Mounting Trailer Valet

Got my Trailer Valet, still in the box, when my brain hit on something. I have a 2004 3023 with folding hitch and I use a weight distribution hitch. A mental picture came into my brain when I noticed in walking past my unit that the mounting ball for the wdh is just behind the hinge on the hitch and sticks out a couple of inches.

My possible problem will be the Valet may not have enough room to be folded up and I may have to put on and off, not a great option due to a bad back.

I cannot do the install right now so am hoping someone with similar system has already installed and has the solution all set up for me. Hopefully someone will just come on and tell me I am worrying about nothing, it worked fine.

[Bill]

When you say "the mounting ball for the wdh" are you by any chance referring to a friction sway control bar? This is not part of the WDH. You don't need sway control, and friction sway control is not the best choice. You might want to read this article on sway control from RockyMtnRay, our towing guru.

http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...ead.php?t=2923

If this is what you are referring to, and you are set on retaining it, can you mount the trailer valet on the other side?

Bill

Well Bill you caught me in one of my ever increasing in number "dumb moments".
I was referring to the wdh "hook" where the chain is connected from the torsion bar. Of course I do have a ball from a sway bar I do not use and had planned on removing it already. Guess my little fingers saw ball and typed it or something like that. If the valet is to be a permanent install it needs to be on the hinge side which is of little importance as there is a hook on both sides for the wdh.

Well got it mounted finally. It had to be mounted on the front side of the swing away hitch, adding a few pounds to the hinge, I will rest it on the wheels to minimize that issue and hopefully the welds will be happy.
My concern about the WDH were reasonably founded but not as big an issue as I thought it would be. The clearance is minimal but adequate in the tow/storage position but a half inch clearance is as good as a foot I guess.
All in all I am pleased with the purchase but wish they were a little more accurate in drilling some holes that have to match, I have one that is oblong rather than round, won't hurt anything but doing it right the first time would have been more impressive. Now I have to move all my stuff from under the TM and give this a try!
Next project on the TM is to mount my Ham radio antenna for fast and easy deployment.

[ChillEDog]

Have you had a chance to use your Trailer Valet yet ? How do you like it ? Thinking of getting one. Thanks.

Yes I finally tested it out. I at first had it mounted too far forward, just behind the WDH hitch connection but found that when folded up the wheel was too close to the receiver and would not allow right hand turns. It is now mounted so that the mounting bolts straddle the Propane tanks (but do not touch it) and all is well.

It does move my trailer, it takes a lot of revolutions in low gear and a lot of muscle in high gear. But it does move it. I have the following issues I am going to be talking to the folks who make it about, only one being of concern:
1. The brake does not latch if the trailer starts to roll, even on the slight incline of my drive, The brake needs to grab with more authority. I am not sure of the design as I have not opened anything up but when the trailer was rolling ever so slowly it sounded like a ratchet trying to catch.
2. The bolt that holds the mounting bracket and the valet together is also the pivot point for raising the assembly up for traveling. The bolt loosens a lot from this process--not a huge issue as there is a standard pin and clip holding them in position (same as what holds the ball assembly into the receiver of your tv) so I know it is not going anywhere- I just don't like the way the valet leans around under load.
3. I had to shim out the above assembly with fender washers in order for the pin to actually fit, the holes did not align at all and I found that one hole of the assembly was egg shaped in order for the mounting bolt to match up. Neither was a structural issue, just sloppy manufacturing.

Would I buy another if needed, yes. I have tried several other methods of backing my TM into the garage as my drive makes a 90 degree turn that the truck and TM cannot make together. Tractors, hand dollies, floor mounted winch did poorly, this gets the job done and for a reasonable amount of money.

[Kidkraz]

If possible could you post some pictures of it? I think I understand where you've attached it, but just want to make sure. Thanks in advance.

[ChillEDog]

Thank you for the detailed response. I am a little concerned about the amount of work - sounds like it takes a while to get the trailer in place. How long would you say it takes you to decouple from TV until the TM is in place ? I don't want to spend 1/2 an hour cranking...and one of my issues is, I'm on an alley, and I don't want to obstruct traffic. So an electric dolly might be an option.

OTOH my TM is a 2619, which might be more maneuverable than your 3024, since (presumably) it is lighter.

Thanks again.

Pictures of installation forthcoming as soon as it stops raining here!

My 3023 is above their weight limits but it works (they cautioned that the screw gear used to raise/lower was limiting factor so I use my electric unit on the camper). I would say it takes about 5 minutes to move the camper twice its length but remember my unit is a wee bit heavy for the valet, I am 69 with a bad back and arthritis to boot. I can move it in high gear but it caused pain, so I used low gear and took a little longer. The biggest issue is I could not see the back of the trailer and do this by myself, if there were a co-pilot I could have cut my time in half and not have had to jockey around so much. I am marking my drive (when it stops raining) so I can use markers to align as I am moving into the garage which should make it a snap. I would recommend this for a 3023 so anything smaller should be a no brain-er, I would not suggest for the bigger units though.

[ChillEDog]

Dave - great information, very helpful. Thank you.