Moving my Airstream in place

[Slats]

Here's the problem. We had to back our '66 Tradewind into the building, where I am doing a shell-off rebuild, at an angle, because the driveway was too narrow to allow for a lot of maneuvering.

But now I need to get the trailer positioned parallel to the wall in order to line it up with the steel beam above, so the chain hoists I will use to lift the shell, which will be hung from the beam, will each be directly above the skylight openings. In other words, I need to swing the rear end over about twenty degrees.

I'm contemplating jacking the trailer up, placing four-wheel dollies under each wheel and either shoving the rear end over or hooking a come along to the rear bumper and pulling it over until parallel with the wall. Am I nuts? Anyone have a better idea?

[AtomicNo13]

If its on a clean floor, rolling floor jacks might roll just as well!

[scamp]

Originally Posted by Slats

Here's the problem. We had to back our '66 Tradewind into the building, where I am doing a shell-off rebuild, at an angle, because the driveway was too narrow to allow for a lot of maneuvering.

But now I need to get the trailer positioned parallel to the wall in order to line it up with the steel beam above, so the chain hoists I will use to lift the shell, which will be hung from the beam, will each be directly above the skylight openings. In other words, I need to swing the rear end over about twenty degrees.

I'm contemplating jacking the trailer up, placing four-wheel dollies under each wheel and either shoving the rear end over or hooking a come along to the rear bumper and pulling it over until parallel with the wall. Am I nuts? Anyone have a better idea?

I would do the same ,as a floor Jack would put too much stress in one spot and were would you put it ? It should go on the frame so you would need two floor jacks and two people , the better way would be the wheel dollies , one under each wheel.

Don

[Protagonist]

If you put dollies under each wheel, keep something in contact with the floor to use as a pivot. Such as the tongue jack. It will help control the movement. Or if the tongue jack isn't quite where you want it, either, put dollies under three wheels and the tongue jack, and use the fourth wheel as your pivot point— with the breakaway switch pulled to lock the trailer brakes and keep that one wheel from rolling on the floor (the other wheels will be on the dollies and it won't matter if the brakes are locked against the dollies).

Also, remember that you've got to stop the trailer where you want it once you have it moving, without putting anyone between the trailer and the wall where they could get hurt if the trailer doesn't stop on a dime. Put down chocks beforehand where you want the trailer to stop— and brace the chocks against the garage wall so they can't slide. Then all you have to do is push in the right direction, and the geometry you've already set up does the rest.

Oh— and leave the trailer up on the dollies, with the dollies chocked in place, because once you're done you'll probably want to move the trailer right back where it was to get it out again. The driveway won't get any wider to get the trailer out than it was to put the trailer in. To make sure you get the trailer back where it is now, use pieces of duct tape to mark the floor where the wheels and tongue jack are now, so you can line up again when you move the trailer back.

[cucvzuz]

Look on line for car dollies. They are very with classis car guys like myself.
A quick google search for car dollies revealed many options but here it what you need.


Northern Industrial Tools Auto Wheel Dollies — Pair, 1000-Lb. Capacity Each | Wheel Dollies| Northern Tool + Equipment

[NWRVR]

Harbor Freight sells a pair of 1000# wheel dollies for $50 and a pair of 1500# for $60.

[AWCHIEF]

You can rent car dollies at some tool and construction equipment rental places.

[radar]

For what it is worth, it just might help to put a soapy solution where the wheels need to move on your garage floor. Not sure if this will help you but I've seen them do this when they've moved a house and had to turn a sharp corner. They soaped the road to help turn with so many wheels holding the house up.
Good luck with your move.

[Slats]

Originally Posted by radar

Good luck with your move.

As luck would have it, there is a new Harbor Freight store between my house and my nephew's, where our Tradewind is housed. They had a sale on 1,000 lb four wheel furniture dollies and I bought a couple of them. But, since I had my 2 ton floor jack along for the adventure and my nephew (works nights, sleeps days, so not available to help) has a 3 1/2 ton jack, I tried them first. They worked beautifully. I just placed the jacks between the wheels on each side, jacked them up to the frame and then lifted the wheels off the floor. I left the front end stationary and just shoved the rear end over until it was about where I wanted it. I then let it down and jacked up the tongue, put one of my new dollies with a 2 X 6 on top and let the jack down until the post was resting on the 2 X 6. I then shoved the front end over until the trailer was parallel with the wall. It was way easier than I thought it was going to be.

Next I removed the air conditioner. I first drilled out (from the inside) the rivets holding its mounting tray to the roof. Then, standing on a step ladder with my torso through the skylight opening, I wrestled the unit free. Next I looped a long rope around it, ran both loose ends of the rope over the curbside roof, through the trailer door and across to and out the opening where the heating unit had been, on the street side. I then fastened both loose ends of the rope to an anchor (a John Deere lawn tractor), leaving enough slack in the rope to allow the unit to slide off the roof and about halfway down the side of the trailer, controlling its descent from my aforesaid perch. Then, when it came to the end of its slack, I got down from the step ladder, untied the rope from the John Deere, and let the unit the rest of the way down and onto - you guessed it - the other new dollie, and rolled it over into the corner.

I also took the opportunity to reorganize all the stuff I took out from the interior to give it at least the appearance of order and to make better use of the space.

Not a bad day, all in all. It was kind of fun doing all this stuff by myself; actually, a healthy exercise in problem solving (with a little help from my new-found friends).