Caravan mover experience. - Optitec V3 or TUG V4

Nevd · Senior Member

Caravan mover experience. - Optitec V3 or TUG V4

Dougwe · Chief one feather

G'day Nev,

I have had the pleasure of using one of these bad boys a couple of times and the van can turn on itself. Childs play to operate and attach to the van.

A tad on the $$$$ side so not sure if in your budget.

Rob Driver · Guru

Hi Nevd,

A good friend of mine did the exercise some time ago and settled on the Parkit unit made in Canada and imported into WA.

Unfortunately he is no longer on here to be able to offer his findings and reasons for his choice.

I do know that he used it for both his boat and his 3500 kg van and he had to move the van across grass on a slight slope and it did the job.

His words to me were that the Parkit was a bit more expensive but it had the traction to do his job.

Whenarewethere · Guru

I can't comment on the above product. My brother in-law in Germany has the type which clamps on the wheels. He installed it because of double hip replacement.

I have seen my brother in-law use it a lot & they are brilliant. A very high percentage of caravans have movers in Europe because the camp grounds are so tightly packed. You constantly see caravans moving around without a car.

He also uses his to move the caravan in & out if their garage for every trip, also to have the caravan door on the right side for access, which otherwise wouldn't work with the car.

Rob Driver · Guru

Nev says his caravan weighs around 3350 kg so any mover system that is permanently fitted to the van may pose a problem with legality at the weighbridge.

Those units are ok in Europe because those vans over there are generally a lot lighter than ours in Aus.

Farmhat · Senior Member

Hi Nevd,
I have had lots of use with the Optitec.
On flat solid ground I have had no problem.
Cheers, Joe.

Nevd · Senior Member

Thanks for the reply about the wheel mounted ones - I considered these but for a dual axle van you apparently need 4 - which becomes a cost & weight issue.

I also looked at the Parkit ones, but they're a bit heavy & bulky to cart around if I decide to take it with us. Hence looking at the draw bar mounted types.

-- Edited by Nevd on Wednesday 19th of October 2022 03:38:01 PM

-- Edited by Nevd on Wednesday 19th of October 2022 03:40:07 PM

Nevd · Senior Member

Dougwe that's a nice unit, but at over $6k for the version that suits, it's a bit hard to justify. Unfortunately my pockets aren't lined with gold.

KevinJ · Senior Member

Use this horizontally rather than vertically. It's only $228.00

https://www.bunnings.com.au/gorilla-500kg-electric-hoist_p0036279

Fred K · Veteran Member

Nevd
the Parkit that I have moves our 3380kg van fairly easily albeit relatively slowly

Yes they are heavy duty and not something I would take away with us for the 0.001% time that it may be useful

If you were closer I could have taken it around for you to try BUT distance is a bit far from Berwick Victoria

Fred K

rmoor · Senior Member

Hey guys,
Was researching the TUG V4, not a lot said on this thread re the V4.
Has anybody had any experience with one please?
In particular about handling slight inclines.
Many thanks.