Storing TM in garage....how easy is it?

[Bailey'sMom]

I have a 24 x 24 garage with a standard garage door opening. The door is centered on the garage so I have equal space on either side. Due to the layout I park on the left side and store the camper on the right. I can't just back it in straight, I have to manuver it to tuck it into the right side of the garage.

My current camper is 14 ft closed length, so a TM2922 would be 22ft without swing hitch or 20 with it.

I have trouble now getting my camper far enough over to the right hand side of the garage for storage to leave enough space to park and to store everything else. My concerns are: pivot point on the trailmanor - having enough pivot to get it far enough to the right before straightening it out without hitting the garage wall and causing damage to the trailer. Also, how easy is it to manually move the TM around once is it is on level ground in the garage? After all the TM will weigh alot more than my current popup. Finally, the TM is wider than my existing camper thus I really need to get it closer to the right side than my current camper is.

I will really need to clean out my garage and figure out where to store all the lawnmower, snowblower, xmas tree, garbage cans, etc. unfortunately I can't store anything outside, and I don't have room or $$$ to expand my garage.

I am single and don't have anyone to help when parking or storing, so there's not anyone at the back of the trailer to make sure it doesn't hit anything. So it takes a lot of stopping and starting and double checking. It seems no matter how many times I do it the trailer ends up in the exact same place every time.

So those who store in a garage and have to maneuver it around.....how hard is it?

 

[Kwantau]

Hi, as you can see by my Avitar I have about the same setup with the garage except that mine is 2 ft deeper and opposite to your situation. The degree of difficulty depends how much of a slope you have to your garage floor. Mine drops 4 inches from back to front so that there is tendency for the tm to roll forward. What I do is to back the tm slowly ( the first time with a extra set of eyes) at a angle into the spot that I wanted it to end up. The angle of the tm being as small as possible with in my case the right hand side of the tm as close as was safe to the garage door tracks.

At that point the front of the hitch should be almost past the garage door and the rear of the tm still away from the side of the garage. I then chock both the front and rear of the left tire to prevent it from rolling and just chock the opposite tire in front. I unhitch the tm ( have put on the wheel on the front jack so that I can roll the tm ) and then push the front of the tm sideways on the hitch to park it parallel to the garage wall, chock the small front wheel and then chock both front and back of the right wheel. You should be far enough inside that you can close the door. In my case I have a folding hitch which I end up folding giving me an extra 2 ft. I can still walk between the tm and the garage wall although it is tight.

Once you have her where you want her then I marked the garage floor ( you can use anything such as duct tape or some paint ) exactly where the wheel hubs are and where the tire side walls are like a cross telling you where the tire that is visible to you will have to end up next time you back it into its spot. I now back it up myself without any help as I know where my drivers side tm tire has to end up and I know that nothing will hit the tm on the blind side. You can if you do not get the tm back far enough by chocking the tm the right way, jockey the tm further back into the garage by pushing the hitch left and right alternatively.

Hope I did not make this explanation as clear as mud and that it will help you the next time you have to park the beast. Remember the first time is the most important parking you make.

Regards Hans

 

[Bailey'sMom]

Thanks Hans

I will have to try chalking the outer wheel before rotating.

I wish I had a TM to play with to know for sure it would work. Also I noticed your garage looks very minimalist sadly mine is not, but it would help if I cleaned out the junk and rearranged it.

I like the idea of marking the floor. I will have to try it, that is if spring ever arrives here in Wisconsin. Snow flurries again today.

 

[wbmiller3]

We have a three car garage and store 2 cars and the TM in it. My challenge arises from the fact that the double garage door is on the left of the garage (facing toward the garage) and the single door is on the right. Unfortunately my driveway is aligned such that if you back straight in, you are perfectly lined up with the single door.

If the TM will even fit through the single door, it is with nearly zero margin, so I do not try this.

Instead I have to jog over while backing in and put the TM in the "center stall". Both other vehicles have to be out of the garage (and driveway) when I do this. Basically I have to turn to the right (facing away from the garage) as I back in to get the rear of the TM positioned for the center stall, but then it is at an angle, so I have to overshoot a little, then turn back so that it ends up in the right place.

I need a helper standing at the garage door pillar because I get extremely close to it in the process (in fact, part of the TM ends up BEHIND the pillar - I can not pull it straight out when I am done.)

After 10 years of practice, I am fairly good at it, and can back it in (with the helper watching) to the point that the front wheel jack is over the "rise" into the garage. I then put the wheel on and unhitch the TM. We push it by hand the remaining eight or so inches.

My TM is older and has the spare on the back. When I close the garage door, there is no more than an inch and a half between the coupler and the garage door.

I have also painted markings on the floor to show where the tires should end up. It does not really help me while I am backing, but it lets me know if I ended up in an OK spot so that the other 2 vehicles will fit in. If I am not within the paint marks, I have to pull out and adjust.

Good luck!!

 

[Kwantau]

I sounds like Bill does almost the same as I do with the tm ending partially behind the door pillar and I have to do the same thing, jogging it back to the left before I hookup and drag her out of the garage. With two people you can easily push the tm further back but gets a little heavy by yourself. That is why (being by myself ) I sometimes leave one wheel completely blocked and remove the chock from behind the other wheel and them push the towhitch over sideways, re-chock and repeat the procedure on the other wheel thereby slowly, about
6 inches at a time moving the tm backwards.

Bill, using a small cone or a orange or yellow plastic chock standing on end at your paint marking should allow you to see it in your mirror as to where the tire should end up.

Anyways good luck like Bill said.

 

[Bill]

Is your driveway paved and close to level? If so, maneuvering the trailer using the dolly wheel on the tongue jack should be easy. Since you are starting with the TM wheels inside the garage and on a level floor, you are not moving the weight of the trailer up or down hill. The only thing you are pushing up and downhill is the tongue weight, perhaps 400 pounds. And although 400 pounds sounds like a lot, if you are rolling it up or down a very gentle slope, it is surprisingly easy.

My garage floor is level, my driveway is concrete and slightly sloped (down as you leave the garage), and this works for me. It isn't fast, but it works. However, my garage has very little fore-and-aft clearance, and I was bashing the drywall at the back. To prevent this, I bolted a 2x8 plank to the rear wall at bumper height. It absorbs the shock better than drywall (what doesn't?), and at the speed in question, doesn't hurt the TM at all.

Bill

 

[Dean Robinson]

A Traler Valet helps me

I have the same problem squeezing my 3124KB into the garage. To make it more of a pain, I have to back down a hill, then up into my driveway. My driveway is too short to get the truck/trailer perfectly aligned before maneuvering it into the garage so I can't see squat on the passenger side. My wife lets me know when I'm about the whack the mailbox or side of the garage. There is no way I can push it around, even when I finally get the tires into the garage. Finally, I purchased a Trailer Valet. It bolts to the side of the trailer frame and, once I get the trailer wheels inside the garage, I can use it to crank it the rest of the way inside. The Trailer Valet has a brake so I feel somewhat secure having the tongue sitting slightly downhill from the trailer wheels, but I always block the tires to be sure the trailer doesn't move while I scope out the trailer's position. The Trailer Valet makes it much easier for me to move my trailer as necessary to line it up properly. The Trailer Valet cost about $300 and was money well spent for me.

 

[MisterP]

A possible option that would allow you to put the trailer wherever you want, with a few minutes work to put under the wheels:

http://www.theautodolly.com/auto_dolly_12_in.php

 

[ThePair]

If the TM will even fit through the single door, it is with nearly zero margin, so I do not try this.

It's extremely tight, and the TM needs some modifications externally to fit (removable awning, flatter exterior lights).

I've done it, and I do it on a regular basis. And, mine's not a straight shot back in -- my single's on a curve. I only recommend it if there's no other choice. The suggestions in this thread are better!

 

[Bailey'sMom]

Bill.... Yes my driveway is paved concrete. Driveway is gently sloped. I think I would need to have it mostly inside the garage before trying to manually move it. This is what I do now with my pop up.

Dean... I will have to check out the trailer valet. I know I looked at it once before after someone (you?) posted about it.

Mister P.... I followed your link..... How would you put this Under the wheels?


I am starting to look at the new 2417 model as it has most of what I need. The new floor plan looks much better to me. Best of all I can skip the bathroom in favor of more storage. If I would go with that one, that would make it much easier to fit in the garage.

Thanks all for the input.

 

[MisterP]

BaileysMom - you would have to jack the trailer up a bit and slide the dolly under each wheel. Certainly not practical if you use the trailer often, but it would allow you to move the trailer anywhere you please. I have seen aircraft moved around with these things, assuming you have a relatively smooth floor.

 

[Forrest K]

Wheel dollies

Why don't you invest in a pair of wheel dollies. You can get them for about 100.00 each. Put one under each tire and you can move your TM easy any where you need to. The "LA" shop and many auto parts stores sell them. Just a suggestion.

 

[Laura FM]

We have a 19 ft long garage- with a 7 foot clearance. Our last trailer was 19ft 3inches. We managed to get it into our garage because there is no sheet rock so the end of the hitch would have to fit in between the studs. We are also borderline on the height, and our driveway is long and more than just a little sloped. Military precision was needed to get that thing in and we use this. http://www.powercaster.com/

Our new TM is much shorter, which makes my husband very happy.

 

[moaboy]

I have a 3 car garage and have fit my 2720 into either the single or double door-obviously double door is easier. It really helps to have another set of eyes and a dolly. The more level the better as others have indicated. Very doable. And nice to have tm close at hand. Good luck. And just take it real slow.

 

[CrazyCampers]

Why don't you invest in a pair of wheel dollies. You can get them for about 100.00 each. Put one under each tire and you can move your TM easy any where you need to. The "LA" shop and many auto parts stores sell them. Just a suggestion.

I guess the question I have is whether by wheel dollies you mean car skates or hydraulic dollies. We tried to use car skates to move our 2720 in our garage and it did not work well. The tires rotated and the wheel skates flew out. I would be very careful if you try using car skates under the tires. What we use now is a pair of hydraulic dollies under the tires with two car skates under the two front jacks. Theoretically you could use the tongue jack instead of putting car skates under the front jacks, but it moves much easier this way. My DH does this by himself and has the TM tucked exactly where he wants it within ten minutes.

 

[camp2canoe]

Ahh, the luxury of being able to store a camper in the garage... since trading our 2619 last fall we've been paying $58.00/month to store our traditional TT on the opposite side of town. We're leaving today for the Trailblazers rally near Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and as we hooked up last night, we've been blocking the sidewalk overnight - another problem we didn't have with the TM.

Three thoughts based on years of storing a TM in a garage with bare inches to spare with the single doors. First, life is easier with a front hitch. Second, a manual trailer dolly makes it much easier to move the TM than relying on the jack's nosewheel. (But it is easy to lose control of the TM even on a very slight incline - ask me how I know!) Third, rather than painting lines on the floor, use a physical stop for the rear tires. In the best of worlds I'd probably have used a concrete tire stop or pinned a 4X4 into the grage floor. I used a cheaper method - the local big box store sells tubes of sand to carry in your trunk for winter traction. Two of them laid in the contrete floor stop the TM exactly where you want it with no spotter needed.

Do we miss our TM of 8 years? You bet! On the other hand, not having to crawl over a significant other if you get up in the middle of the night is pretty nice. Having a roomy shower with no curtain ranks pretty high. Our heated underbelly makes three season camping much more practical. And have I mentioned the glories of a porcelain flush toilet? - camp2canoe