I have a steep driveway.. Help!

[Airslide]

Thanks Andy, I have a featherlite car trailer that uses a similar axle setup but more or less am unfamiliar with how they work. Its a bunch of weight for them to hold up everyday much less bounce down the road. I will read the article so i understand..
Thanks Vinnie

[Airslide]

One last thought. What about welding one of these casters Swivel-EAZ™ Wheels to the bottom of the ball that mounts into the reciever in the hitch. This way you would have to power and manueverability of the jeep, the drop down effect till the wheel hits the driveway, the raising effect of the rear of the trailer so it doesnt scrap and it swivels so you can turn without tearing up the cement? Anyone ever done this?

Thanks Vinnie

[Airslide]

Well, Heres my solution.

[Airslide]

The problem I have is getting my 2001 30' S/O into the backyard. It takes a bit of jockying around to get her in the shelter. The truck is just too big and I find myself pinned up against the house with the front fender. The tongue weight on this unit is 1200lbs or somewhere in that area. Using the jeep is the only solution but the tires were stuffed up in the wheel wells. So to fix the problem i went to Hamilton Caster co. from Wisonsin and bought a 1700lb swivel split wheel caster. I had an extenstion welded onto the hitch and mounted the caster in that way. With no load on the hitch the caster is about 2 inches above the pavement. Once the airstream is lowered i have the majority of the tongue weight on the caster and not the jeep. I found that i was able to easily manuever the trailer right into the shelter and not worry about breaking my jeep. The caster was a bit expensive and with the welding it took me back about $180.00 bucks. Still alot cheaper than a rear axle..

[FreshAir]

Good solution to your problem, Vinnie. Just be thankfull you don't go through what I do. I have to unhook our trailer in the street and re hook it up to my Jeep truck. This is because we have 125' of gravel driveway at up to 8% grade. I take the trailer down to the bottom of the driveway, do a 3 point turn and go halfway back up the driveway to back the trailer into the RV pad. I wish the solution to my problem was as simple as a tongue jack wheel. I do have a CJ7 that I'm thinking of putting a hitch on the front.
Neil.

[Mikethefixit]

Vinnie
NICE JOB!
Necessity Is The Mother of Invention.
This is about what I was going to suggest. I have seen dolly's like this only with 2 pneumatic tires. I think someone made a receiver dolly for fifth wheels and even smaller cars,so the dolly takes the tongue weight. But I'll be dinged if I can remember where I saw them. Age ya know?
Roger

[purman]

You Guys have all the fun, I just have a flat asphalt circular driveway that I drive around then back the trailer effortlessly in beside the garage with enough room to to it with a semitrailer.

Like I said; " you guys get all the fun."

[HowieE]

Vlamica

The one suggestion I would make. Unless you can complete the parking with the Jeep in less than 2 mins. I would strongly suggest you install a fan driven transmission cooler. 2 mins. of load on the trans at almost stall speed, backing up a hill, will put the temperature up in the do damage range.

I have a temperature gauge and cooler on my truck and have seen temperatures reach 275 degrees during a hard parking. I normally run 165 degrees.

[Airslide]

Thanks guys for the feedback!

Neil- Wow. I know you talked about your parking situation but the pictures really bring it to life. Seems like you have the right equipment to do the job. I can see why the convertible needs to sit this one out!

Mikethefixit- I thought about the pneumatic tires but I was worried about the tongue weight. The little swivel wheel is neat when it changes direction.. it swivels around and each little wheel turns opposed to each other to make the swivel easier and reduce the wear on the wheel.

Purman- We are just jealous. A semi truck would wedge itself into my fence and house within 10 feet of backing lol.

HowieE- The jeep is a manual transmission. I put the transfer case in 4low and wet down the driveway and inch it along. Havent seen any problem with the temp. If it all goes well the whole think can happen in 5 minutes.

I was thinking about the front hitch attachment but then i think im too close to the front of the trailer and i cant see around it? I will play with this setup for awhile and maybe consider that type of hitch.

Thanks Vinnie

[ScrapIrony-2]

We have a similar problem when we have driveway visitors...I took 2"x10" boards, and put them together in a pyramid shape with deck screws, then inverted the pyramids to fill the gap...it has worked quite well...you might have to have help in lining them up, but it can be done alone, if yer patient...

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mike

[William D]

My wife thought I was crazy -I told her to get out the video camera just in case I "purchased my ticket" she might be able to sell it to America's Stupidest Videos...

Long story short, similar situation... I have a long and narrow drive, with a parking corral that is about 25 feet deep, the drive it self is about 10 feet wide, so there is NO WAY my TV (Escalade ESV) and my 23 foot '73 Safari are making any turns.

To add to the fun, I live on a very busy street -although my house is setback about 60 feet from the road- where there is no street parking, and a very impatient traffic flow for backing the trailer in.

In the past I have pulled straight in my driveway when returning from a trip, only to have to back out later in the night when the traffic lighter, turn the trailer around, and back her in... a real PITA.

Somehow the stroke of genius (I hoped) overcame me, I would use the '69 Cub Cadet!

I checked the weight of some of the PTO driven attachments (some over 300lbs) and figured I'd give it a try... I put a ball on the back of the tractor.. slowly lowered the trailer onto it... the tires on the cub took the weight.... and voila! I backed the trailer right into a snug spot in the corral at the very end of the driveway! The cub has a 10HP Kohler (and a cast iron rear end-dont try this with the new ones) and it handled it fine, nary a puff of smoke.

There was no other way to achieve this .. this tractor also does lawn duty so I'm thrilled, but I would gladly pay the price of a beater early model Cub Cadet to tug the Airstream in my yard.. so worth the headache!!

Here's a picture:

MobileMe Gallery

[Airslide]

Hi WilliamD.

Great story. I dont think the Cub Cadet would have the overall power to climb my steep driveway although seems like its a great solution for you. I have four times the tongue weight as you and that will killin my jeep. Crazy parking situations still beat storage as long as we dont scuff our trailers on the fence or parking structure ugh..

BTW, welcome to the forums..

Vinnie

[Mikethefixit]

VInnie
He is talkin about the old Internation Cub Cadet ,I have one. It has a cast iron rearend housing. There are not many that can do this, the old Case is another with a cast iron Rear axle housing. Todays Garden tractors or Lawn tractors have a cast alumimum rear axle housing that is not designed to carry weight.They are only designed for yard wagons and yard equipment.
With the weight of the operator they only have a useful load of about a hundered pounds tongue weight.

[Airslide]

Originally Posted by Mikethefixit

VInnie
He is talkin about the old Internation Cub Cadet ,I have one. It has a cast iron rearend housing. There are not many that can do this, the old Case is another with a cast iron Rear axle housing. Todays Garden tractors or Lawn tractors have a cast alumimum rear axle housing that is not designed to carry weight.They are only designed for yard wagons and yard equipment.
With the weight of the operator they only have a useful load of about a hundered pounds tongue weight.

Ah, Got it. I think my airstream would require a D2 Cat. Its a beast.

Thanks Mike

[Airstreamer67]

I wouldn't put that lawn tractor on any type of grade. The attorneys would have a field day with any accident that might occur with such a rig.

What I did for difficult backing situations is put a front hitch on my F250 tow vehicle. I did this after blowing a few quarts of transmission fluid trying to back into especially tight and difficult campground spots.

The front hitch I bought has a tongue weight rating too light for my trailer. So, I use the little wheel that came with the trailer. It bolts onto the bottom of the front jack and is intended for pushing the trailer around. Although, because it is a steel wheel, it would sink in gravel or dirt, it does quite well on hard surfaces. If I had to use it for soft surfaces, I'd look for some type of pneumatic wheel to take its place.

By using the support wheel on the tongue jack, almost all of the weight is placed on the wheel versus the front hitch. The amount of weight on the jack vs hitch can be finessed by using the jack.

Has noone else used this approach to backing in tight situations?

Admittedly, the vision thing is a problem. I do need a spotter, at least on my right side when pushing from the front. I have a hand-held mirror I can use holding out the left side to see where things are going.

I'm a Boy Scout at heart.

[Airslide]

Originally Posted by Airstreamer67

I wouldn't put that lawn tractor on any type of grade. The attorneys would have a field day with any accident that might occur with such a rig.

What I did for difficult backing situations is put a front hitch on my F250 tow vehicle. I did this after blowing a few quarts of transmission fluid trying to back into especially tight and difficult campground spots.

The front hitch I bought has a tongue weight rating too light for my trailer. So, I use the little wheel that came with the trailer. It bolts onto the bottom of the front jack and is intended for pushing the trailer around. Although, because it is a steel wheel, it would sink in gravel or dirt, it does quite well on hard surfaces. If I had to use it for soft surfaces, I'd look for some type of pneumatic wheel to take its place.

By using the support wheel on the tongue jack, almost all of the weight is placed on the wheel versus the front hitch. The amount of weight on the jack vs hitch can be finessed by using the jack.

Has noone else used this approach to backing in tight situations?

Admittedly, the vision thing is a problem. I do need a spotter, at least on my right side when pushing from the front. I have a hand-held mirror I can use holding out the left side to see where things are going.

I'm a Boy Scout at heart.

Hi Airstreamer67,

I too thought about the tongue wheel but i have pavers and thought that the wheel might get caught on one of them and bend the jack. With the swivel wheel all the stress in on the hitch and the trailer knows nothing about it

I do like the hand held mirror idea though..

Vinnie

[FreshAir]

I think that I posted in #25 that I was thinking of setting up my CJ7 (304cid V8)to jockey our trailer with. I realized afterward that one time I lost the trailer brakes while manuvering it on our gravel driveway the trailer took over and began dragging my 3/4 ton Jeep truck (455 Buick engine) backwards down the driveway! I set the emergency brake AND stood on the brakes. Although that action slowed my travel towards the cliff, an old gold mine, I continued to slide. Desperate I placed the tranny into a forward gear and the 455 powered me out of a big problemo. So I don't think I will use the CJ7.
Neil.

[Airslide]

Originally Posted by FreshAir

I think that I posted in #25 that I was thinking of setting up my CJ7 (304cid V8)to jockey our trailer with. I realized afterward that one time I lost the trailer brakes while manuvering it on our gravel driveway the trailer took over and began dragging my 3/4 ton Jeep truck (455 Buick engine) backwards down the driveway! I set the emergency brake AND stood on the brakes. Although that action slowed my travel towards the cliff, an old gold mine, I continued to slide. Desperate I placed the tranny into a forward gear and the 455 powered me out of a big problemo. So I don't think I will use the CJ7.
Neil.

Neil,

As scary as that sounds.. man it makes for a great campfire story..
I might ask you to bring that up next time.

Vin

[azflycaster]

How would you like to back up this one?

[Airslide]

Originally Posted by azflycaster

How would you like to back up this one?

I think the Government originally granted the Bantam contract for thier rendition of the jeep because it could take that angle.. what the heck?
You would have to drive a hummer huh?