Ratchet Jockey Wheels

[flemtina]

Does anyone have any experience with the ratchet style jockey wheels, and if so what's a good brand.

Flem

[singo-26]

I've got an Ark one which i use with no problems on a dual axle trailer.

A couple of previous threads which may give you some info.
http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=5507.0
http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=2261.0
http://myswag.org/forum/index.php?topic=9390.0

[flemtina]

Thanks Steve I should have done a search before I posted

[jwb]

Yes, I have one of the Repco sold units and find it does the job well.
And the trade price was good as a  mate sourced it for me.
Some big $$$ units out there !

[singo-26]

Thanks Steve I should have done a search before I posted

The post wasn't intended as criticism. The views in the other posts should be considered before purchasing a ratchet Jockey wheel. I use ours on a large dual axle trailer with a ring and hook coupling generally to move the trailer on grass to locate the ring into the beak on a truck. Used on grass it has performed so far except one time after heavy rain when the Jockey wheel spun in the mud, mind you i was having trouble maintaining my footing at the time as well.   

[John Connor]

Does anyone have any experience with the ratchet style jockey wheels, and if so what's a good brand.

Flem

Hi Flemtina,

I have a fair bit to do with ratchet jockey wheels and have had some problems with the Ark (usually sold through places like Supercheap)  but Alko do one thats not too bad. The top brand is the Maco Mules but they can be expensive. Available from Camec: Alko $169 part no. 038543, Maco Mule $472 part no. 000433. They can be very exciting to use up or down hill on slippery ground but great for moving trailers around on reasonably level ground.
Camper tragic

[Slipus]

X2 to the other comments

I have the Maco Mule, I only use it to move the CT around the yard. It works well in the dry and on flat ground.

cheers

Pete

[theflyingbadger]

i have an Ark one. I find it crap for ratcheting the glamper around, but it's great for steering (and then relying on manpower to do the moving)

[carinya]

Here are a couple of less expensive types, don't have experience with them as yet.

http://www.trojanparts.com.au/index.asp?pageID=2145880149
http://www.caravanshop.com.au/?Nav=Pdt&product_id=10489&category_id=33&sub_category_id=91&


Not affill.
Happy hunting.

[flemtina]

Does the 'Mako Mule' seem to be worth the extra money over the Ark and Alko's ?

 
Flem

[rodw]

Does the 'Mako Mule' seem to be worth the extra money over the Ark and Alko's ?

 
Flem

The day I bought my pop top home my neighbour lent me his Mako Mule which made life so much easier. Not long later I bought the Alko one and gave his back. The mule is much stronger and levers are easier to flip but for my van, the Alko is fine! If you have a tandem van, maybe the Mule would be worth the extra but you'd want to be moving over 2 tonnes!

One thing to watch is that the minimum height is a lot higher than a normal jockey wheel so after juggling on a steep driveway with a floor jack, I welded on a second jockey wheel clamp (which came with the Alko). This lets you swap jockey wheels if your towbar is too low for the ratchet wheel.

[flemtina]

Thanks Rod,
Just the right info I was chasing, as I will be ising it on a Jayco camper the cheaper one should be fine.
 
Flem

[rodw]

Thanks Rod,
Just the right info I was chasing, as I will be ising it on a Jayco camper the cheaper one should be fine.
 
Flem

Now I gotta decide which one I will take away with me. Having the Alko with me at a tight beach side park at Rainbow Beach at Christmas saved me from calling for their tractor which parked most vans we saw come and go while we were there. I think my problem juggling the floor jack was to do with me reversing up my steep driveway which limited clearance under the drawbar. Probably take the Alko one

[rodw]

Thought I'd just update this thread. If you do buy a Alko ratchet wheel, make sure you disassemble the axle and lubricate the bearings as it does not look like Alko bother. I did not do this and the darn thing seized before we got hitched up last time and it took an hour or more to get out of the carport as it was not in a good place.

I pulled it apart when I got home and the bearings were dry and rusty and had collapsed and jammed. The bearings were only $7.70 each plus another $10 for some boat grease. However, the first one was a B$tch to get out and in the end, I had to cut it out on the lathe. Once it was out of the road, the second one was easy to knock out with a socket.

To lube the bearings, all you need to do is to remove a split pin and the axle will pull out. Give the needle bearings a clean and lube with boat grease and reassemble.

[flemtina]

Thanks Rod, I think I will go the ALKO and lube the bearings ASAP, as you have suggested.

 
Flem

[rodw]

Thanks Rod, I think I will go the ALKO and lube the bearings ASAP, as you have suggested.

 
Flem

No worries. It is very easy to do.

One other difference we saw today when Graham and I were comparing his Maco against my Alko is that the Alko will overrun the ratchet in the direction of travel where his 30 year old Maco does not. This would not normally be an issue but if you pushed up a hill and then the track went down hill again, the Alko will run down the hill in front of you. The Maco only moves when you move the lever.

[flemtina]

No worries. It is very easy to do.

One other difference we saw today when Graham and I were comparing his Maco against my Alko is that the Alko will overrun the ratchet in the direction of travel where his 30 year old Maco does not. This would not normally be an issue but if you pushed up a hill and then the track went down hill again, the Alko will run down the hill in front of you. The Maco only moves when you move the lever.

Interesting? Which one would be easier to store in the camper, so you could use it at the destination?

[rodw]

Interesting? Which one would be easier to store in the camper, so you could use it at the destination?

Just came back from a month away and never needed a ratchet wheel (which was good as I left my broken one behind). I think the only time I have used a ratchet wheel was at Rainbow Beach Caravan Park but they would have parked the van for us with a tractor like they did for everyone else. (They pack them in at the beach!)

My poptop weighs 1800 kg or so and is easy enough to move on a wheel to hitch up and generally you are on flat ground. A couple of times on soft ground I put down a 300 mm square base plate I use for my jack so it was easy to move a couple of inches to hitch up. If the ground was hard and the wheel was not going to sink in I did not worry about the base plate.

I reckon if yours is a camper, don't bother taking the ratchet wheel away.

The Alko is pretty heavy and the Maco is heavier again. I'd leave them at home.