The ambient temp would only have a marginal effect on tyre pressure, which in turn should have no impact on a properly set up motor mover!
Birdman101 has pretty much explained situation to cover most likely fault.
You haven't told us which MM make & model (it ALWAYS helps to give details, then we know exactly what equipment we need to advise on!), if it's one with plain cylindrical-gritted rollers (many have serrated - like cogs, and textured rollers that are more durable), possible the gritting is either clogged or worn out and not transmitting movement to tyre. If it's been rotating against tyre without actually moving the tyre it may have ground a wear patch into tyre which would only compound the problem!
Reich is a well known MM supplier, certainly some of their models had just plain 'gritted' rollers.
The control box will most likely be under a front bench seat VERY close to the battery locker, it's highly desirable to keep the cable runs as short as possible, and a professional installer would do so, BUT a DIY install is anyone's guess, DIY'ers do strange things!
Just about everything has been covered by the above posts with no solution so as the motor mover was installed by the dealer, you most likely have a 5 year warranty with the mover so my suggestion is to contact the dealer where you had the mover fitted and let them investigate the problem. If you are not up on all this and don't know where the control box is then more of a reason to approach the dealer.
Hi all, thank you so much for your helpful advice, we solved the problem. It was the dowling rod into the ATC box, which had dislodged. We realised the handbrake was springing right up and back. We spoke to an engineer on the phone and he said this had happened to 3 other caravans just in the last 2/3 months. He was talking to Alko to see why it was happening, but they weren't sure why.
I am so grateful for everyone pitching into help. It kept us going and kept the panic down, so thank you so much everyone!
Quote: Originally posted by pazmaz on 31/7/2022
Hi all, thank you so much for your helpful advice, we solved the problem. It was the dowling rod into the ATC box, which had dislodged. We realised the handbrake was springing right up and back. We spoke to an engineer on the phone and he said this had happened to 3 other caravans just in the last 2/3 months. He was talking to Alko to see why it was happening, but they weren't sure why.
I am so grateful for everyone pitching into help. It kept us going and kept the panic down, so thank you so much everyone!
Thanks for getting back with the result but strangely enough a caravanning friend of mine only two weeks ago thought that his caravan brakes had seized up and got taken to their destination by Green Flag 'Mayday' on the back of a flat bed lorry. He called out a service engineer whilst on site and after a brief inspection it turned out to be the ATC rod that had dislodged jamming on the handbrake. A quick fix but thought it was worth mentioning in the interest of other members of the forum too.
Glad you got the problem fixed anyway.
If I'm reading that correctly, what you are saying is it wasn't a MM fault/problem at all, but the brakes were jammed on by a fault with the ATC unit, rendering the van immovable. Presumably the 'only going backwards' was only for the short distance that is the normal 'slack' in the braking system before brakes lock when rolling backwards.
If that's the case, saw that a few years back with a fellow camper, where during their stay at some point (probably when the car was re-hitched, to go home), the ATC malfunctioned and jammed the brakes on and wouldn't release them (the ATC indicator light WAS showing a fault condition). Another camper had to crawl under the van, and follow the instructions for mechanical disconnecting of the ATC unit to release the brakes, before the couple could return home. The wife reckoned that despite being their first use of the van, her husband would now sell it, as had no tolerance for any kind of 'failure/hiccup'. Seemed an extreme reaction to me, but everyone to their own I guess! With the help of knowledgeable fellow campers, the problem was identified, temporary 'repairs' effected, and the basic problem relatively easily fixable at their convenience. I'd never seen or heard of the problem before, or indeed since, until now, clearly not quite such an isolated fault as I first thought!
Thanks for getting back to us, it's always good to know what the outcome was.
Thanks for getting back with the result but strangely enough a caravanning friend of mine only two weeks ago thought that his caravan brakes had seized up and got taken to their destination by Green Flag 'Mayday' on the back of a flat bed lorry. He called out a service engineer whilst on site and after a brief inspection it turned out to be the ATC rod that had dislodged jamming on the handbrake. A quick fix but thought it was worth mentioning in the interest of other members of the forum too.
Glad you got the problem fixed anyway.
Yes that is exactly what happened, but when we got home we found the left thread of the left side of the motormover has just sheered off on the journey back....so back to square one having to call someone out anyway gggrrrrr!
Just had a very similar situation. Your post helped me solve it. Thank you.
All I had to do was reconnect to the car. Let the atc do it's thing and disconnected.
Then I could move the caravan forwards. Hey presto.
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Topic: HELP motor mover only going backwards
via mobile 30/7/2022 at 11:49am
