By William Coleman
Could a jockey wheel be made to replace the many that are continually broken on Caravans every year? This was the mission given to the designers at Kartt, who are one of the largest manufacturers of jockey wheels, supplying the industrial and commercial trailer markets.
So could they make a jockey wheel that overcame the difficulties that caravan users were experiencing? Collapsing castors, punctures, tyres pulling off rims, winding difficulties; could Kartt also produce something that would work alongside the increasingly popular motor movers?
Kartt worked closely in collaboration with the Caravan & Motorhome Club, looked at these issues and studied each and every jockey wheel component, adapting and enhancing each one until they had developed
The Ultimate Caravan Jockey Wheel
You could almost say that the Product Development teams were turning Kartt Wheels! Handles, tubes, wheel plates and wheel hanger castors were all made stronger to better withstand the sort of knocks and forces that are common when manoeuvring your caravan.
The solid tyre is puncture proof and will not rip off the rim, yet it has the same footprint as a pneumatic tyre so that it rides nicely over most surfaces. The winding handle is easy to grip from the top or the side and a top of the range roller bearing makes it really easy to turn even under load. All proven through the Kartt “in house” testing facilities in Bedford.
Furthermore, Kartt introduced their Turn-Lok TM device into the winding mechanism, which prevents the handle from turning and so stops the inner tube from unwinding under normal road vibrations, so the wheel and tyre will not drop out in transit!
A 20mm steel axle rides inside a maintenance free nylon support tube so that there is no metal to metal contact and so no rusting, consequently providing free running and a long life. An orange, powder coating on the steel wheel rim not only gives great protection against road salts and grit but is also highly visible, as a reminder to raise the jockey wheel after hitching up.
The jockey wheel tube has even been made longer so that there is less need to stoop when winding, plus the extra strong winding handle will not conflict with the handbrake lever.
THE ULTIMATE CARAVAN JOCKEY WHEEL is available through the Club Shop of the Caravan & Motorhome Club
