Caravan Jockey wheel debate! what is the best Jockey wheel for your caravan? 

The great jockey wheel debate :-) The only thing I disagree with you on is the Kartt one. It does a really good job on my gravel drive (on a slope). The jockey wheel that comes with new caravans isn't even suitable for a kids trike :-) Thanks for sharing. Graham

Hello. I replaced the standard smaller plastic jockey wheel on our TA Swift for a larger pneumatic one a few months ago. I have always found the former difficult on a gravel pitch and this time I couldn't get the caravan anywhere on the pitch, the jw just kept digging in. It took the help of three other burly campers to get the caravan lined up. I went to a nearby caravan dealer and purchased the larger pneumatic jw and fitted it whilst on the pitch. When I came time to leave, the caravan maneuvered off the pitch no problem at all. However, one possible difficulty is that there is no way you can fit a tyre pump to the jw valve without removing the jw, so when it comes to checking the tyre pressure it is a bit of a fiddle. Mind you that's still better than not being able to move the caravan!

I have the solid also wheel. Direct replacement and good value in my opinion. Keeps everything to original spec on my 1996 Avondale Mayfly

Mark, I have the ALKO Jockey wheel with the built-in nose weight gauge. It is expensive and although not fully accurate does give an indication of what your nose weight might be. The main advantage however, is that the wheel can be removed easily which I do when in storage and put a block under the axle to take some of the weight of the van. This I do as an added security device !! Nick T,

I agree the blow up tyre is always deflating, even when the caravan legs are down & we take the weight of it. It is good for manoeuvring the caravan with the motor movers when it is inflated. We are going to change ours to a kartt wheel.

Our caravan is just coming upto 2 years old and I’ve just ordered the third jockey wheel. The one supplied with the van new failed after about 8 months, it was a plastic rim with solid tyre and the rim disintegrated, I replaced it with an alko pneumatic wheel and twice the tyre has come off the rim when manoeuvring with the motor mover. I’ve just ordered the upgraded kartt wheel, so time will tell how that performs.

Had the Alko heavy duty with metal rim on ours, the plastic ones would never hold our nose weight, we changed the Alko to a Kartt heavy duty ribbed version which is massively better on all surfaces and doesn’t seem to dig in like the Alko did

Having been to France recently I hit my plastic jockey wheel many times and pushed the plastic cover up braking a tab, thankfully no damage to the wheel. I now have removed the split pin and replaced it with an R clip so I can take off the jockey wheel in future when traveling, it only takes seconds. I am going back to France in a few months, their speed bumps in towns are horrendous. I noticed a lot of the French caravan owners remove the whole jockey wheel assembly when travelling and store it in the cars boot.

The standard alko that came with the caravan is about as much use as a chocolate fire guard in my opinion. It's rubbish on grass,gravel and tarmac. On saying that it's the one I have fitted because the pneumatic one, which was excellent for a while, only survived a year. It didn't go flat but the rubber deteriorated and cracked really quickly. Turns out I bought an old tyre from a "reputable" caravan accessories shop. Now on the lookout for something else.

Kartt for me Mark. Original solid plastic wheel becomes less 'round' over time due to wear and this can cause issues. The Kartt works great on gravel for me so can't agree with your experience on that front. Great vlog as always 👍.

I have the inflatable version because it runs and turns better on our gravel drive. However as you say there is the disadvantage of keeping it inflated but worse still it's almost impossible to attach the air inflator with the wheel in place owing to the small diameter of the wheel and the deep rim section. In the past I have resorted to removing the lower half of the whole assembly, undoing the through bolt that acts as an axle and inflating the tyre completely removed from the caravan! A little extra thought by the designers wouldn't cost the earth? A longer valve stem is all it needs for heavens sake. This is indicative of the entire caravan industry though! Awning lights are a case in point or how about underslung spare wheel cradles that are impossible to access if the puncture is on the nearside? Radios that switch on by default every time you power up the electricity and then hardly ever work anyway regardless of how long you mess about with the aerial? Do these designers ever live in a caravan themselves I wonder? On another note we went to the NEC show last week and had a good look round. Saw the Adria stand and was very impressed with their build quality. Made the British companies look like amateurs. All their cupboard doors lined up for a start with level shut lines! Not rocket science you would think but still beyond most of them. All too long for our driveway access unfortunately so will have to make do with our Swift which at least keeps me occupied with regular odd jobs. One last think Mark. Why are water pumps so noisy? The fridges are silent as is the on board water boiler but the pump sounds like a machine gun every time you run a tap? Thanks for the great blogs, always enjoy watching them. Michael

I have a Kartt which works well on all surfaces. had a pneumatic and they're great until, as you say, they go flat. The worst by far - and I'm dumbfounded you like them - are the plastic standard Al-Ko wheels. Absolute rubbish wheels, though the rest of the mechanism is fine. I'm talking delivery this month of a new Pegasus Grande. Thick end of £30K and they put a toy wheel on the front - as do the rest. It's a scandal IMHO.

The best is the Alko weight wheel, wide, soft suspension and you cancheck the nose weight, wide and bouncy and won't deflate, oh and you can take the handle off.

Hi mate, what type of jockey wheel is your recommendation for a site with about 5-10cm deep gravel? We went to our first pitch up yesterday, unhooked the car and used the motor movers. In doing so the jockey wheel was under a lot of stress and felt like it would snap and digging itself into the stones :(

I’ve had inflatable jockey wheels and had numerous flat tyres. I would never have another inflatable one.

Just changed the one on my Buccaneer Cruiser, to a Kartt jockey wheel, the one supplied with the Buccaneer is not fit for purpose, I found.

I agree with Graham, I changed my standard Alko one for the Kratt jockey wheel. The standard one did struggle on gavel sometimes. The Kratt one has worked well on all surfaces particularly well on gravel pitches/surfaces. The Kartt jockey contains a safety mechanism that stops the shaft from winding itself down with any vibrations while travelling. Any good vlog on a very interesting subject.

Kartt CMC version for me, no way the pneumatic type too many problems

Our original fell out somewhere on its maiden voyage.... replaced with a ribbed Kart one and found it to be much better.

The alko with tread,just replaced mine,because ahmm,not connected to ball,jumped of hitch,slivered to a halt,and took the tread off slightley

Hi, just a headsup mate... that Kartt one in the video looks like their standard 48mm Turn-Lok jockey - not the super wide wheel Ultimate version.

Any thoughts on foam filled rubber tyres? they are the main tire of choice for MEWP scissor lift ect?

We had a plastic tread jockey wheel on our Bailey caravan which hadnt seen that much use when I checked it and found the tread had cracked and was starting to split. Replaced it with a Kartt solid tyre jockey wheel which was great. Last year we bought a new Coachman Lusso 2 caravan and asked for the plastic treaded standard jockey wheel to be replaced with a solid rubber tyre jockey wheel on collection to avoid cracking , splitting ans punctures especially with the weight of rhe caravan and the nose weight having 2 gas bottles up front . It's been excellent on grass , mud, gravel and the tarmac drive...wouldnt have anything else.

seem to recall a youtube video with someone using a double wheel jockey wheel. Any thoughts on this? Seemed to work well in the video.

Having bought a new £35,000 Swift caravan I too was surprised and dismayed that it came with a plastic jockey wheel. Dreadful. It made a hell of a noise on all surfaces (except grass of course) . It was the first thing I replaced - with an extra wide metal/rubber version which will last forever. I've heard good reports about Kartt too. I decided against the pneumatic version fearing the inevitable puncture. I've often found old bent metal tent pegs on pitches which would wreck it nicely.

We remove my jockey wheel when traveling with my van, the original jockey wheel was damaged (from being rolled around the dealer's yard) and replaced under warranty with a much heavier duty one. We almost never move the van by hand. Maybe a few inches to line it up with a hitch. The jockey wheel on my 6xx4 trailer swings through 90 degrees which IMO is a great idea. I was always worried that the jockey wheel could slide down so it has always been removed for towing. I'm not a fan of pneumatic tyres on jockey wheels for the reasons you gave.

Am sorry but Kartt. I took the useless Alko one off as on its very first use it snapped on the plastic corner wheel and literally hobbled around.

Very useful info , thanks so much for yet another great Vid.. well done .. Paolo and Rog x

Hi I have 9:02 a Alko jockey wheel and nose waght gauge witch has a wide solid metal wheel and a rubber tryer

Hi mark. I have the pumped up jockey wheel with the steel centre not yet had a puncher works great on all terrain I do carry a spare one. I also had a jockey wheel cover made to match my wheel covers for when in storage.

Hi Mark. We have a Lunar Lexon CS 2004 model it was 3 years old when we had it from first owners. The jockey wheel has never been replaced but looking to as the red knob on top comes off and we are finding it very difficult to move the winder up or down. Could you please advice me on best to get not blow up tyre and size. Have been told 48mm but I would like your help please Mark. Thank you so much Kind regards Janet Smith

Interesting, I have a secondhand caravan (2008 Swift Ace Celebration 620) and that needs a new jockey wheel, and with the age the winding mechanism is also worn out, so I was going down the complete replacement options, it currently has a thin rubber tyre over metal wheel centre with a flat spot from long term storage/age without wheel rotation. My experience of the pneumatic tyres sold for Jockey Wheels is having four of the exact same tyre, with plastic wheels on a garden trolly, and we've not had it long, the plastic wheel hubs have worn, and two of the tyres had inner tubes that fragmented, one required a patch, the other appears to have disintegrated due to the manufacturing materials., and all the tyres have aged with cracks at less than a year old. I'm going to replace these with rubber tyres with metal wheels with a proper needle roller bearing hub. So, I've not been impressed with the longevity of a single rubber tyre as a jockey wheel on tarmac storage, have already noted that on softer grass/gravel that the existing jockey wheel sinks due to the ground pressure of such a narrow tyre, and have come to the same conclusion over getting the wider ALKO plastic wheel and tyre you've got as your personal preference, both for storage on tarmac, and ground pressure on gravel & softer surfaces. I'm assuming the tubes covering the winding mechanisms for all modern caravans are 48mm OD (I'll check), but will be investing in the larger ALKO option. One thing I am also considering is a new clamp handle with a longer reach to improve mechanical leverage by hand, although I'm also wondering whether these are interchangeable items (same thread of bolt) that can be swapped out.

Kartti is definitely the best all rounder.

Hi mark I have a bailey twin axle 2019 cartagena I have just changed mine out for a Kartt jockey wheel it’s the best for me live on a busy road trying to use motor movers through a ten foot wide driveway access thanks dave

I know this is an old topic and others will have moved on, but I had a plastic jw which needed changing as the screw thread was very stiff I replaced it with pneumatic. I works well, my only concern is it is a greater diameter & hangs a lot lower. It is on a lunar quasar where the axle does seem to be lower than some other manufacturers? Have you noticed this before?

Solid wheel all day long

Hi Mark. I prefer solid plastic one always have. Can not understand why caravanners put all 4 legs down and leave jokey wheel down and handbrake on. What your thoughts

Hi, so we’ve had the Kartt Ultimate jockey wheel for a while. We’ve found it pretty good, however it can stick on gravel if you’ve turned the

The plastic ones are rubbish on gravel,(I've got one). The inflatable ones are always going flat so it's the solid rubber job for me.

I have had an issue were thay have reconfigured speed humps in dunstable Town centre that cause impact to the jockey wheel ow when I go out I have to take it off . Has they have destroyed 3 of the alko big plastic wheel. Been touring now 15 years never had the problem before .so thet people know if there council do what they have done locally could happen in there town. Like the clips

We have a Kartt , tried the rest and nothing to touch it ! We move it from one caravan to another and wouldn’t be without it.

Great timing for this as I’m wanting to change my jockey wheel. My bog standard wheel from Alko is terrible on our gravel. Many folks say the Kartt rubber is great in all situations. I really wanted pneumatic but admit there could well be many issues with flats etc. decisions decisions haha anyways another good video - you’re getting good with this presentation stuff 😊

Best by a long way is the Alko weight wheel. Has a built in nose weight scale with sprung movement. Great for all terrain

Hi, we’ve had a Kart jockey wheel for a while. I have found that it doesn’t handle gravel well, especially when you rotate the van through 90 degrees to reverse into our storage location. The wheel doesn’t easily rotate back in line with the caravan axis when it starts to move. My friend suggested his pneumatic wheel was better. So I contacted Kartt to see if they could supply a pneumatic wheel suitable for their caravan version. Below is their reply: We do not have a pneumatic tyre the correct size for the Kartt Caravan Jockey and have even gone so far as to discontinue suppling pneumatic models to all our OEM’s, Wholesalers and customers as we did not feel it was fit for purpose for any of our jockey wheels. When designing the Kartt Caravan Jockey wheel, in conjunction with the Caravan and Motorhome Club, tests proved that the pneumatic wheel was not robust enough and would puncture or come off the rim, especially when used with motor-movers, hence why we created the solid rubber model. They suggested lowering the nose of the van, so that both tubes are at maximum engagement without affecting rotation, might improve the situation. I’ll try that, on our next outing.

Hi Mark, nice video . Is it worth getting the alko shock absorbers fitted, do they make a big difference?