Parking (storing) Question

10-14-2010, 07:01 PM

This is just too embarrassing to ask. I know you all are going to laugh at my stupidity, but I can not let my pride take a front seat to safety, so here goes. We have just purchased a 2007 TM #2619 and we are totally green to all of this. It is sitting at the top of our driveway which is mostly level at the top, however it does start to slope down right about where the tongue is.

We have a WD hitch on it that the dealer hooked up to our truck. There is a wheel that goes in (either before or after, I am not sure of the sequence) when you unhitch it from the TV.
Since it is a wheel, it rolls. We have a chock in from of each wheel of the TM, but I don’t feel that is secure enough. Are we supposed to lower the scissor jacks for further support. If so, do we crank them up slightly? My son is afraid to unhitch his truck from the TM, but he will eventually have to drive his truck, and can’t be tooling around town with a trailer attached.

How do we make sure it is secure enough, so it won’t roll down the driveway. Again, the TM wheels are on level ground I believe, but it does start to slope where the tongue is. We don’t have any other location to put it, so this is it. Should we not put the tongue wheel on it and instead get some blocks to put under tongue? Or would the stabilizer jacks do the trick?

Needless to say, the dealer who promised to go over everything with us, just whizzed through everything, and I barely got a 15 minute introduction, and he never even touched on this point.
This has got to get the award for the most naïve question ever asked.

**ShrimpBurrito** · 10-14-2010, 07:34 PM

First - no stupid questions here.

Second, I have a similar issue, but it sounds like my driveway is steeper. I did not trust the friction of a wheel chock on a decent incline, and since I wanted to eliminate virtually all risk of the trailer going on a solo trip into our neighbor's living room, I wanted a fool proof solution.

My driveway is inclined such that I back the trailer uphill. I made two 6x14 wheel chocks out of a 6x6 and 6x8 bolted and glued together. After I joined them, I went to a wood shop and had them cut an outline of the tire so it will snug up against it. The chock goes above the halfway point of the wheel, so there is no way the TM can run over it.

The chocks obviously go in front of the wheels. In front of the chocks is an 8-foot 6x6 that spans the width of the trailer. In the part of the 6x6 that is directly in front of each chock is a bolt that I drop through the 6x6 into a ~1/2" hole I drilled in the driveway, which is concrete. The bolt just slides in there, and you can remove it with your hand when you release the pressure of the trailer. Thus, the chock is not only braced by friction against the driveway, but it is also held by the sheer force of the bolt. In order for the chock to slide, that bolt has to break, and there is no way that is going to happen.

If that's not an option for you, you might look into some chocks designed for aircraft. With so much at stake, I don't think I'd just a chock from Camping World for this purpose...

Dave

**wbmiller3** · 10-14-2010, 08:39 PM

Since you need to get the truck out, and Dave's SuperChocks will take some time to make, do you have a tree or something you could chain the back bumper to? Obviously not a permanent solution but could get the truck loose.

10-15-2010, 08:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShrimpBurrito

My driveway is inclined such that I back the trailer uphill. I made two 6x14 wheel chocks out of a 6x6 and 6x8 bolted and glued together. After I joined them, I went to a wood shop and had them cut an outline of the tire so it will snug up against it. The chock goes above the halfway point of the wheel, so there is no way the TM can run over it.

The chocks obviously go in front of the wheels. In front of the chocks is an 8-foot 6x6 that spans the width of the trailer. In the part of the 6x6 that is directly in front of each chock is a bolt that I drop through the 6x6 into a ~1/2" hole I drilled in the driveway, which is concrete. The bolt just slides in there, and you can remove it with your hand when you release the pressure of the trailer. Thus, the chock is not only braced by friction against the driveway, but it is also held by the sheer force of the bolt. In order for the chock to slide, that bolt has to break, and there is no way that is going to happen.

wow. "SuperChocks" indeed.

And yes, for additional security get rid of the Tongue wheel and use your trailer jacks. That will also take some weight off the tires which is supposed to be good for them.

10-15-2010, 08:06 AM

will this work...
item 94-1392 looks promising to me for your application.
http://www.pplmotorhomes.com/parts/r...tire-chock.htm

Wavery · 10-15-2010, 09:40 AM

Can you post pics? I'm thinking that you may be a little over cautious here.

You can get hard rubber chocks that do a very good job of gripping concrete. As the trailer tries to roll forward, it rolls up on the chock applying more downward pressure on the chock giving it more gripping power. Unless your driveway is extremely steep, chocks should be fine unless the driveway is coated with motor oil or something.

**ShrimpBurrito** · 10-15-2010, 10:40 AM

It may be overkill, but I am confident the failure point of my setup is much higher than that of rubber chocks. And given the consequences of failure, it seemed like a no brainer. Plus, it wasn't hard or expensive. The 6x6 was ~$35, the lumber for the SuperChocks was scrap (free), bolts were <$5, and I think I paid $20 to the wood shop. A half day of my time to get everything, goto the wood shop, assemble the chocks, and drill the holes in the concrete.

Pics are below. The cover is pretty level in the pic, so you can see the level of incline compared to the driveway. It's about 8 degrees, I believe.

To me, it was worth it. Could you get away with rubber chocks? Maybe. Can you get away with my setup? Definitely.

Dave

**wbmiller3** · 10-15-2010, 04:24 PM

I wasn't making fun. Your SuperChocks are awesome.

**ShrimpBurrito** · 10-15-2010, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wbmiller3

I wasn't making fun. Your SuperChocks are awesome.

No offense taken. And I like the name!

10-15-2010, 10:26 PM

I agree with Wayne, if your tires are on level ground, chock them and you will be fine. If it still makes you nervous, put down the front stabilizers for added safety. Use the flat thing on your front jack instead of the wheel, anything to keep the trailer level will help.

the parking spot in my drive way is pretty steep to park a trailer on, but i do it all the time (temporary) with only chocks holding it until i can get the truck turned around and reconnected. It does come forward about an inch making it hard to unhitch, stays put.