Parking (storing) Question

[modhatter]

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]

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]

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.

 

[brulaz]

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.

 

[jhill30]

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

 

[Wavery]

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]

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]

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

 

[Shrimpburrito]

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

No offense taken. And I like the name!

 

[Redhawk]

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.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

The wheel on the trailer jack is not terribly useful because of the heavy tongue weight and the roll away risks you mention. If the TM started to roll, there's not a lot you could do to stop it (except maybe grabbing the brake cable as you're jumping out of the way).

So take the wheel off and use the flat plate instead. I carry a 10" block of 6x6 to set the jack on because it provides a good support footprint and reduces the up and down distance the jack has to run. It also travels great between the 2 angle iron brackets on the tongue that support the battery box. With a good block of wood, you could get by without the flat plate if you didn't have one.

 

[modhatter]

Thank you all for your replies. I think I will incorporate a number of them. Will need to get some rubber chocks. Mine are plastic I think. Also don't have plate to replace tongue wheel, but will look into getting one if possible. If not I'll try the wood post, and use the jacks. Would that be the scissor jacks that I would put down in front?

 

[brulaz]

Would that be the scissor jacks that I would put down in front?

The scissors jacks on our Elkmont would certainly be strong enough.

 

[camp2canoe]

I also use the hard rubber chocks - I think they may have been designed for light aircraft. I chock both sides of the TM. They really grip the concrete. For a little added security I have a trailer wheel dock which is basically an orange plastic pad with a depression that cradles the jack wheel. I am confident that my TM won't move absent malicious mischief - and how can you guard against that? - camp2canoe

 

[PopBeavers]

I am confident that my TM won't move absent malicious mischief - and how can you guard against that? - camp2canoe

Since the TM frame is insulated from ground earth, it would e real tempting to use my 18 kilovolt neon sign transformer. Attach one side to the frame and the other to ground.

If you were standing bare footed on the ground you would likely get shocked before you even touched the TM.

But it might mess with the electronics.

Just a passing thought.

 

[MisterP]

An observation or opinion - stabilizing jacks are used to stabilize a level trailer to prevent rocking and unwanted motion. They are not intended to prevent a trailer, particularly a trailer on a non level surface, from moving. On my two TMs and I assume on all of them the stabilizer jacks are oriented across the trailer width not along its length. If the jacks are being used to hold the trailer on a hill they will roll under and fail if the trailer moves. Good chocks are your best bet whether they are made by you or someone else. Also if you take the time to level the trailer in your driveway it will be less likely to roll on you.

 

[Mr. Adventure]

Since the TM frame is insulated from ground earth, it would e real tempting to use my 18 kilovolt neon sign transformer. Attach one side to the frame and the other to ground.

If you were standing bare footed on the ground you would likely get shocked before you even touched the TM.

But it might mess with the electronics.

Just a passing thought.

Fun as this sounds, the innocent will get zapped along with the guilty, and even the guilty would probably seem innocent enough to create liabilities. So something like this would never actually be a good idea. I am impressed with the contents of your garage, though, and I'll bet you've got a lot of potential there you haven't told us about yet.

An observation or opinion - stabilizing jacks are used to stabilize a level trailer to prevent rocking and unwanted motion. They are not intended to prevent a trailer, particularly a trailer on a non level surface, from moving. On my two TMs and I assume on all of them the stabilizer jacks are oriented across the trailer width not along its length. If the jacks are being used to hold the trailer on a hill they will roll under and fail if the trailer moves. Good chocks are your best bet whether they are made by you or someone else. Also if you take the time to level the trailer in your driveway it will be less likely to roll on you.

This makes absolutely good sense to me. If you ever drive off with a jack still extended you'll discover that they crumple too easily to be real good stoppers (I haven't done this in a couple decades, but I had this adventure once with a too-hurried popup departure in the rain). While the jacks each provide some additional resistance, the tongue jack is by far the best one and is pretty good for holding the trailer in place. However, a trailer's tendency to roll is the same whether or not it's level.

 

[Wavery]

I just bought a 2004 2720SL from a private party. The person that I bought it from has been storing the trailer on a steep sloped driveway for years. He just used the plastic chocks and the levelers down......no issues. See the pic below.

When he was showing us the trailer, there were 4 of us inside the trailer, walking around. I would have used the hard rubber chocks in this situation but he's gotten away with the cheap plastic ones (as evidenced in the pic).

 

[Shrimpburrito]

I just bought a 2004 2720SL from a private party. The person that I bought it from has been storing the trailer on a steep sloped driveway for years. He just used the plastic chocks and the levelers down......no issues.

Well I guess that solves that mystery, at least for me. I still wouldn't do it, but I could maybe get comfortable with heavy rubber chocks.

Dave

 

[ThePair]

That pic isn't too far off from my driveway -- a bit shallower, but not substantially so -- and I use the hard plastic chocks without issue.