How steep of a driveway before bottoming out?

[dm6]

I have a driveway that slopes downhill to my garage and am thinking when I get a trailer in the future, I will clear some space right next to my garage and park it there. Is there some way to determine whether or not a trailer will drag the rear going down the driveway into the flat slab? Is there like a certain slope or length of the driveway I can measure to figure if it will work or not?

[BrandonSmith]

Just get something long and straight that you can wedge under your tire and touch to the bottom of your bumper (or whatever your lowest rearward point is). You can then see how much angle that is (smartphones have angle finders to get a precise angle). Then you can measure the angle of your driveway.

EDIT: I suppose this would work if you wanted to carry a long pipe or board with you when you go trailer shopping lol

[corn18]

Originally Posted by BrandonSmith

Just get something long and straight that you can wedge under your tire and touch to the bottom of your bumper (or whatever your lowest rearward point is). You can then see how much angle that is (smartphones have angle finders to get a precise angle). Then you can measure the angle of your driveway.

EDIT: I suppose this would work if you wanted to carry a long pipe or board with you when you go trailer shopping lol

Your method works great with a string.

[dm6]

Great idea guys! I'll have to bring my string and protractor to the dealerships when I go looking

[rsdata]

much depends on 3 things:
1. how long of a trailer did you buy?
2. how high is the rear bumper?
3. how high is your hitch/wdh bars dip? ( you can remove the bars)

I don't think you can determine how those three things interact before you buy, but 2 x 8 lumber can always help that situation by driving the trailer tires onto them.

[aircommuter]

It also depends on how much vertical curve the approach to the parking area has.
Driveways and roads almost always have vertical curves to make transitions better and reduce bottoming out.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by rsdata

much depends on 3 things:
1. how long of a trailer did you buy?
2. how high is the rear bumper?
3. how high is your hitch/wdh bars dip? ( you can remove the bars)

I don't think you can determine how those three things interact before you buy, but 2 x 8 lumber can always help that situation by driving the trailer tires onto them.

Well...you can always remove the WDH bars out in the street, before you go into the driveway (and install after you're out), but I suspect the OP is more concerned about the rear end of the trailer than the hitch area.

[dsiegler]

I have to place "2 bys" in the gutter when I back into my son's driveway near Ft Worth TX because they have high crowned streets and the driveway also has quite a pitch. The "2 bys" work there. But I once pulled out of a restaurant's lot onto a street where I should have stopped, backed up, and gone a different way. It ruined my electric stabilizing bars which was quite expensive to replace.

[Tundra 2014]

X-2 Rsdata.

[blufrog1]

Back in the day we used to mount small wheels usually 4" under the rear bumper for when it bottomed out coming out of a filling station etc. Saved many a bumper from destruction and it was very cost friendly. Just sayin

[dm6]

Originally Posted by rsdata

much depends on 3 things:
1. how long of a trailer did you buy?
2. how high is the rear bumper?
3. how high is your hitch/wdh bars dip? ( you can remove the bars)

I don't think you can determine how those three things interact before you buy, but 2 x 8 lumber can always help that situation by driving the trailer tires onto them.

Oh yeah, that's a great idea! So you are saying if the back end starts to get close to the ground and looks like it is going to hit, just put some 2 x 8s under the tires to raise the back up a bit until the front end levels out and the whole trailer is clear of hitting?