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Rick F · 09-02-2009, 07:23 PM

Hi all again.. In my quest to get answers before I decide on a AS size, I'm curious as to whether you think I could pull this off or not..

I've got a driveway that is on a slight incline (not sure what the angle is but not too bad) and I believe is ~25' wide (haven't yet measured -- will do that tonight).. I can't put a 25' trailer in the driveway w/o blocking the sidewalk, which won't fly w/ city officials.. So, I was thinking about putting it sideways at the top of the driveway near the garage door (parallel to the street & sidewalk)... Here's the hard part. I don't have sufficient space to completely move a trailer that size into position while hitched up (unless I can find a hitch that's about 4-5' long) without driving on my neighbors lawn. I was kinda thinking in my head (yeah, a bad idea) that perhaps I could attach one of those single (or double?) hitch wheels and do the final positioning after it's unhitched by hand assuming the majority of the weight would be resting on the dual axles. Does this sound like a really bad idea or a possible solution for not parking it on the street,etc.? I really don't want to park another trailer in the expensive RV storage joint if I can get away from doing that..

Hope this makes sense.. Comments?

Oh yeah.. This is more or less what I was thinking about using..

bjond · 09-02-2009, 07:41 PM

is probably the killer. I have a power caster which is a fancy version of the device in your picture with an electric motor. It will push my 19 ft trailer up my slight incline but I always have to have another person standing by with a thick board to throw under the wheel to act as a brake. I can not stop the trailer by hand once it starts rolling down the incline. Likewise I cannot push the trailer up the incline by hand either.

Try pushing your car up the incline. It will give you an idea of how hard it will be to move a trailer uphill.

Power Caster,electric trailer mover dolly, boat dolly, toy hauler

**azflycaster** · 09-02-2009, 07:46 PM

I had one of the dollies that you posted the picture of. It was great for my very small pop up. I doubt you could lift the tongue off the ground on an Airstream without breaking the dolly.

**moosetags** · 09-02-2009, 07:53 PM

What you are describing might work, but would really limit the size of Airstream that you may be able to accomplish this with.

If the grade of your driveway extends to the garage door, this would make it even more difficult. One of those trailer dollies that you pictured would be nearly impossible to use with any upgrade, and very dangerous going the other way.

Post a couple of pictures of your driveway area. Someone here might have an idea for you.

Brian

Alwhisman · 09-02-2009, 09:23 PM

A power caster is the only way to go. Maybe your neighbor wouldnt mind letting you in and out with it. It's not and everyday thing I wouldn't think. Depends on the neighbor as well....lol

On the other hand, there are always option. Moosetags has a good idea, pictures are worth a thousand words. There are some pretty crafty people hereabouts!

**Airslide** · 09-02-2009, 09:43 PM

I use one of those trailer dollies as pictured for the featherlite car trailer. It weighs in at 1200 lbs with a tongue weight of a little over 100 lbs.. It takes everything i can do to turn those dual wheels in gravel and my feet are on cement with a slight incline.. If you can move an airstream with it your my new hero..

Vin

overlander64 · 09-02-2009, 10:19 PM

I don't know whether this might help, but it occurred to me that one of the selling benefits was always advertised as a greatly reduced turning radius for the car/trailer combination -- particularly with the 90 degree model. What I am thinking of is the Pull-Rite Trailer Hitch it is a proven design from a manufacturer who has been in business for a number of years. Friends who have towed with this hitch for several years have been very pleased with its performance.

This is just a thought -- that may not be practical for your circumstances.

Good luck with your investigation!

Kevin

Rick F · 09-02-2009, 11:33 PM

Thanks all for the great feedback.. I was a bit curious what you all thought of the dolly things for this purpose... I think using a traditional hitch on my C2500 truck, I could get things about 75-85% in place but the last ~15% of the work might need to be done another way (unless the Pullrite can allow my truck to move to a 90 degree position w/o pinching either the truck or trailer).. I dropped a note to the company asking some questions.. Once I measure the width of the driveway, that ought to also factor into my length equation..

overlander64 · 09-03-2009, 01:43 AM

Something else occurred to me as I was looking through the thread. Another option, again I don't know how practical would be a custom front hitch on the tow vehicle. What I am thinking of would require custom fabrication such that the receiver would be offset to one side or the other of the front bumper - - if sufficient offset were possible along with one of the longer draw bars (designed for use with tow vehicles that have spares mounted on the rear tailgate) it might be possible to gain a sharp enough angle to accomplish your parking goal. Finding a capable welder to do the fabrication might be a challenge with this method.

Good luck with your investigation!

Kevin

Birdwell57 · 09-16-2009, 08:34 AM

Built this (@ $200 parts) to maneuver 31' Sovereign around some trees in the back yard to the monte site. The end of the driveway has @ 1' of rise at @ 15' of run, pushed and pulled with no problem. I should be done with the crushed concrete camper driveway soon. I will then know how the dolly handles in looser ground.

Mexray · 09-16-2009, 08:46 AM

Bird...like your 'three-wheeler'...did you use a small 12 volt winch for the drive motor - I've looked at the cheap ones at Harbor Freight with the same idea- did you use a couple of gears and a chain to drive the axle?

bredlo · 09-16-2009, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mexray

...did you use a small 12 volt winch...

There's another idea. I was thinking about winches the other day as I was trying to hand-push our 19 footer up a shallow incline towards the garage, with little success. A small winch could help pull your trailer into that final position, if you had a sturdy mounting location, depending on your desired location for the trailer.

It'd sure be nice to mount it inside the ceiling of your garage... ready to go when you are.

Birdwell57 · 09-16-2009, 12:10 PM

2,000 lb winch from H.F., go-cart live axle, and hubs, golf cart tires, 12 teeth on winch sprocket, 66 teeth on axle sprocket

Lumatic · 09-16-2009, 12:57 PM

OSX the trailer dolly for yur trailer is not a good or safe idea. It is only designed for very small and light trailers. I use one for small sailboats, less than 500#.

Speaking of sailboats a friend of mine uses a lawn tractor for manuvering large sailboats weighing several tons in his tight back yard. He has a hitch on the front and back of his tractor. Because it did not cut grass he got it cheap for $100. That might work for you.

If you are dealing with an incline, it does not take much for a trailer to start rolling. Might be a good idea to be able to get to the break away switch if you need to stop her from rolling down your driveway.