Maiden Voyage Near Perfect Until.....

[Gkconfer]

We picked up our new trailer in Ohio this weekend and had an enjoyable two days camping and getting familiar with our new home on wheels. All went extremely well until the final twenty feet of our journey home. And that is where the problem began.

My driveway slopes down toward the back of our property and levels out at the bottom. While backing the tt down the driveway, the V-shaped metal supports located just ahead of the holding tanks at the rear of the undercarriage made contact with the driveway. I stopped to prevent any damage and, after puzzling over the problem, opted to put the tt in temporary storage until I find a solution.

One possible solution I came up with is to use 4x8 sheets of plywood to build a ramp graduated in height to the center and then stepped back down to the asphalt beyond the point where the metal struck the pavement. If anyone else has had a similar experience, I would appreciate hearing how you solved the problem. I would also appreciate any feedback you may have in how to resolve the situation. Thanks in advance for your help.

[sherdep]

Not sure if this could be a possible help to a solution but maybe mounting the roller wheels to that section that hits the ground might help un;ess you dont think the piece will support that much weight. go to www.campingworld.com and look up skid wheels so what I am talking about
Ultra-fab Products - Steel Mini Roller, Weld-on - Skid Wheels - Camping World

my father used them on the back end of his motor home for a similar issue where he would back in and the hitch would hit the ground so he put these skid wheels on to take allow it to roll over it instead of scraping

Can you get some pictures of the area you are trying to get the TT into as well might help someone with a better solution.

[Gkconfer]

Sherdep,
Thanks for the suggestion. Attached (I hope), are photos if the driveway from top and bottom as well as a shot of the V-shaped contact point. It's hard to say of the roller wheels and the strut will hold up under the weight of the trailer or whether the wheels can be welded to the bottom of the strut, but it's a start in the right direction. Thanks.

[Rugged Brown]

Disconnect the WDH and let the trailer weight lower the tongue and raise th eback of the trailer. It will give you a bit of extra clearance in the back of the TT. I've done that in the past with some success , depending on the grade.

[Gkconfer]

Thanks for the suggestion, RB. I'm about to show my lack of knowledge, but what exactly do you mean when you say disconnect the WDH"? I have an equalizer WDH with sway bars. How do you disconnect the WDH and keep the tt attached to the tow vehicle?

[MtnGuy]

I think what Rugged Brown means is take the spring bars only off. The trailer will still be connected to your tow vehicle, but you will no longer have the lift provided by the spring bars, settling the tongue of the trailer down and in turn raising the back. If that works, then it is a quick solution....plus you hafta release those spring bars anyway when you disconnect. But now that the tongue is lower, you will have to make sure the hitch does not drag when the truck approaches the trough.

If that doesn't give you quite enough clearance, you could place a board or 2 under the wheels right where it begins to rub. Once the rear of the trailer is out of the trough, then you should be good to go.

[Gkconfer]

Thanks mtnguy. That's a big help. I'll try that suggestion before I move on to plan B with the wood under the wheels. Do I need to remove the bars from the hitch or just release them from where they are pinned to the WDH? Thanks for your help.

[MtnGuy]

I think with Equalizer you can just take them off of the L-Brackets on the trailer tongue and swing them around, if you want to leave them on the hitch.

BTW, I hit the moderators edit button instead of the quote button on your last post, so the "edited by mtnguy" now shows up....my bad.

[Gkconfer]

Thanks again, Mtguy. I assume that if the back end clears but the front or the hitch catch, I can just reattach the sway bars and lift the front end. What do you think?

[MtnGuy]

Yes, that would be a lot of trouble, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

[Rugged Brown]

Originally Posted by mtnguy

I think what Rugged Brown means is take the spring bars only off. The trailer will still be connected to your tow vehicle, but you will no longer have the lift provided by the spring bars, settling the tongue of the trailer down and in turn raising the back. If that works, then it is a quick solution....plus you hafta release those spring bars anyway when you disconnect. But now that the tongue is lower, you will have to make sure the hitch does not drag when the truck approaches the trough.

If that doesn't give you quite enough clearance, you could place a board or 2 under the wheels right where it begins to rub. Once the rear of the trailer is out of the trough, then you should be good to go.

exactly what i meant. thanks for clarifying.

[MtnGuy]

RB, didn't no when you might be back on the forum, so that is why I chimed in.

[Rugged Brown]

Originally Posted by mtnguy

RB, didn't no when you might be back on the forum, so that is why I chimed in.

No problem.. I have to do some work between checking out the forum news.

[Gkconfer]

Thanks guys. I'll give it a try as soon as my son gets here to assist. Sounds like the boards under the tv tire would come in handy if the rear clears but the hitch makes contact at the other end.

[sherdep]

if removing the bars works and the front hits you might be able to use a wheel on the tongue jack to help as well but might lift the back end up - just go slow which I am pretty sure you already know this.

I know if I do not have my bars for the equalizer attached to the truck - the rear of my truck drops a full inch so it may raise the back enough to clear.

[sherdep]

just had another thought as well - I remember another member on here contacted the factory about some sort of a lift kit for his micro lite 23B - user name is teamgl
Maybe that is another idea as well.