The following articles were published in Caravan Life and practical Caravan Magazines.
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Michael Le Caplain: Caravan Life
"It all started so innocently. In answering a readers question, back in the May issue , concerning motorized caravan movers and twin-axle caravans, we advised that a chassis-mounted mover would probably be better equipped to cope with twin-axle tyre scrub , and thought nothing more of it.

Someone else did though, Barry Wilson, the brains behind the well-known Mr Shifta hitch-mounted caravan mover, wrote to us to inform us that the Mr Shifta was more than up to the task of turning a twin-axle on its own axis, and that the newer-still Mr Shifta3 was even better. Time for a closer look-see we thought.

The first mover Barry ever saw was a solid wheel motorized jockey wheel, powered by the caravans battery, that required the owner to constantly swap between the standard jockey wheel and the motorized version.

The light -gauge tube handle also looked to Barry like it might not stand the user applying body weight to it to aid traction and the power switch was, he felt, positioned awkwardly for anyone suffering from arthritis.

Mental cogs began to turn furiously, and many evenings were lost to careful note taking and sketching The result was the original Mr Shifta, which Barry gave to chassis experts Al-Ko to evaluate over a two week period.

Al-Ko subsequently decided it didn't want to give it back, and bought the test model outright, starting a long line of industry leading lights who continue using Mr Shifta's to this day, including Avondale, Bailey and Lunar, as well as other non-caravan companies such as Aston-Martin, Toyota, Sanyo, Phillips and JCB.

All of which is all well and good, but I was visiting Barry to see for myself whether his bright green device really was capable of tackling the rigours of twisting a twin-axle caravan on its axis.

Some seven per cent of all caravans sold in the UK are twin-axles, and fully a quarter of Barry's sales go to owners who struggle to manoeuvre their four wheel behemoths. Clearly, Barry's customers feel Mr Shifta is more than up to the task.

You can see why; Mr Shifta3 packs a formidable torque punch, 1103 lb ft, to be precise; (just 5 lb ft less than my Alfa 156 develops) via the standard-supply Semi Traction Battery (leisure batteries aren't really man enough for the job) and in standard form, runs along on 265mm diameter tyres, although Chevron Tractor pattern (for heavy grass) and 300mm Turf Pro (for fine grass, gravel and steep, hard surfaces) are available as options.

Our own guinea pig was Barry's own Swift Conqueror 560. Hooking up involved little more than dropping the caravans hitch onto the mover ( which incidentally, is compatible with most caravan hitches), barring the (now obsolete) revolving B&B hitch, switching it on and operating the twist grips.

My demonstration included manoeuvring the Swift of Barry's driveway, performing two three point turns in the road (including mounting a steep curb), and re-positioning exactly where we'd moved off from. All in all, it was a stress-free situation that put no obvious strain on the mover, yet shifted the big Swift hither and yon with disdainful ease. Case proved, I think... "

Editors Note: Practical Caravan
"Why risk back injury when moving a heavy caravan? A motorized mover can take all the strain for you. Peter Smith tried out two types of mover systems with his twin-axle Elddis Tynedale GT on a 1-20 gravel driveway. Two of the models work by replacing the jockey wheel, whilst the other fits directly into the tow hitch. He found the jockey-wheel movers were less convenient in practice. Using one involves dropping the front steadies, removing the jockey wheel, replacing it with the mover and then lifting the front stays before manoeuvring the caravan. Then you have to go through the whole process in reverse to remove the mover. Leaving it attached makes it too easy for thieves. Also bear in mind that a jockey wheel mover will place more strain on one side of the A-frame than the other, some chassis manufacturers have expressed concern that in extreme circumstances this may lead to some distortion.
Nor do they recommend lifting the nose of a twin-axle caravan to raise the front axle, as this could cause the A-frame to twist. All movers draw a heavy current and can soon flatten a healthy battery, so it's better to keep a heavy duty/semi-traction battery specifically for the purpose.
Peter Smiths Report: Practical Caravan
Mr Shifta: Mr Shifta is the biggest and heaviest of the powered movers: It is endowed with enough muscle to move up to two tonnes of caravan, including twin-axle models, with ease. It is not really fair to compare Mr Shifta to a jockey-wheel mover because although it does the same job, it approaches it from a completely different angle. This is the model that fits into the tow hitch, using a clever securing arrangement that ensures it stays firmly attached and generates maximum traction.
Mr Shifta is also completely freestanding and carries it’s own traction battery, which guarantees that you have enough power to manoeuvre the caravan as often as you need without draining the caravans own power supply. The twin traction tyres are standard and on the test that really demonstrated their worth by starting the van from rest and pulling it up the hill, despite a binding brake on the nearside front axle. Having freed off the brake, Mr Shifta then moved the caravan through a 180degree turn in just over it’s own length.
What really makes Mr Shifta the best value of the three is it’s all round convenience. It will propel itself to the caravan and there is no fiddling with jockey wheels or corner steadies.Many people buy a caravan mover because of a health problem or back injury: in simple terms, Mr Shifta is the only unit here that is totally labour saving.