Can this be removed?

It's normal for them to drag but if you are tearing up you driveway you can remove them and install a couple of these skid wheels

Yes, its supposed to drag (and protect) when you get into a situation like your driveway. Perhaps placing 2x8s in the valley between the road and your drive will lift the wheels enough to raise the rear. It's possible to replace the skids with small wheels if necessary.

Unfortunately, yes. They are there for when you enter or exit an incline. As the tongue of the trailer rises the rear will dip and sometimes drag.

after having a new driveway put in, my previous trailer scrapped the driveway with 1 of the them, I removed it, then had my wife watch while I backed up the driveway, nothing else scrapped or even came close, so I left it off. hurt nothing.

Pull a string from under the trailer tire to the rear underside of the bumper. Anything below that string is what may be dragged and broken. Many times they just put on a one size fits all triangle, and a smaller one might be OK.

thehippie wrote:

DutchmenSport wrote:
This is a good solution. It works and helps the dragging from tearing up your own driveway:

This looks nice. Where can I get it?

Those braces are there to stop you from doing damage. Not for continued dragging of the trailer. The problem with the wheels is it encourages you to continue moving. If you lift your trailer off the axles by one corner of your frame you will most likely do damage by twisting the frame.

pira114 wrote:
There's one solution that is not free, but is not too expensive either.

Cut them off and have a shop do an axle flip. This will give you more clearance. A lot of us do that when we tend to use our TTs on poor roads. Like me and logging roads. .

if you do an axle flip, why cut them off. if it still hits they are still protecting "stuff".
bumpy

DutchmenSport wrote:
This is a good solution. It works and helps the dragging from tearing up your own driveway:

This looks nice. Where can I get it?

They are there for a reason but if they prevent you from entering your driveway, I would remove them or maybe shorten them just enough that you do not tear up your driveway.

captnjack wrote:

valhalla360 wrote:

thehippie wrote:

WyoTraveler wrote:
Yup, that is what it is for. It rubs the ground like sled runners so you don't damage the rear of the trailer when going up or down steep slopes.

It's normal then when it rubs the ground? I'm a newbie with travel trailers.

It is not normal to hit the ground. Using these as sleds is not normal usage nor is the idea of castor wheels an improvement. They tend to just dig ruts. (I dont' doubt that many have been inadvertently used as sleds)

About the only way I can see them as useful for backing into things is if there was a 12-18" tall curb that you were trying to back over. They might hit first before something on the undercarriage hits. If you are going to hit the actual bumper, odds are good it will hit anyway.

I don't know about your particular trailer but on my Dad's there is absolutely nothing that they would protect. The first thing that an obstruction would hit would be the frame or the wheels. Wheels, I'm not too worried about. Frame...since these are attached to the frame, it's doesn't make a lot of difference.

Assuming you use a spotter, go slow and don't make a habbit of hitting things, removing them should be harmless.

Not really following you here. Look at the OP's pic. The skids are clearly touching ground while the frame is in the air. I can't imagine any manufacturer including skids that don't accomplish the same thing. Unless they were installed on the side of the trailer. Or the roof.

I believe the angle at which the picture was taken makes it appear that the skids are touching the ground. I don't think they are.