I am considering changing my caravan (single axle) and have looked at a twin axle van. What are the differences good/bad points when towing and manovering on to pitches or storage? Are you able to push a twinaxle round a tight 90 degree turn by hand or is a mover required.
Many thanks in anticipation of your comments
------------- All invites considered expenses may be required
More stable when towing and a tyre blowout isnt as bad as a single axle
in fact they are easier to reverse, more room but much heavier and a suitable car is required I have found the twin axles are cheaper than the up to 1500kls range again because of the car
Unless your charles atlas they are just about impossable to move on your own and for this reason I have a motor-mover fitted you don,t see many twin,s without one
I am quite severely disabled, but can't imagine when I would ever want a motor mover. The only time it would be useful is if you were storing the caravan behind the house, or something like that.
We haven't had a caravan at home for about thirty years, following police advice. As well as being a target for criminals, it advertises the times you are away from home. We moved it to storage that same week, and would never have one at home again - until I win the Euromillions and have a gated castle.
I don't need a mover at my storage yard, or at any site I've ever been to. I bought my first caravan in 1966, when there were no motor movers.
I wouldn't spend all that money for something I would never use, and I certainly wouldn't drag all that extra weight around with me. Payload is too precious for that.
Among other things, I used to tow trailers for a living, and most of those never had motor movers. You don't get them on anything except caravans, so why bother for a small proportion of your towing?
I've managed quite well without over half a million miles of towing, 3 million on the road in total, I won't be buying one now.
come and have a go at reversing a van into my drive then.cars parked up to drive edge both sides and opposite , its a bummer just getting in and out solo some times , couple that with a dogleg manouvere to get into the rear of our property and its a no brainer.
no mover , no caravanning, simple as, and before you mention it id rather pay £600 for a mover than £350 a year for a storage spot 10 miles from home where anything could happen to it , where i have to faff about washing it, maintaining it, loading it and unloading it.That £600 mover gets me in my own drive first time every time and paid for itself in under 2 years .oh yes and its pretty good at getting us on the narrow access pitches on some sites in southern france too.
back to the o p .
twins tow well , reverse well ( if you have the space) like has been said, you wont manouvere it by hand !
Wouldn't dream of putting it on a drive, far too dangerous. Not just my opinion, that came from the police.
If a site is that narrow, I wouldn't want to be on it. I like the wide open spaces. I don't think you can get a twin axle mover for £600, more like double.
Still, if you want one, why not? We don't normally buy second hand caravans, but if we did buy one with a mover fitted, it would be removed right away. Just out of interest, what did you do before motor movers were invented?
Jim
why is it too dangerous to have a van on the drive ??
oh yes the old chestnut that everyone knows your away when its gone , depends where you live i guess, never had an issue.
i havent got a twin axle van so if its double the price its not my problem, i quoted single axle price.
we used to break our backs pushing and shoving before the mover , whats the point of that when you can afford not to ??
But twin axles were what we were discussing. Also it's not an old chestnut, we had a problem close to here and the police turned up specifically to suggest that we moved the van. They took it very seriously. Recently on this forum one member had a caravan set alight on their drive. Unfortunately it also damaged the house. So it's a very real danger.
Now that I'm older and wiser, I tend to find caravans on drives unsightly anyway and, for me, storage is a much better option.
I wouldn't try to influence anyone, however. What I am saying is that a motor mover is not a necessity.
Jim
and how many have had their vans broken into or damaged in storage ?
a mover isnt a necessity ,to some...to others its the difference between vanning and not
My storage yard has never had an incident of any kind.
Your signature and photograph are checked when you want to take your van out. I feel totally secure, with the gate manned day and night.
So if motor movers didn't exist you wouldn't go caravanning?
Jim
Friends of ours have just got rid of their twin axle and got a single as they go to France a lot and the large percentage of sites there don't take twin axle caravans.
Sure there are sites in France that won't take twin axle vans, mainly municipal sites, but we've never had a problem with ours. If there's space to manoeuvre then a twin axle is more controllable to reverse than a single axle but you will struggle to man handle one in a tight spot (everyone will offer to help but not ideal as they will yank on handles or push on bodywork both of which can lead to damage).
Most importantly if you have a big van you NEED a big car!
Love our twin axle Abbey Spectrum but likely to downsize next time as don't need the space anymore, but not rushing.
Dan
Quote: Originally posted by Greendemon315 on 19/11/2011
My storage yard has never had an incident of any kind. Your signature and photograph are checked when you want to take your van out. I feel totally secure, with the gate manned day and night. So if motor movers didn't exist you wouldn't go caravanning? Jim
I think that you need to realise that for some people a mover is an essential part of the caravanning process, for instance although I am competent in reversing a caravan I will use the mover to:
Position the caravan on the DRIVE with the hitch tight against a wall.
I will use the mover to turn the caravan around ready to pull off.
I will use the mover in France and Spain to position the caravan on the pitch where I would like it to be and this can even be across the back of the pitch,
None of the above can be done just by reversing with a car.
Perhaps you only reverse onto Caravan Club site pitches which is the only thing that is allowed.
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Topic: Twin axle Pros + Cons
