Frame Question

That is something I didn't think of Tim. Wonder if the breakaway break would work if TV was not connected? Using the TV is the problem since the garage sits 8' from the alley on an incline of 0-15" makes it difficult when I don't have very much wiggle room to maneuver TV. Neighbors garage sits close to alley accross from me as well. I did e-mail my dealer to get input from him but haven't heard anything yet. Putting a hitch on the rear bumper did occur to me however most rear hitch topics on the form give limits way under 3000#,or is the actual weight of the TM calculated differently when pulling rather than scale weight? Thanks everyone for your help.

[Bill]

Dave -

To start with, I have to ask this. If you are going to winch it into the garage, and winch it out, is there any reason that it has to be backed in? Why not run it in forward? Then you simply attach your winch cable to the TM's normal hitch, and the whole question of where to attach a cable goes away.

Assuming you do have to back it in, my thinking goes like this.

First, it is obvious, I think, that the force needed to pull a weight up a ramp depends on the steepness of the ramp. If you have a very shallow ramp, it is easy to pull a weight up it, but if you have a steep ramp, it takes a lot of force to pull a weight up it.

In this specific case, you appear to have a 15 inch rise in 8 feet of run, so you have a ramp angle of about 9 degrees. If I have done the math right, this means that you will need a pulling force equal to about 15% of the weight of the trailer in order to pull it up the ramp. To be conservative, let's say your trailer weighs 3500 pounds. That means you will need a pulling force of 525 pounds to get it up the ramp.

This is clearly more than you are going to do by hand. And it is quite possibly more than one of the expensive electric trailer dollies will do for you, though I have no specs on those. So a winch is probably a good solution. [Note that you can't just screw the winch to the front wall of the garage - it will probably pull the wall out unless you brace it somehow.]

On the other hand, 525 pounds isn't really very much force when compared to the strength of the TM frame, and the stresses that it must bear in normal operation. So if you can apply this force to the frame members, I think you would be in good shape. I think I would get a nylon tow strap as mentioned by larsdennert, and either
a) loop it through the triangular skids, as Tim suggested. I believe that the skids are welded to the frame members. OR
b) loop it around the ends of the bumper, right where the bumper is welded to the frame, so that the pull is immediately transferred to the frame. Access to the bumper ends might not be as easy on a 2006 model as it was on the earlier models where the sewer hose was carried in the bumper.

Either way, the pulling force on each frame member is only half of 525 pounds, which is really pretty small. And make the loop nice and long, so that the forces on the strap itself are aligned more or less parallel to the trailer.

I'm not sure that I would pull it with a bumper hitch. The hitch can certainly take it, but I am concerned about the bumper itself. It is probably OK - 525 pounds doesn't seem like a big pullforce - but I am just not sure how much force it would take to bend the center of the bumper backward.

Finally, the breakaway switch is powered by the TM battery, so it should work even if the tow vehicle is disconnected. However, if the strap snaps or the winch breaks, and the trailer is suddenly running down the ramp loose, who is going to pull the cable? It would be a better idea to have someone moving some blocks right up behind the trailer wheels as you pull the trailer - at least until you've done it a couple times.

Bill

Thanks for your insight and number crunching Bill. You certainly brought up a valid point about pulling in forward. The problem is the space lengthwise is only 19' and moving the TM after the swing away hitch is moved out of the way is out of the question right? As for attaching the winch I thought I could used angle iron connected to the three threaded rods buried in concrete which hold wall.
I guess I had my new garage built 8 years too soon.

First I want to thank everyone who posted ideas for my questions on towing my TM up an incline in to my garage. Today My DW, a neighbor and I were successful in putting the TM in the garage. I did use a 18' nylon strap with hooks put thru the two "drag" triangles at the rear of the TM. I folded the strap and put it thru the triangles and hooked on to the strap its self. We then attached the hook from the 3000# winch and took out the slack. I un-hooked the trailer after backing Tm at the start of the slope. I needed to let the wheel on the tow end up to prevent triangles from scraping concrete drive. The winch was geared slow enought that it worked like a charm. DW had the remote for the winch and we directed the TM in the direction we wanted it to go while DW watched the back wall of the garage. I blocked wheels when it was in place and raised the jacks up to take weight off the swing away hitch. I have 6-8" between the door and TM and 4" from the back wall.
This is inside a space of 19'. I was worried about the height since I have a lift kit(2") and the low profile a/c(14 1/2") with a garage door opening of 81"
Turns out I had 4" to spare. I measured the height of the TM on the alley and it was only 77" Not sure why?
Again thanks everyone!

FWIW, I have marked a spot on the garage floor where I set one wheel chock. Then when I back the TM I stop when I feel it hit the chock. I never miss it. My neighbors are impressed. They think I can see it in the mirror. What I am actually doing is hugging the wall on the driver side, and I hit the wheel chock on the passenger side.

There are several marks on the back wall from the TM hitch receiver from before I put the mark on the floor for the chock.

If you set a wheel chock in the right place then DW won't have to watch the back wall. You your are not comfortable with your aim then just set a row of chocks across at the right distance out from the wall. You gotta be able to hit one of them.

An idea I've seen someone use with a boat trailer - to accomplish the same thing - was to purchase a parking stop, like is used in most parking lots. You can buy one for $50 or so at most cement fabricators.

Thanks Wayne & Joel, both good ideas. The DW has the remote for the winch so she can stop the TM at the precise spot while my neighbor and I are guiding the TM. I was able to guide the TM over to the side wall so I would have more room for the Caravan. Today since it was nice out (70) I washed and used Protects on the trailer. I also hooked up the battery charger since outside lights were getting dim. This form has been very helpful and I don't think you could find a greater bunch people to work with. Thanks again everyone!

Before I got the TM I was researching a means to push a trailer sideways. I saw some ramps that you could drive up onto and then push ti sideways up against the wall.

After getting the TM I found that I was able to back the TM into the garage within 4 inches of the wall. That is close enough for me.

I saw them either at J c Whitney or Northern Tool.

This would allow you to put the TM in the middle of a 2 car garage and then manually push it sideways until it is as close to the wall as you want to go.

I never tried it. I offer this as another option for the sake of completeness.

Yes Wayne I have seen them too. I think I saw them at Harbor Freight. That is a good idea, however I was plesantly please how well and fast the process went. From start to finish about ten minutes. The winch had a very slow speed which took the time. I wanted to leave space on wall for lawn mower, ladder, and us people here in Illinois a snow blower!
I have space all the way around the TM to clean and work on it and still have room for our Caravan. I spent around $105 total for the #3000 winch a 18' nylon tow strap and a free weld job from a friend for the base of the winch that I bolted to the floor. I have also had the idea of having a bracket welded to a trailer hitch so that the winch could be possibly used for other purposes too. Just a thought.