Powrtouch Evolution problems

Can't help, but is your mover still under warranty?  Probably is, so back to the person who supplied it and get them to sort it out.  Remember your contract is with the dealer who supplied it (ie the person you paid) and not necessarily Powertorch.  You are well protected by Consumer Law.  Don't lose any sleep over this annoying problem.

We had a recent problem with intermittent failure to engage on one side. It turned out to be that the anchor bolts had worked loose. On each side of the mover, there are two bolts. The outside one is under the plastic cover which has to be removed to access. The inner one can be reached by hand under the van.

On checking the other wheel, one bolt had fell out altogether tho the other was still tight, which I suspect was keeping that side operational in the short term.

I guess the intermittent nature of this ma have been due to the luck of how the loose mover settled after travelling. Anyway, problem sorted, but something I’ll be checking regularly.

Mark from PowrWheel phoned me yesterday and I explained the problem to him. He asked me if the mover had been serviced. I said I had no idea but the caravan was back in February and as our dealers (Ropers Leisure) are normally very good, I assume that it was. He told me to lubricate the motor assembly and if that didn't work, he suspected it could be a problem with the electronics module. I think I'll get it booked in with Ropers - they fitted it so I'll let them deal with it.

Won't this only apply to the 12 month warranty?  Powertouch extend this by registration to 5 years. If the OP's mover is 3 years old, surely his redress is with powertouch.

Having just had a manual Powertouch Evolution fitted to our new van at a cost of £875, I am interested in threads like this and thanks to all those who have taken the trouble to report their faults. So far, our Powertouch has worked faultlessly but I am always a little dubious when it comes to using a MM due to reports I hear like this thread. When we changed vans, I naively thought I would take the old one off and put it on the new van. My goodness’s- the state of it! It had been under the old van for 5 years and the accentuater bar and main support bar were in a terrible condition. In fact, they were irreparable. A trip to the local tip was the only solution!  It’s a pretty hostile environment under there isn’t it? Made worse by the fact that we tend to fit them and forget them. With the new one, I made an effort to get under the van and start to add extra protection in the form of hammerite paint and copper slip grease to all exposed metal parts. The amount of weather proofing they put on these things is quite frankly poor at best and useless at worst. At hundreds of pounds and for the bigger vans, thousands of pounds, I would, and I’m sure most would, expect a decent amount of weather protection like properly galvanised parts etc- similar to the caravan chassis. But alas, rip off Britain strikes again. I would strongly advise anyone having a new MM fitted to spend a pleasant morning on your back under the van and get it all protected and keep it protected by checking it yearly - rust creep can cause all sorts of problems- a stitch in time! 

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago with the near side motor not engaging. At about 5&1/2 years old I was looking for advice but when I rang Powrtouch they said they would replace the motor unit fof. They sent out a local, mobile engineer who brought with him a complete new motor unit which he fitted in place of the old one. Took him a good hour to dismantle and reasemble. All working fine when I traded in last June. 

I lubricated the motor as suggested by PowrWheel's tech support but as I suspected, it made no difference. Reported this to PowrWheel yesterday and they have decided to send out a local engineer. He phoned me last night and after I explained the problem to him and the actions taken, he said he would try to get out to me tomorrow to change the electronics box. Wonder what in the way of spares they carry with them in case it turns out to be the motor!!

He also told me that they get called out more often to people who say they 'hardly use the mover' than folk who do. Thinking about it though, I use ours fairly regularly. I always use it when putting the van back in storage to position the wheel to accept the AlKo lock. I often have to use it on site as well, especially if the van has to be positioned on our lock-and-level leveller.

Ah well, I shall keep my fingers crossed that the guy is able to come tomorrow. We have some outings booked in August and though I can engage the thing by hand, that's a bit of a faff compared to just getting the remote out and pressing buttons.

He also told me that they get called out more often to people who say they 'hardly use the mover' than folk who do.

this is possible, if i sit in the chair to long i find it hard to get going . I am fairly lucky in that i have a hard standing next to bungalow so if we are not using van for a couple of months e.g. July/August, once a week i give the MM a spin, and put the power on for a few days to top up the battery. Always remembering of course not to give the rollers a spin whilst on the wheel with the wheel locks on 

This has happened to us twice, this time causing more damage to mover, will have to be checked regularly, don't think all the 'pot holes' in Highlands helped, or speed humps( we do go over them very slowly)

Sorted now. The engineer first thought it was the actuator that engages the drive unit and changed it but that made no difference. He then swapped the connections on the electronics box expecting the fault to change sides but strangely, it didn’t. Changing the box did the trick though but then he had quite a job getting the two drive units synchronised. In fact, he gave up in the end and was talking about changing the complete drive unit but at a later date. I didn’t like the sound of that idea so suggested he put the original actuator back which, after some consideration he did. That sorted it out and no more syncing was needed. We now have a fully functional mover once more.