. These items have tumbled in price since the introduction of chassis mounted motor movers. I'd recommend looking at second hand ones. The Mk 2 (yellow or Mk3 (green) ones are the best.

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[zac]

Are the shifta's any good as i have seen similar motorised jockey wheels forsale!

 

[ambulancekidd]

I used one for driving our caravan up a very steep drive before chassis mounted movers & we still have one to manoeuvre our horse trailer around on the yard. The Mr Shifta is a powerful machine, I did try a few other types before the Mr Shifta but they were not terribly successful. They simply hook into the towhitch & have a wee gadget to stop the trailers over run brakes from activating. There are very few of them on eBay at this time of year but they become more abundant as the warmer weather approaches.

 

[Mr Chrysalis]

Thought i would do a separate thread for this as i did mention it in my other thread but i think it has got lost in all the replies.

I am looking at purchasing a box trailer and could do with some advice on how and who best to fit a similar device to it like the caravan motor movers. I know some people on here have done their own but i am useless at DIY so will need to pay someone to supply it and do it.

At present the trailer i am thinking of purchasing is a Debon Cargo C300 as it looks to be cheapest for the size i need £2695, so it will need to be fitted to this. Alternatively is there anything else that can be used to make things easier when uncoupling and moving. The weight of the trailer and motorbike within will be around 1ton, having never owned a trailer before i have no idea how difficult this is going to be to move on uneven surfaces (grass/gravel/inclines). I have seen many devices on the internet like the tugco/mr shifta but most say they are ok at best with useless being said by a lot. I dont have a great back so whatever i can do to alleviate this will be money well spent in the long run.

Anyone actually used any of these or similar as be good to get some real world experiences from people that have them.

Also i have called one company about fitting a motor mover and at present they are quoting around £850 for the enduro 2 if it can be done is this cheap?

Thanks in advance.
Zac

How did this work out for you? What did you do in the end?

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[Mr Chrysalis]

I used one for driving our caravan up a very steep drive before chassis mounted movers & we still have one to manoeuvre our horse trailer around on the yard. The Mr Shifta is a powerful machine, I did try a few other types before the Mr Shifta but they were not terribly successful. They simply hook into the towhitch & have a wee gadget to stop the trailers over run brakes from activating. There are very few of them on eBay at this time of year but they become more abundant as the warmer weather approaches.

Have you used the pneumatic jockey wheel type for a horse box or box trailer?

 

[zac]

How did this work out for you? What did you do in the end?

Crikey this was a blast from the past (2016), i ended up getting a woodford car trailer with the motormover already fitted as couldn't find anyone to fit one. The one i now have has been perfect for the last 5+ years with virtually no issues.

 

[pampam]

Ive tried to have a motormover put on my old caravan,but service engineer says frames too light, so i might look for a mr shifta so i can get it up the drive(steep incline) and in corner,(its an old caravan and only small)

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[Jamesh]

Ive tried to have a motormover put on my old caravan,but service engineer says frames too light, so i might look for a mr shifta so i can get it up the drive(steep incline) and in corner,(its an old caravan and only small)

How about a 2 tone winch. Just winch it up?

Cheers James

 

[ambulancekidd]

Have you used the pneumatic jockey wheel type for a horse box or box trailer?

I've never had a pneumatic tyre on a horse trailer, but have had plenty on caravans over the years.

 

[SteveRallye]

Got a similar Dabon box, well built trailer great investment tows great and had Motormover fitted by Hedlleys who I believe have depots all over the country. They wired it all up and fitted a battery and box inside and I just top her up with the charger every now and then if its been stood a while. Maybe not the cheapest but good quality products. Believe me you do need a Moter Mover as because as soon as you have an incline and or gravel you will struggle unless you have a coach party to help. Especially Spain where the pitches are usually tight for manouvering and on sand or gravel and not always level. You just stand and deliver with your remote ,no sweat ,no heart attacks. I have lost count of the macho types who try and park there caravans/trailers by manouvering with the vehicle when they have a perfectly usable Motormover fitted!

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