Width of Trailmanor - with awning

I'm thinking that when you raise the TM with the jacks, the axel will drop down due to unweighting the wheels. I haven't done this so I don't know - but can you raise the TM high enough with the jacks to get a dolly under the wheel? I'd be wary of using the dolly under the jacks for the reason stated above - no lateral stability.
Just a thought.
Alan

[Bill]

Years ago, TM used the same lightweight drop-down stabilizers that are used on small pop-up campers. But at least 10 years ago, TM switched to real jacks. I don't remember the actual numbers, but I think that each one of the today's jacks has more than enough capacity to lift the entire TM. I'm thinking 5000 pounds apiece? Lateral stability is certainly as good as any car jack - or any bottle jack, for that matter. I suppose that if a dolly does get stuck while the TM is moving fast, it might bend. Aside from the bent jack, the only thing that would happen is that the weight of the TM would come back down on the tire.

Bill

I have been sitting back and watching this thread develop, and am going to add my .02….again.

Originally Posted by ThePair

In that case, a 2000# dolly on each corner = 8000# of lift, which should be more than enough for a TM that will be towed by a minivan with a 3500# rating :P

I'd imagine those curved wheel dollies mentioned previously would do the trick, or (in your opinion) should I seek out something flatter. I can see arguments both ways...probably wouldn't matter too much in the long run, either way.

I am not to sure that dollies at each corner are a good idea. With what I can remember with high school geometry, a plane (flat surface) can be made from any 3 points, but not necessarily from 4 points. So, is you have a dip or hump in your driveway or garage, 1 of the 4 jacks might come off of the dolly, with all of the weight going to the other 3.

The dollies that are shown from Northern Tools in this thread have a curved bottom, to fit a car tire. I wonder if the dolly will be able to accept the concentrated weight of the jack base.

Originally Posted by mcgyver210

I personally don't see why two of those & a wheel on the tongue wouldn't work my self.

This might be a better solution, but still wonder about the increased concentrated weight of the TM jacks on the dollies.

Originally Posted by AstroBruce

The stabilizer jacks are not designed for lateral stresses. If one of the dollies gets stuck in a crack, the stabilizer will bend and collapse.

Another concern of mine. Even thought the newer TMs have the heavy duty Liftco jacks, they are made to lift strait up and down. I would be concerned with the lateral stability in case of a excessive load, in the case of a dolly wheel getting stuck in a crack. Slow and easy would be the rule, with someone watching each dolly.

JMHO, of course.

Chap

[ShrimpBurrito]

But using the scissor jacks/stabilizers on dollies, which perhaps not an ideal solution, may be worth a shot. Sure the stabilizers may collapse, but as Bill mentioned, this is not critical -- the TM will simply fall an inch or two right onto the tire. Worst case scenario seems to be that you damage the stabilizer jack beyond repair, which cost about $80. It is not a safety issue.

Dave

[mcgyver210]

The comments made by Chap was part of why I suggested:

1. use dollies on the wheels. &
2. Use some sort of industrial swivel caster wheels that could be attached or removed from the jacks on the corners. This may require some modifications to the base of the base of the jacks.

The idea is to make it movable & take the lateral stress off the jacks & also help the dollies with the weight.

If you do this you would have allot less chance of damaging the jacks since in reality they would only be stabilizing the weight so that the dollies could safely hold the trailer up. As for the garage floor I do move heavy equipment on my garage floors with dollies etc. Aren't most garages smooth already?

No matter what you have for the dollies if the floor isn't smooth you could have an issue with movement since most dollies are made for smooth surfaces in the first place. If your floor has cracks etc just fill them in & make them smooth technology has made this easier now days. Even a extension cord on the floor can cause a smooth surface wheel to stop.


You could also look for dollies with pneumatic tires which wouldn't have any issues with going over rough surfaces due to the give in tires.

On another side I have seen dollies that will hold all the weight from the trailer with no issues with weight.

[ThePair]

The dolly use would be primarily on the driveway. So talk about rough patches and stuff is actually more important to me than worrying about a seam within the flat and level floor of my garage

What have you seen that will hold all the weight? the 2000# dollies should do it (under the wheels of the TM), but I'd need to jack up the TM each time to put them on/take them out, right? Is that a difficult process, or is it so simple/quick that it's a no-brainer? Would something like this work?

1. lower the tongue
2. extend the rear stabilizer/lifts all the way down
3. raise the tongue (assuming a motorized tongue jack) until the wheels are off the ground
4. position the wheel dollies.
5. lower the tongue and/or read lifts until the weight is safely back on the tires.
6. roll using the dollies & tongue jack wheel
7. reverse to remove

Would that be the workflow?

Thanks!

Marc

Originally Posted by ThePair

The dolly use would be primarily on the driveway. So talk about rough patches and stuff is actually more important to me than worrying about a seam within the flat and level floor of my garage

What have you seen that will hold all the weight? the 2000# dollies should do it (under the wheels of the TM), but I'd need to jack up the TM each time to put them on/take them out, right? Is that a difficult process, or is it so simple/quick that it's a no-brainer? Would something like this work?

1. lower the tongue
2. extend the rear stabilizer/lifts all the way down
3. raise the tongue (assuming a motorized tongue jack) until the wheels are off the ground
4. position the wheel dollies.
5. lower the tongue and/or read lifts until the weight is safely back on the tires.
6. roll using the dollies & tongue jack wheel
7. reverse to remove

Would that be the workflow?

Thanks!

Marc

It will interesting to see if anyone has tried that. I don't think you would able to get enough lift of the tires to place the dollies underneath with this method. And instead of lifting just 500 lbs. or so of tongue weight, you would now be lifting about 1/2 the weight of the TM with the tongue jack, because you have changed the fulcrum point. You would probably lifting 1500 lbs. or so with the jack at this point, although I believe they are rated at 2000 lbs. Also, it will might put a strain on the frame doing it that way.

Your best bet might just be to do it with a bottle or floor jack. But, don't lift it under the axles.....according to Dexter, that is a no-no. And chock the wheels/dollies before lifting the opposite side so that the TM will stay on the jack. Safety 1st.

Hopefully members that have tried your suggested method might chime in.

Chap

After a weekend of camping, you go through all this work to get the TM in the garage and you hear your cell phone ringing from within the TM. There has to be a better way!

[ThePair]

Originally Posted by AstroBruce

After a weekend of camping, you go through all this work to get the TM in the garage and you hear your cell phone ringing from within the TM. There has to be a better way!

Which is exactly why I'm bringing it to the experts!

(That's all of you, if you didn't get that )

It's too bad those hydraulic dollies aren't strong enough...no jacking needed for those. But, they're just not enough, which is what makes this more difficult.

I'm all ears for any other ideas...

Marc

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by ThePair

Which is exactly why I'm bringing it to the experts!

(That's all of you, if you didn't get that )

It's too bad those hydraulic dollies aren't strong enough...no jacking needed for those. But, they're just not enough, which is what makes this more difficult.

I'm all ears for any other ideas...

Marc

Watch craigslist.com for a used conveyor belt system. Some of them are only about 1 1/2" from bottom to top belt. You could back onto the belt (with a small ramp) and push the trailer over like closing a drawer. If the conveyor belt were 2 pieces, you could remove the 1st piece and stow it under the trailer.
http://mini-mover.com/pages/lp_series.cgi

These dollies may be more realistic:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W1VGQY?...0&linkCode=asn

Those dollies from Harbor Freight are only rated at 1000#.......that's 1000# per wheel MAX. They are not suitable for a TM that could easily weight 1500# per wheel.