Jockey Ball - what do you think

Sound like an affliction, aren't they likely to be a  bit misshaped all that banging against the saddle and all.

At present without the supporting video showing how it operates I cant see how the ball rotates other that about its axle as a conventional wheel.
If that is its only point of rotation and it relies as a wheel on being able to caster, I struggle to see what possible advantages it can bring?
It would not retract back into my Alko chassis anyway so for me its not going to be something worth considering; I am not doing jockey wheel fitting and removal each time I need it.

Hi all,
Very flimsy looking,on that bright shiny flat surface would deffinately be easer to move ( maybe ok in caravan showroom ).On grass or gravel though there would be less grip, certainly no good with my Hymer with mover,I'll stick with the inflatable thanks.
indoors.

It might be OK on a shaft that secures on the outside of the 'A' frame cover but surely no good whatsoever on any covered fitment ?

Definitely something that would get a thumbs down from the Dragons Den !  

I am with Ray, stick with a normal high quality inflatable tyre.

No longer in stock anyway and at £80 rather give it a miss.  Doubt if I can retract it enough in to the A frame housing to avoid it banging on the road.

Surfer, on 20 September 2012 - 08:28 AM, said:

Looks like something that fell off a Dyson and at that price it probably did!!

Hello All,


I'm Jamie from Jockey Ball - just seen the comments above so thought I would try and explain the product in further detail so you can understand the concept better...

I believe Mark (admin) has followed us on Twitter and brought to your attention the product -  so thank you to Mark.

The jockey ball is a new patent pending product and we wont be releasing it for sale until the end of septemer early october hence why we at the moment have non in stock :)

We are to launch with two products, one called "Jockey Ball" and one called "Jockey Ball Elite". Jockey Ball will be available at £49.99 with JB Elite at £79.99 - il go into more detail in a little bit but first to answer some of your comments. just for reference, the pictures on the site are CAD drawings of the JB elite which has changed in design over last couple of weeks.

• "Sound like an affliction, aren't they likely to be a bit misshaped all that banging against the saddle and all" - The actual ball on the jockey ball is the strongest part of the unit. Its actually solid. The ball itself is not inflatable, so you dont have to worry about punctures or inflation. It will not mishape. The ball weights 1400grams which is the same as an 8" steel jockey wheel.

• "Very flimsy looking,on that bright shiny flat surface would deffinately be easer to move ( maybe ok in caravan showroom ).On grass or gravel though there would be less grip, certainly no good with my Hymer with mover,I'll stick with the inflatable thanks." - Thank you for the comment. The product has been tested to 125kg as with other jockey wheels. We actually manufacturer the jockey balls in the UK aswell. The product design has changed slightly since the drawings and we give the product a 1yr guarantee against mechanical failure. With regards to the ball again, the ball is coated so its no shiny (CAD drawings dont reflect this) - The best way to describe the ball is like sandpaper - so theres grip there - more so than what a solid rubber wheel is. As for motor movers - id say it would compliment a mover with regards to having less strain on the motor, and it would park your van more accurate - espeicially with the JB elite model due to its design - but as we have not tested it with a motor mover yet, I could not give a definate answer

• "It might be OK on a shaft that secures on the outside of the 'A' frame cover but surely no good whatsoever on any covered fitment" - Yes, it will fit all caravans with jockey wheel on side of AFrame. As for the inside covers, it really depends on where the handbrake is running on the underside as to whether it will tuck in. the ball is 8inches as is most of the wheels. If it tucks in, it will sit no lower than a normal jockey wheel would. However, if it does not tuck then it will be best to wait till 2013 until we release the quick release version of the ball - That would obivoulsy involve attaching / detaching it every trip - but would be no more different to enganging a motor mover. - So at this moment in time, it is best to wait until our quick release version comes out for the centrally fitted covers, however if your van is outside of aframe then this is suitable.

Hope the answers I have gave to the questions will go someway to understanding the product a bit more.

The whole idea of the jockey ball range is to give increased moveability of the caravan and eliminate the problems that the jockey wheels give. This includes poor steering, the wheels getting dug into the ground - that initial push or pull forwards or backwards to get the jockey wheel in the right direction and then having to go forwards and backwards to get sideways (snake effect).

Not everyone can reverse a caravan onto a pitch or into their storage - maybes they dont have the confidence, the practice, have the space, or want to burn their clutch out on the car. So the only option is the push / or motor mover the van into the space. We all know how hard it is to push a caravan, and the problem is the jockey wheels themselves. They dig in and dont turn when you want them to turn therefore you get a "snake effect" whilst moving them. If we think of a normal jockey wheel on the ground, it has more surace area in comparision to a ball. A jockey wheels surface area contact is about the size of half a debit or credit card - in comparsion to a jockey ball which is the size of 1p. Basically we have took away contact area meaning less friction - so less of an initial shove of the caravan to get it going and it wont get stuck in the ground as much in comparison to a jockey wheel.The basic jockey wheel which will retail at £49.99 solves this problem.

The jockey ball Elite at £79.99 is where moveability is greated. Because we have the ball we get the same results as the basic jockey ball, however, we have added an extra shaft upon which the ball is spinning on. On a normal jockey wheel, the wheel is welded to the 38/40mm inner pipe which mean it turn on that, hence why you have to go back and forwards to get sideways (snake effect) - the Jockey Ball elite is spinning and welded onto a smaller shaft that increases its moveability by 50% (best way to think of it is a tighter turning circle)

We will have some videos and new pictures on the site soon - hope this offers some greater transaparency to the product - feel free to ask me any questions via here or via the website at jockeyball.com

Jamie,

Thanks for the detailed explanation, I actually think it will work well, I have seen the strain that my jockey wheel goes through when the mover causes it to dig in. The ball will most certainly work well on soft surfaces and be resistant to digging in. Like you said, the inside mounted jockey wheel set-up may be impeded by the handbrake set-up, so thought has to be applied to quick release version.
Do you propose to show it at the caravan shows, it will be interesting to see in the flesh?
Good luck with you venture.

Very strange that you have developed a product and ready to market it, but have not tested it with a motor mover?  It is people with motor movers where the market is, not so much those without a motor mover.  We have a Lunar Delta Ti and although the principle of the jockey ball seems good, no point having one if it cannot tuck up into the A frame.  I would have thought that this would have been checked prior to marketing the product.  What is the diameter of the ball as it looks to be quite big in the pictures?  More important what is the colour going to be on the finished product as a yellow ball on the front of a white caravan will not appeal to me.  

@oldsalt - thank you for the feedback - we will be visiting shows across the country, but if you want to see it in the flesh, then we hope to have it in a caravan shop in your region soon - the stockist tab on the website will go live once we release the product

@surfer - The tucked up into the aframe is something that we unfortuantly can't do anything about unless we make a quick release version - a smaller ball does not work -  - the diameter of ball is 19cm (so 8inches)

From a motor movers point of view, and if the jockey ball fit your unit, why would you put a jockey ball on your van? Is it the digging in of the jockey wheels into the ground? - our motor mover test is this weekend so will let you know how it gets on - it may be a case of us having one product for motor movers / one for non motor movers, but either way we will launch and will work with motor mover.

As for colours: Green, Black, Brown

Is there really any problem with a normal, small solid, jockeywheel ?

Despite using a motor-mover on loose gravel-type hardstandings, I've not seen any need to consider the "recommended" larger pneumatic jockeywheel so I seriously wonder if the jockeyball is a solution to a non-existant problem.

jockeyball, on 20 September 2012 - 05:49 PM, said:

Thanks for the reply. When using a motor mover on a twin axle, the jockey wheel can dig into soft ground especially if it was facing the wrong way i.e. frontwards and then you reverse.  It needs to turn around and at one point will be "across" the front of the caravan.  With the motor mover move the caravan forward 2 -3 metres and then reverse it to get an idea of the problem.

what weight can both take ? on a sharp stoned hard service, and can i try one please , feedback will be given ,

@ sufer - ok so with the jockey wheel at the moment, your inner tube pipe will have an outside diameter of 38,39, 40 or 41mm depeding on manufacturer. This is where the wheel is welded onto and "spins" The Jockey Ball is welded and pinned for extra strength onto 20mm so will have 50 percent greater turning circle - technically you will only have to travel 1m to 1.5 metres against your 2-3metres quoted.

@nickandsally - both can take 125kg - we are sending display models out to shops across the country upon detail will be revealed on websites of stockists first week of october.

Sounds interesting - and a logical answer to a problem we come across often when trying to move the Adora.  But I'd like to see it demonstrated first at somewhere like the NEC by the manufacturing company.  Experience has taught that local dealerships tend to be somewhat biased/blinkered in certain regards....

ArtistsRifles, on 21 September 2012 - 01:25 AM, said:

Demonstration should be on soft ground as no issues with any jockey wheel on a hard surface like tarmac.

well i have a shop , but would sooner try one , and trust me it will be tryed

Hi all,
The footprint of the inflatable tyre on my jockey wheel is far greater than the foot print of a ball no matter what size, the ball is bound to sink in anything other than hard ground more so than the wheel. Though going back to my post earlier,they may be ideal on a clean flat surface such as a caravan salesroom and thats where they would probably be sold to punters who after trying them in the real world would consign them to dust gatherers in the back of the garage. I am yet to be persuaded.
indoors.

indoors, on 21 September 2012 - 07:42 AM, said:

Bit in Bold - agreed BUT...  It's all about pressure e.g. lbs per sq " and for a given 'van that will be constant so it depends on the area to which the weight is applied and you might argue that a slightly sunken ball would move more easily than a 'rutted' wheel.
Having said all that, you might be right and I might be talking cobblers!

I wonder if you could foam fill one and the same goes for normal inflatable jockey wheel tyres, after all foam filled tyres have been used extensively in rallying for years.

Hi all,
BL these people at JB are picking our brains with as yet an untried product and you're suggesting how to improve them,( commission !!! ) let them come along to caravan shows ( especially outdoors ) and prove the product, then with the backing of all who've purchased this new wonderwheel we'll all be persuaded to buy one.
indoors.
NB : I'm going on Dragons Den, I'm going to sell the fact I've got half an idea, when joe public have put me right on how to improve it I want loads a money so I can get the Chinese to produce it. Simples !!!

Hello All.

Thank you for the comments.

This week we will show you visible results of what happens with a wheel v's a ball upon "soft ground". The best place to take it will be on a beach so we will test it between the swash zone and beach face (the wet sand that leaves footprints) - that way everyone can see visible results with regards to marks left by the wheel and ball, and also get the depth each product sinks - the swash zone will be less dense compared to a grass field so results will be more visible on video / pictures.

@indoors - BL is not suggesting how we can improve the product - our balls are solid so why would we foam fill them? We have already tried a foam filled ball and they simply dont work due to the mathmatics of a ball against a wheel and also the foam would be under greater stress causing flat spots thus not being able to roll without jumping - Both products are finished, tested and are manufactured. - of course until people see the product in the flesh, or at very least a video then everyone will be sceptical - good luck on dragons den

jockeyball, on 21 September 2012 - 10:57 AM, said:

sorry to hear that
Im of an age where this is quickly becoming a concern for myself

what are the practical implications?

still wont be able to fit most modern vans where the jockey wheel is in the centre of the A Frame as on my Swift group van.And to be honest my power touch moter mover has had no trouble moving the van even on Snow,gravel or soft grass .My Jockey wheel is a solid one. best of luck but can only see it being a niche product unless you can make fit between the A frame and tilt like the Dyson hoover Ball.

marchvanner, on 21 September 2012 - 08:19 PM, said:

why?