Need help with parking trailer at home

MichelleWood · 06-05-2015, 04:26 PM

We were so excited about picking up our new Vengeance toy hauler today. My husband is now so frustrated that I'm not sure he will be able to enjoy it. We made a gravel spot next to our driveway to park the trailer. He backed it in fine but could not get the hitch off the ball of the truck. Our driveway runs down hill and the truck was up higher than the trailer. We could not get the hitch raised high enough to go over the ball and pull the truck away. He finally had to put the trailer in a different location, next to the house, which is in the grass. I hope it doesn't sink down into the grass so we can't get it out when we need to. I'm not sure if any of this made since to you; I don't know the right vocabulary or lingo to use. But does anyone have suggestions on what we can do differently or how we can make this better or even just a word of encouragement? He is pretty discouraged right now and I think if he could take it back and forget the whole thing, he would.

DaveandSue · 06-05-2015, 04:31 PM

Well let me take a stab at this.Can you put a couple of boards down under the front jack to get enough elevation to get the hitch undone? I have a double 2x6 and a 6x6 block under the feet of my 5er to get it jacked up in our driveway.It's also on a ver big slope.Had to do the same thing on our old TT to get enough lift to be able to level for the frig to run.Hope this helps some.

richardwise · 06-05-2015, 04:35 PM

Did you put a block of some sort under the jack? I had to do this a few times for the jack to go up high enough to unhook.

fonzie · 06-05-2015, 04:45 PM

First use wheel chocks front and rear on trailer, since you are on a slight incline there might be enough pressure on the hitch that as the jack lifts up the ball is stuck in the coupler, might need to back or drive truck ahead to release pressure. Also use wood block as described above.

Lefty59 · 06-05-2015, 04:48 PM

If there is room, you might try using some auto ramps & back the trailer up on to them. Maybe by raising the back of the trailer the angle will change enough to allow the TT to uncouple.

X2 on also trying a block of wood under the tongue jack but I suspect some of the problem is the downward angle of the TT.

Best of luck!

Maxhise · 06-05-2015, 05:36 PM

Agree on raising the wheels of the trailer. Get the back of the trailer a little higher and block under the tongue jack.

sparty047 · 06-06-2015, 01:47 PM

OOH! OOH!! Just went through a variation of this! Greg, you are not alone. You are not wrong.......your wife loves you and has sought out advice from others.

First review these; google further for additional advise.

https://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/f...22726525/print
/true.cfm

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ase-42530.html

Learn To RV: Hitching and Un-hitching my Fifth Wheel

If after reviewing the importance of proper chocking and those many other helpful points brought out in these other post, you find thatt your issue IS, in fact, too high of a slope (>10degrees) in front of the trailer where the truck is parked; you may be faced with re-engineering your parking spot to bring the truck/fifth wheel onto a more level plain for trouble-free hitching and un-hitching.

Can you post a picture showing the gravel site, with perhaps a stick showing where the back of your truck rests when you begin the unhitch process? You'll get a slough of additional comments and advice to wade through.

Good Luck Bud

peace/out

Jobecka1 · 06-06-2015, 02:08 PM

Since you mentioned the down-sloping angle of your driveway, it is IMPERATIVE that you take steps to ENSURE the trailer does not take off of its own when you disconnect! If yours is a tandem wheeled trailer, I would STRONGLY recommend scissor type wheel chocks IN ADDITION TO regular chocks; otherwise just GOOD, well anchored wheel chocks alone would have to suffice. Use a block of wood under the foot of the tongue jack to allow for higher jacking, and then EASILY and SLOWLY move the tow vehicle back towards the trailer about 1/4 inch or so to take the tension off the ball and I think you will unhook.

dually75019 · 06-06-2015, 02:54 PM

I don't want to over think this but let me try to help. You said this was a new trailer and that you have a new parking space. So I'm guessing that perhaps this is your very first trailer....? If it is than perhaps it's one of those things where the dealer didn't EXPLAIN how to unhook everything, and maybe even had it waiting for you already hitched and ready to go when you drove it home. So if you know all about towing a big toy hauler and have experience than the obvious fix is that you can't park trailers on a hill very well, but if you don't have experience than there is a common "newbie" error that many new RV'ers make.... Let me try to help.
When you get ready to unhook your RV and you drop the tailgate and you are ready you need to PULL THE PINS ON THE "landing gear" and let the landing gear drop down to close to the ground. This will provide you (usually) about a foot or so of travel extension of the landing gear. Install the pins again and be sure to lock them in place. (Usually a Clevis pin). Now extend the landing gear and a few inches and take the weight of the trailer off the hitch. And then drive the truck out from under the trailer and level everything up.
CAUTION: if you haven't done this before you at least need another person as a "spotter" and if you are not 100% comfortable with what you are doing you need an experienced person to help you!
But I'm guessing that if you are a "newbie" you just missed extending the landing gear to get more travel up. Also, obviously.... You when you hook it all back up you need to raise up those landing gear feet so can travel down the highway without dragging them down the road.
My editorial is this: you will make a lot of friends in the RV world..... If you are having problems just ask around and you will likely find an answer. .

mzbrandi · 06-06-2015, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichelleWood

We were so excited about picking up our new Vengeance toy hauler today. My husband is now so frustrated that I'm not sure he will be able to enjoy it. We made a gravel spot next to our driveway to park the trailer. He backed it in fine but could not get the hitch off the ball of the truck. Our driveway runs down hill and the truck was up higher than the trailer. We could not get the hitch raised high enough to go over the ball and pull the truck away. He finally had to put the trailer in a different location, next to the house, which is in the grass. I hope it doesn't sink down into the grass so we can't get it out when we need to. I'm not sure if any of this made since to you; I don't know the right vocabulary or lingo to use. But does anyone have suggestions on what we can do differently or how we can make this better or even just a word of encouragement? He is pretty discouraged right now and I think if he could take it back and forget the whole thing, he would.

Ummm.....you could...ummmmm....bring it over to my house and.....ummmmmm.......store it. It...ummmm...may not be there when you get back, but would it be having a fun time. ;-)))))

Sent from my iPad using Forest River Forums

wbdavey · 06-06-2015, 05:15 PM

To the OP. Your signature indicates a Vengence 31V which is a tow behind toy hauler. Ignore all the advice above that relates to 5th wheels.. The most likely solution is to raise the front of the trailer higher. As recommended above, ensure the trailer wheels are securely chocked so the trailer can't roll in either direction. Put a thick block of wood at least 4" tall under the trailer tongue jack. You may also have to put short 2 X 8 boards under the front wheels of the truck (raise the front to lower the hitch a little). I would not try to raise the back of the travel trailer. If none of this works, get back to us and we'll try again.
P.S. I always leave my safety chains attached until the trailer is unhitched and stationary (had a runaway boat once).

CC4 · 06-06-2015, 09:55 PM

I have an 8 inch block that I put under the trailer hitch to allow it to rise above the truck hitch ball for connections and disconnections. I park on a 10% uphill grade and I need that height to level for my fridge to continue working after I'm docked at home. If it still doesn't disconnect after you have the required height sometimes a little gentle persuasion with a rubber mallet is necessary to disconnect the tongue from the ball.

asquared · 06-06-2015, 10:40 PM

You likely had weight pulling on the ball. As others said, put snowboards under the Jack. We used to use a 1 foot length of 4x6 under ours. Was the problem opening the coupler or getting the ball out of the hitch? If the problem is the coupler then you need to rock your truck a bit to release the pressure after the trailer has been chocked in place. Make sure the Jack is not putting pressure pulling the rear of the truck up until after the coupler is open. Once the coupler is open then raise the Jack. If it is still sticking sometimes you have to bounce on the rear of the truck a bit (I used to do this on the hitch receiver/shank portion.) This will usually give you success. Keep in mind if the hill is too steep this is bad for your fridge.

Wolverine 1945 · 06-07-2015, 07:24 AM

What ever you do,,, be very carful that the trailer can not roll into you,,, your truck,,, or even down the driveway !!! We had this same deal when we had a TT,,, there were times we had to move the truck a hair to get it to release,,, Not a good situation !!!
Our driveway has such a slop we had to raise the front of our approx. 3 feet,,, Scary !!!
We now have a MH,,, and we park it crossways,,, on blocks to level !!!

NCBBA11043 · 06-08-2015, 08:21 AM

In addition to putting blocks under the front jack, I usually put the front levelers/stabilizers down too. Gives me a little piece of mind that I have 3 points of contact on the ground. Sometimes I forgot I needed extra height under the jack . . .
I lower the front levelers, crank up the front jack enough to put a block under it and lower the front jack down again.

MichelleWood · 06-09-2015, 08:21 AM

Thanks everyone! With your help we were able to unhitch. Today we leave on our first camping trip so I'm praying for no major problems.

fonzie · 06-09-2015, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichelleWood

Thanks everyone! With your help we were able to unhitch. Today we leave on our first camping trip so I'm praying for no major problems.

So what have you done different than before that helped unhitch?

MichelleWood · 06-12-2015, 08:16 AM

We raised the front of the truck to lower the hitch and was able to unhitch. Later we figured out that the truck was turned at such an angle that the back side of the ball hitch was stuck. You live and learn.

**Flybob** · 06-12-2015, 08:23 AM

Another suggestion. Since your TH is on a slope, I recommend you find a way to temporarily attach the breakaway cable to or near the tongue jack switch. This way you have a safety stop should it ever start to roll. Just pull the cable to pull the pin. Just don't forget to then block the wheels well and replace the pin.

wpgman19 · 06-12-2015, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wolverine 1945

What ever you do,,, be very carful that the trailer can not roll into you,,, your truck,,, or even down the driveway !!! We had this same deal when we had a TT,,, there were times we had to move the truck a hair to get it to release,,, Not a good situation !!!
Our driveway has such a slop we had to raise the front of our approx. 3 feet,,, Scary !!!
We now have a MH,,, and we park it crossways,,, on blocks to level !!!

Hi Wolverine. What did you support your tongue with once you go the TT to the 3' height? I have the same issue (39" ground to tongue) and DW doesn't like the blend of cinder blocks/4x4's and 2x6's. Also the front stabilizers need 12-20" of cb/4x4/2x6 - also not pretty enough apparently!

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