Hand Dolly

I am looking for opinions on the use of hand dollies to move my TM. I noticed Wade mentioned in his posts in Tips and Tricks that he uses one on his TM and likes it. (Wade, if you read this: What type did you get and where did you get it from? Thanks). Does anyone else use one?

I have some good size trees on my property that make turning my TM around in my driveway a chore. I have looked at the dollies and wonder how good they work. I can't see paying all that money for the electric models that I think will work, and wonder about the hand ones. What can I realistically do with one? Could I move my TM all over my yard? On dirt, grass and pavement? Or would I be looking at moving it a few feet and only on pavement?

Thanks for any opinions .

IMHO, I'm by far an expert in hand dolly's, but working with body shops, and frame shops, (automotive) I can put some perspective on the electric ones. We know some people that have a frame shop, and I do know the expense of an electric hand dolly. As age set in and getting tired of pushing stuff around by hand, they were faced with the very same situation. For a few bucks more, they got one of those little bobcat thingy's and modified the front so's they could move cars around safely, the same could be said about a TM, plus they have a bobcat which can do a whole lot more than just move stuff around. They bought it used for only 400 more than what the electric hand dolly cost.......Just an idea/thought....and it may or may not be a workable solution for ya, but it will get the TM wherever ya want it, and you can use it for a lot more than just moving your trailer around..............hope this helps!

Happytrails

A couple years ago, I picked up a manual hand dolly. Camping World at that time was selling them for $150.00. Then I discovered that my favorite source for neat stuff (Harbor Freight) had them for $50.00. They were identical. At the time, I felt that I could move my trailer around with this as long as the surface was flat and even. Since then, I have had a few medical procedures that may require that I not even try it. Yet, I still think that if these conditions are met, I could still do it. Mine has a handle on it much like a lawn mower. The tires are pneumatic. I do feel that the position of the handle bar is not matched to where my body strength is. It would seem that most push of a lawnmower comes mainly from the arms. Maybe someone could come up with a dolly on which the tongue of the trailer sits. Then one would push on the trailer rather than on handles that are about four feet from the pivot point. I have frequently moved trailers by having the tongue travel on the tongue dolly. It worked well for smaller trailers at least.

I did install a trailer hitch on the front of my tow vehicle. It cost about $150.00. Boy what a slick deal this is. We have a very tight turn that is required in our alley while backing our trailer into its slot. We made it in one try using the tongue on the front. It went so slick, that there were no words exchanged between by co-pilot and me. In fact I wanted to pull it out and do it again and again but she wouldn't let me. I can't wait for camping season to come to an end again next year.

Hal

I believe that it may be possible to install a hitch ball on the rear of a riding lawn mower and use the mower as a tow vehicle to move a TM around. Most riding mowers have engines of at least 12 to 15 HP and a very short turning radius. The mowers, of course, would not be able to support the 350 to 450 lb. hitch weight of most TMs- unless that weight were supported by a swiveling caster just behind the trailer's tongue.

Our 3124KS has a swiveling caster that can be placed on the bottom of the shaft of the hitch jack. That is, while a TM is hitched to its tow vehicle, the foot pad would be taken off and replaced with the caster. Then the modified riding mower should be strong enough to tow and turn the trailer with ease. One precautionary note: I've noticed that our hitch jack's attachment to the trailer's frame appears to be a little flimsy. Therefore, in the case of my TM I would have to beef up the jack's attachment to the frame before subjecting it to the lateral loads that would be imposed on it by using it to support a swiveling caster.

If a TM owner already owned a riding mower, making these modifications to mower and TM might be a relatively inexpensive alternative to purchasing an electric tow vehicle or a Bobcat. Just a thought!
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Hal's suggestion for mounting a hitch on the front of the tow vehicle is a good one. We have done that on a variety of cars and trucks over the years, orginally for retreiving boats but it sure came in handy on a multitude of other trailers.

Aaron

Hal, that's a pretty good idea with the front hitch, I hadn't thought about that before, but yes, I might even have to do that as I've a tight turn to get mine in my driveway as well. The reason the bobcat came to mind with me over a riding lawn mower as I have a very steep grade in my driveway, and the lawnmower wouldn't have enough power to get it up into the driveway. Basically, right across the street from my house is about 3 feet of grass, then woods, so backing my TM in the driveway can be a nightmare sometimes.

Happytrails

It was amazing how having a hitch on the front of my tow vehicle simplified “backing” our trailer in for storage. The old way was an exercise of futility. I never quite understood my wife’s hand gestures. I never new whether her waiving both hands frantically meant to stop or to speed up. Or when she waved her hand to the left, she meant my left, her left or the rearview mirror’s left. I was usually wrong, whatever my decision. Some times I would be so close to parked and then would have to pull it out and start over. Like the time I prided myself in parking the trailer about one inch from the side wall. That took some skill. Then when spring came, I had to call AAA to have them hook onto the side of the trailer to pull it away from the wall so that I could get it out.

Now I sit in the driver’s seat and observe. If I need to move the back end 1/16 of an inch, I can do it gracefully and without a lot of expletives. I now control every inch of movement. My co-captain claims she will file for unemployment compensation if I fire her. So, I just let her waive her hands off. A slight turn of the stirring wheel and I can adjust the rearward direction myself without referring my wife’s code book for Railroad hand signals or trying to figure out the Navajo language.

Hal

Hal,

You need to send this last post to Highways magazine or something. I haven't stop laughing for the last 15 minutes. I've been saying the same thing for the last two years but I refer to it as spasms.

Hal, where did you purchase your hitch for the front end? I've seen them everywhere for the rear end, and knew they existed, but got to thinking where to buy one....especially for $150.00! Another use for the hitch would be a place to mount a winch I got a while back, if I get stuck somewhere, I can simply pull it off the back, (or front depending on where it's at at the time and where I need it) and pull myself out. If you were curious about just how hairy pulling the TM into my driveway is, there's a pic at: http://members.aol.com/br768 down towards the bottom, you'll see the one with the boat across the street with a tractor parked behind it. Basically that's the only room I have to play with, then there's the fact I have to get it as close to the wall on the curb side as possible to be able to have both room for firewood, and a place to walk to be able to use my stairs........


Happytrails

As mentioned by Larry Loo we use a caster wheel but on a 2720. It works well for moving in and out of our garage. However, manuevering around 3000lbs on minor driveway grades is work even using two persons. I wouldn't recommend this unless one is quite able.