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Old 01-13-2011, 11:18 PM   #11
BigBear
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Yes, I have a steep driveway that i think is greater than 13% and it is shown in the pdfs in one of the previous posts. I already had the lift kit having a 2007 2720SL but I would agree with the others to add a lift kit first which would raise things 2.5 inches and perhaps also go to 15 inch wheels with the load D range tires instead of 14 inch which will also raise the trailer another inch and provide additional load capacity and safety. If you are interested in the trailmanor bike hitch receiver to carry a couple of bikes thentwo paxtron swivel castor skid wheels can fairly easily be added. It is important they are swivel as you generally turn as well when backing up and non swivel castors will scrape the concrete as well as I found out with the first non swivel castor I bought. However the wheels and tires, bike receiver and skids in total costed about $1000 and this did not include having to do a lift kit. Anyway as others noted I would first try the lift kit as a starter and go from there. A gutter board helps and backing up in a big gradual curve rather than straight back give you a lot more clearance but you need a spotter for this as it is difficult to see the far side of the garage. I raised my garage door to 8.5 feet from 7 feet as well for another $3000 but this was for another trailer I purchased before the trailmanor so I would also check you existing clearances to your garage door when backing up so you don't have any other surprises if you lift your trailer up.
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Old 01-14-2011, 12:19 AM   #12
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I may be totally missing something but I've had this problem many times. In my case, the answer has been trigonometry. If backing straight results in driveway angle x, backing in at an angle will be at some fraction of that driveway angle. So make an arc as you start back onto the incline, then straighten out on the incline. I like to back to where the driveway and street meet - that is where the passenger side trailer tire goes - at about a 25 degree angle from trailer to street. Then crank and get her up there. It has never failed me. If that makes no sense, chalk it up to being past my bedtime.
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Old 01-14-2011, 12:43 AM   #13
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BTW - Are you sure you have 13" wheels? If so, 1) I don't think they are factory; and 2) your tires are probably woefully inadequate to carry the weight of the trailer. The size of the tire should be printed on the sidewall -- something like 205 70/R14.

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Old 01-14-2011, 06:42 AM   #14
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With our driveway, there's no way we can get our TM up it. Prior to the TM we had a pop-up with a 14' box. We could get it up the driveway and onto a concrete pad I had poured, but it wasn't pretty. The rear of the pop-up would start to drag on the street, and soon after the tires of the pop-up would come completely off the road! We decided that with the 3124 and extra 10' of length we wouldn't even attempt it. Don't know the % grade of the driveway, but it's pretty steep.

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Old 01-14-2011, 08:36 AM   #15
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I have attached a picture of the driveway and the TM. I tried verifying the tires but since it is folded down, I couldn't find anything but a "TR 643". I looked for the R and a size but didn't see it. When we pop it back up, I can find that I presume (I even got down on my hands and knees but I could still only see about 1/2 of a tire).

We thought maybe we could get it up with good use of the caster at the front of the TM but that means pulling 3000 lbs up the driveway by hand, which doesn't exactly appeal My husband did work on the WDH and fixed the one scissor jack that the dealer didn't retract all the way and we are going to try again tonight. I'll take photos during the process so we can see exactly what is going on. The idea of a bike rack is something we have talked about so that we could attach the generator on it. If that means it will solve this problem too, I guess we should do it sooner than later!

-Amy
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Old 01-14-2011, 09:01 AM   #16
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That driveway really does not look bad. The problem I see is it looks like there is a deep dip where the gutter is. As suggested previously, use some heavy boards with some support or some method to bridge that dip I think you will be fine.

I tried to use Paint to show what I'm talking about. The red line is what I think the contour of the ground is. The blue is the "bridge" to be constructed. Two would have to be constructed, one per wheel, of course.

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Old 01-14-2011, 10:27 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gmferg View Post
That driveway really does not look bad. The problem I see is it looks like there is a deep dip where the gutter is. As suggested previously, use some heavy boards with some support or some method to bridge that dip I think you will be fine.

I tried to use Paint to show what I'm talking about. The red line is what I think the contour of the ground is. The blue is the "bridge" to be constructed. Two would have to be constructed, one per wheel, of course.

Attachment 5545
gmferg is absolutely correct. Either backing in at an angle or building a bridge with 2x6's should solve your driveway problem. Also the rear of your trailer is low in that pi. I can't tell if it's hitched up or on the tongue jack but it is important that the trailer be level front to rear while hitched up.

The better solution is still the lift kit. There will always be gas stations, VG and other driveways that may be worse than yours.

The guy that I bought my trailer from had the driveway below and no lift kit. He used a bridge.
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Old 01-14-2011, 10:52 AM   #18
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Amy - A couple of things:

1) Those tires don't look like they are on 13" wheels. TM used 14" wheels in 2004, so that would be consistent with what one would expect. Once you can get a better view of the tire, you'll also want to look for the 4-number date code, normally enclosed in a circle, which tells you the date of manufacture. The first 2 numbers tell you the week of the year, and the last 2 numbers tell you the year. A code of 0406 means the tire was manufactured during the 4th week of 2006. If your tires are less than 3 years old, you are probably fine. If they are 3.5-4 years or older, replace the tires, regardless of how the tread looks. Otherwise, you are risking a blowout, which aren't pretty (or safe). Whenever you replace them, consider replacing your wheels with 15" wheels to even further reduce your chance of blowouts. Lots of info on that here on the forum.

2) A 13% grade is pretty steep. That's about 7.5 degrees. My driveway is 6 degrees (about 10.5%), as you can see in the picture in post #24 of this thread, and I can get up the driveway just fine with the 2" lift kit (using 14" tires, too).
http://www.trailmanorowners.com/foru...t=10910&page=3

When the TM is connected to my TV, it is parallel to the ground.

3) I too would bet that placing some 2x6 or 2x8 or whatever boards across that dip, and then backing over the boards, should solve your problem. But as others have suggested, I would get the lift kit as you'll encounter other spots like this during travel. When you do this, you also may need to raise the ball on your TV.

Dave
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Old 01-14-2011, 11:43 AM   #19
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I've got to agree - that driveway really isn't bad. Mine is a bit worse, and there are many on the board worse than mine.

Summary of the solutions presented above, in order of ease, more or less.

1. Release the springbar chains. This will lower the back of the tow vehicle an inch or two, and raise the back of the TM by about half that amount. That may be enough, and it may cause your hitch to drag. Hey, nothing is free, right?

2. When the tow vehicle's rear wheels get in the gutter, that lowers the front of the TM and raises the rear, so I wouldn't expect the back of the TM to hit the pavement at this point. Does the hitch hit the pavement at this point? It did in my driveway. If so, raise the level of the gutter. Rather than constructing a bridge, just lay a short length of 2x6 in the gutter, parallel to the curb (not bridging across it) where each tire will go. For me, one under each wheel was enough - if you need two thicknesses, so be it.

3. Go to WalMart's little RV section, and spend $20 on a plain old hitch with a new ball. Get one with a 2" drop - if it is the wrong value, you can exchange it. You wouldn't want to tow far with this hitch, but it is more than fine for working in the driveway.

A lift kit is not a bad idea, but it is a much bigger deal than the other suggestions above. Don't forget that TM made trailers for decades before anyone thought of a lift kit, and they worked in all those driveways.

For what it is worth, your driveway slope isn't anywhere near 13%. When you get high up into the Rocky Mountains, you will find slopes up to 10% to be reasonably common (but steep!), and a 12% grade is both rare and very hard to get up. Slope is rise over run. From your photo, I'd estimate that you have a 2.5-inch rise (~0.2 feet) in about an 18 foot run, or 1.3%. Possibly he mixed feet and inches to get 13%.

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Old 01-14-2011, 01:04 PM   #20
TMMiniVan
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Thanks all! We will try again tonight with a bridge from scrap (we have enough scrap wood in the garage that it should work). I'll post some pictures and I'll also check the tires tonight.

Regarding tires: I am a newbie at towing (as you can probably tell). My husband has towed his dad's boat but that is it. Why are 15" tires better? I don't want any blowouts as I don't even know where the spare is! So I like the idea of better tires but want to know why it is better. I will call around to the RV dealers here to get some prices. Is there a best brand of tires also? The nearest TM dealership is 3.5 hours away but I figure a local RV dealer can handle tire changes and/or a lift package installation.

-Amy
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