Jockey wheel mishap

Mickbroth replied on 07/05/2019 09:29

Mickbroth

Posted on 07/05/2019 09:29

Good morning, as a nervous newbie I posted a list of 20 questions on here a few weeks ago and thanks to the replies and advice we are now settled comfortably on our first outing and are loving it.

I had a bit of a disaster when preparing for the caravan trip though. I wanted to check the nose weight using the Milenco gauge but I couldn’t wind the jockey wheel down enough to lift the hitch to rest on the gauge. No problem, I thought, wind it back up again, lift the front of the caravan and drop the whole wheel a few inches. (I’m sure my dad did this 45 years ago!). Off course what happened was I lifted the caravan too far and the jockey wheel fell out leaving me taking the full weight of the caravan on my thigh. Fortunately my wife was within earshot to put it back.

I was thinking this could quite easily have happened if I was hitching it to my car instead of the nose weight. Did I do something wrong when unhitching for the first time to prevent me winding it down enough, and if so what could I have done to correct it.

Also on the subject of nose weight I was quite surprised how little we could put in the front storage area. We had one gas bottle, a few lightweight accessories and the security locks. It weighed 90Kg (limit of 75kg} so ended up moving a few things into the car. We did have the awning in the van on the floor over the axle so I’m guessing this could affect the nose weight too?

1 person likes this

16 replies

Amesford replied on 25/05/2019 08:28

Member

Amesford

Caravanner

Posted on 25/05/2019 08:28

I got a knock at the front door as one of the neighbours new to caravning had done the same thing, we managed to lift the the A frame and wind down the legs and screw the jockey wheel back together. We then got on to the subject of servicing he said his friend would check out the brakes l explained that a proper service engineer would be a better bet for the safety of him and his family and other road users, I saw him the other day and an engineer had serviced the van and it was in very good condition for its age but new tyres were required and the good news is I got a bottle of wine Cheers

geoffeales replied on 17/06/2019 08:53

Member

geoffeales

Caravanner

Posted on 17/06/2019 08:53

we put most of the heavy stuff in the car and leave either the awning or spare wheel in the van, That way you have only one item to move back or forth between the nose and the axle to get the nose-weight spot on.

DSB replied on 17/06/2019 23:09

Moderator

DSB

Caravanner from Staffordshire

Posted on 17/06/2019 23:09

Just another thought........ One of the things I still sometimes get wrong is when you lower the jockey wheel and unhitch, it maybe that you have lowered the jockey wheel too much or not enough. After having got the van into the correct position, you come to level it and there just isn't enough leeway one way or another to get it level. You end up by having to move the van order to chock up the jockey wheel - pain!!!

David

Gmartin7 replied on 17/02/2020 15:03

Member

Gmartin7

Caravanner

Posted on 07/05/2019 09:29 by Mickbroth

Good morning, as a nervous newbie I posted a list of 20 questions on here a few weeks ago and thanks to the replies and advice we are now settled comfortably on our first outing and are loving it.

I had a bit of a disaster when preparing for the caravan trip though. I wanted to check the nose weight using the Milenco gauge but I couldn’t wind the jockey wheel down enough to lift the hitch to rest on the gauge. No problem, I thought, wind it back up again, lift the front of the caravan and drop the whole wheel a few inches. (I’m sure my dad did this 45 years ago!). Off course what happened was I lifted the caravan too far and the jockey wheel fell out leaving me taking the full weight of the caravan on my thigh. Fortunately my wife was within earshot to put it back.

I was thinking this could quite easily have happened if I was hitching it to my car instead of the nose weight. Did I do something wrong when unhitching for the first time to prevent me winding it down enough, and if so what could I have done to correct it.

Also on the subject of nose weight I was quite surprised how little we could put in the front storage area. We had one gas bottle, a few lightweight accessories and the security locks. It weighed 90Kg (limit of 75kg} so ended up moving a few things into the car. We did have the awning in the van on the floor over the axle so I’m guessing this could affect the nose weight too?

Posted on 17/02/2020 15:03

Hi,

by moving a few things to the car did you manage to get the nose weight down to our required weight?

Thanks, Greig.

Moderator Edit

Note that this thread is over a year old so you're unlikely to get a response from the OP in this case.

Johnc 26 replied on 03/06/2020 14:17

Member

Johnc 26

Posted on 03/06/2020 14:17

had to change my jockey wheel recently, and would like to know the best type of lubricant or grease to use.

Johnc 26

EmilysDad replied on 03/06/2020 18:33

Member

EmilysDad

Caravanner

Posted on 03/06/2020 14:17 by Johnc 26

had to change my jockey wheel recently, and would like to know the best type of lubricant or grease to use.

Johnc 26

Posted on 03/06/2020 18:33

A general purpose grease will be good enough.

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