WHEEL OF
FORTUNE
WORDS: MAX TAYLOR
CARAVAN MOVERS ARE BECOMING EVER-MORE
POPULAR. WE PUT THE V2+ OPTITEC WIRELESS
REMOTE CONTROL WHEEL TO THE TEST.
You know the story: you’ve arrived at the holiday
park and been given directions to your site.
And, would you believe it, they’ve given you the
tightest, most awkward site to access in the entire
park. It’s happy hour and folks are gathering.
They’ve also noticed your predicament and
the less charitable among them are lining up to
enjoy the show. And we recently had the opportunity to test the
Optitec V2+ on our office Goldstream Wing III
camper. We took the camper and Optitec to a local
carpark and tested it against four main criteria:
manoeuvrability; the range of the wireless remote
control; ease of set-up and use; and the ability
of the wheel to maintain traction on different
terrain types.
Now, I happen to be pretty good at caravan
reversing and, being a noble chap, have come to
the aid of a vanner or two in the above-mentioned
situation. But, as you would know, there are
devices available, known generically as caravan
movers, that make the precise manoeuvring of
vans, from small to large, as easy as pie. The Optitec can replace the standard jockey
wheel on most vans; however, if the van weighs
more than 1500kg, dual jockey wheel clamps are
required. A clamping system that bolts separately
to the A-frame can be bought separately.
Nothing will take the wind out of the sales of the
van-park lookie-loos quite like a caravan mover.
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The Optitec draws 12V power from the van’s
onboard battery – the power-supply leads are
provided. Once the shaft of the unit is clamped
to the A-frame, and the van’s hand brake is