Motorised mover for trailer

Ovey · 23 June 2014, 10:59

Hi all,

I have searched for this subject but not found anything on here......

Does anyone use a motorised/battery powered mover to assist with moving their trailer on driveways, etc?

The reason I ask is that my drive has the 1" dropped kerb and then a slight raised lump to go up and over before it slopes downhil to where the trailer parks. Unfortunately there is no room to reverse the trailer in with the car and it's on the verge of hernia territory when pushing back onto the drive.

The caravan forums all slate the "Mr Shifta" type movers in favour of fixed motors on each wheel - but their wheels (and fixed motors) aren't dunked in saltwater twice a weekend!

Has anyone got any experience of using something similar?

Failing that the missus suggested some kind of winch-type set up at the bottom of the drive to help get it over the lip.

Thanks!

Bern Hanreck · 23 June 2014, 11:06

I use something like this to oick both the caravan / boat trailer up the kerb onto my drive .
Slightly cheaper lower capacities are available .

I did concrete a small steel loop into the flower bed as an anchor point.....

Hand Winch With Strap - 1500kg Breaking Capacity Hand Winches Winches Trailer Accessories Trailer

Boats&Outboards · 23 June 2014, 11:19

Power launch is a system we've seen on a boat trailer we took in and it was rusted through after only a year of use. I would say its a waste of money

Peter @ Boatsandoutboards4sale
07930 421007
www.BoatsandOutboards4Sale.co.uk

Trimix · 23 June 2014, 12:50

Im also interested in this type of help.

The combined length of my van and trailer means I cant back the thing round the corner I need to fully get it where I want.

Would those powered things work on a gravel drive ?

I tried to winch mine in but I found I had such a lot of friction due to the gravel it was very hard work. I used the winch on the front of the trailer, took it underneath and then back. Connected it to a rope and a well placed anchor point. But the rope stretched a lot and it took bloody ages.

oracle · 23 June 2014, 13:54

I used a Mr Shifta 3 (the biggest one) on my flat gravel drive to manoeuvre my rig. It did struggle for traction and would just about shift her. The rig is a 7m on a twin axle trailer weighing in at 1960kg so it was always a big ask. It did help a lot when we added a bit of muscle too.

gotchiguy · 23 June 2014, 14:03

There was a thread on here recently about someone who had built a tracked trailer mover. Have a look through, it was really recent, last couple of weeks I think

Trimix · 23 June 2014, 14:21

Mmm, OK. Well mine is 8.5+ on a twin and has twin engines, so it must weigh quite a bit. Plus it needs to go round a bit of a corner.

I reckon a block and tackle would be better / cheaper.

Ovey · 23 June 2014, 14:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trimix

Mmm, OK. Well mine is 8.5+ on a twin and has twin engines, so it must weigh quite a bit. Plus it needs to go round a bit of a corner.

I reckon a block and tackle would be better / cheaper.

You weren't out from Northney Marina this sunday were you? There was a big Hysucat with Twin 175's on the water as I took my boat out to the West Wittering beach?

Ovey · 23 June 2014, 14:44

Thanks everyone for the replies.

The caravanners all complain about the Mr Shiftas struggling on gravel or grass, but seem ok on the flat. I have flat road outside th drive and the drive is tarmac so it should be ok.

I was also looking at installing a heavy duty eyebolt (or pair) into the floor of the garage and using one of these: ELECTRIC WINCH 12V HEAVYDUTY PULL boat caravan trailer quad offroad landrover | eBay

or even just mounting a separate trailer-post and hand winch into the floor of the garage. I only need it to pull the trailer about 2-3 metres and then it's downhill so I just guide/brake it into position by hand after that.

Trimix · 23 June 2014, 14:56

Ovey - yup, that was me. Out enjoying the sunshine.

We went out to Cowes for a picnic, then up Southampton water, back out to Portsmouth harbour for a look around, then a few laps of the forts out in the Solent. Then to Sparks for a coffee and Icecream before finally comming back to Northney.

I was experimenting with the choppy water and speed as well as playing around with trim. One of my crew lost a hat, which meant I could practice my MOB recovery drill

Trimix · 23 June 2014, 15:02

That electric winch you linked to looks like it would work. If you only need to move it 3-4m Id see if you can utilise a block and tackle with it as well. That would increase its pull capacity and decrease the speed.

Both would be better for safety.

I may buy it and do likewise. But need to figure out just how to attach it to my garage / post and then the back of the trailer.

Ovey · 23 June 2014, 15:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trimix

Ovey - yup, that was me. Out enjoying the sunshine.

We went out to Cowes for a picnic, then up Southampton water, back out to Portsmouth harbour for a look around, then a few laps of the forts out in the Solent. Then to Sparks for a coffee and Icecream before finally comming back to Northney.

I was experimenting with the choppy water and speed as well as playing around with trim. One of my crew lost a hat, which meant I could practice my MOB recovery drill

Ah right, hope you had a good day.

You launched 2 boats before me, but we overtook you in the channel outbound while you were floating around, then you followed us. I was the 6m Ribeye with me, the wife and two excitable young boys bouncing around in it. We went across to West Wittering both days, where we beached, picnic'd and generally threw the kids in the water while we chilled!

I was wondering how many Ribnet users were in the queue to launch at Northney!

Ovey · 23 June 2014, 15:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trimix

That electric winch you linked to looks like it would work. If you only need to move it 3-4m Id see if you can utilise a block and tackle with it as well. That would increase its pull capacity and decrease the speed.

Both would be better for safety.

I may buy it and do likewise. But need to figure out just how to attach it to my garage / post and then the back of the trailer.

There are some Hilti anchors online that seem to be man-enough for the job. Either that or something similar (Google heavy duty concrete anchors or heavy duty concrete eyebolts). I'd put a strop around it/them, attach the winch to that and put the hook of the wire onto the eye on the back of my trailer.

Trimix · 23 June 2014, 15:13

Ah, I remember seeing you guys.

I found launching and recovery there really easy. I have to float off the flat bed trailer, so the angle of the slipway is really important.

Northney was perfect, I just floated off and back on. Whereas Lymington is much less of a steep angle and I have to pull it off with the engines and to get it back on I have have to sink the trailer and use a long extension on the tow bar, then drive it on.

So far Northney is my favorite. Its also really easy to get to.

We need a Ribnet flag so we can spot each other

Trevor G · 23 June 2014, 15:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ovey

Hi all,

I have searched for this subject but not found anything on here......

Does anyone use a motorised/battery powered mover to assist with moving their trailer on driveways, etc?

The caravan forums all slate the "Mr Shifta" type movers in favour of fixed motors on each wheel - but their wheels (and fixed motors) aren't dunked in saltwater twice a weekend!

Has anyone got any experience of using something similar?
Thanks!

I bought a Mister Shifta 3 for the same sort of thing - our drive has a kink in it which we couldn't get the boat round when attached to the car.
Once I had the correct fitting for our trailer (a Bradley hitch I think) the Shifta did what it said on the tin, and made moving the boat possible with one person. It's being used on tarmac though.
Going round tight corners with a twin axle trailer is always a problem though, however you do it!
We use it for the 8.6m Shearwater - so like other replies it's probably on the limit of what it can do!
I don't often need the Shifta though as normally the boat is dry stacked - so if you want to borrow it to see if it would do the job, it's usually in Crowthorne (RG45), or I could meet in Southampton at Southampton Dry Stack some time.
Trevor

Ovey · 23 June 2014, 15:27

Shhh, no, Northney is terrible!

(It'll get full if everyone hears you sing its praises).

I said to the missus we all need a Ribnet flag so we can spot each other!

My rig was 1220kg on its previous trailer and now I reckon it's probably only a bit heavier by maybe 50kg - so the 6000lbs (2720kg) rolling capacity of the winch should be ok (assuming it means rolling on its wheels). If it's the 2000lbs (907kg) pulling capacity that comes into play, it won't be man enough.

Ovey · 23 June 2014, 15:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trevor G

I bought a Mister Shifta 3 for the same sort of thing - our drive has a kink in it which we couldn't get the boat round when attached to the car.
Once I had the correct fitting for our trailer (a Bradley hitch I think) the Shifta did what it said on the tin, and made moving the boat possible with one person. It's being used on tarmac though.
Going round tight corners with a twin axle trailer is always a problem though, however you do it!
We use it for the 8.6m Shearwater - so like other replies it's probably on the limit of what it can do!
I don't often need the Shifta though as normally the boat is dry stacked - so if you want to borrow it to see if it would do the job, it's usually in Crowthorne (RG45), or I could meet in Southampton at Southampton Dry Stack some time.
Trevor

Hi Trevor, thanks for the offer! I might take you up on that sometime soon. I'll have a quick look at my schedule and see if I can get up to you, or alternatively meet at Southampton when you're next down.

I have a tarmac drive just off the road so it's not too bad. The rear wheels do go onto a temporary "patio stone" track at the side of the garage, but the jockey wheel stays on tarmac til the final moment when I swing it out of the way, which is easy enough to do by hand.

It's a single axle trailer (SBS R2/1800 with a "standard" Al-Ko hitch I believe). It fits the towball on the back of the Disco fine, but I'm not sure which fitting the Mr Shifta would need?

EDIT - from the SBS website, it looks like the Bradley fitting is the one I'd need!

Trimix · 23 June 2014, 15:40

If not a Ribnet flag, perhaps a Ribnet wave

Trevor G · 23 June 2014, 20:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ovey

It's a single axle trailer (SBS R2/1800 with a "standard" Al-Ko hitch I believe).

It should handle a single axle trailer with no problem at all - It is slow as it's highly geared, and you need to make sure there is enough nose weight to give traction - but a bag of ballast on the tow ball could do this if your rig doesn't have much nose weight.

Ovey · 23 June 2014, 20:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trevor G

It should handle a single axle trailer with no problem at all - It is slow as it's highly geared, and you need to make sure there is enough nose weight to give traction - but a bag of ballast on the tow ball could do this if your rig doesn't have much nose weight.

In that case can I borrow it for a trial please? I can usually get away from work at lunchtime on a Friday if you want me to come up to yours, or we can arrange to meet on a Saturday or Sunday at the dry stack if that's easier?

I have to take the boat for some work this Saturday so I probably can't meet you this Saturday, but any other time is good. I'll PM you my contact details.

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