Moving a trailer around - creative solutions?

Clear out the van so you can open the rear doors and see exactly whats happening.Would only work on cargo type van. Dave

Yes, after a while you will get good at baking up to your TT. I still like my back up camera though. It mounts on the license plate screws and was about 30 bucks. It's a piece of junk really, for a few bucks more you can get a better one. It does help though and I like it.

Remember you don't have to be perfectly positioned over the ball with the hitch of the TT. If you are within a half inch it will move over enough when you lower the hitch down to slide on the ball.

I don't like the wheel under the jack. It makes it too easy for the TT to roll. Even if you chock the wheels; and you are chocking the wheels I hope; the wheel on the jack can cause the trailer to move a little when you don't want it to. On my TT the wheel also hanged down so low it almost hit the ground when going over bumps as I travel down the road. I don't even have a jack foot. I just use blocks and put them under the jack.

Practice helps, and I am pretty good at hitching up the trailers by myself, but I got a whole lot better with the new truck. Well the back up camera in the tailgate. Now I have been able to back under the coupler and be right on the money on the first shot several times. Takes some getting used to the camera and picture.
Maybe get one of the licence plate mount ones, except that on the van it would be offset to one side, whereas on the pick up it is right in the tailgate latch assembly.
There is another product out there that funnels the tongue into the right spot as you back in. Can't think of the name of it right now.

Gdetrailer wrote:


PRACTICE!

Thats it, just practice backing up to the trailer, no need for wheels under the tongue.

Personally trying to wrestle a 1,000 plus lb trailer on anything but completely level ground is asking for a disaster. A 1,000 lb trailer is going to fight you and if it "wins" you may be chasing it OR it will be CHASING YOU.

Good advice here...my trailer is 1200 lbs on the tongue, even if it had the landing gear from a 747 there's no way I would move. The way you hitch up is to back under the ball....it is done all the time, you just need practice....or a back up camera....

drsolo wrote:
Perhaps I wasnt being clear about what I need. I intend to back the trailer into wherever it needs to go. Disconnect and go off sight seeing or whatever. Then, when I am ready to go I need to be able to back the van up to the trailer to hitch it up. But how do I hit right on the money so that all I have to do is crank the tongue down onto the hitch ball without moving it a little bit without having to actually lift it? It is one thing if there was somebody else outside guiding/directing, but alone and without a back up camera I just dont see how. Maybe somebody has a trick/method?

PRACTICE!

Thats it, just practice backing up to the trailer, no need for wheels under the tongue.

Basically I try to line up the sides of my trailer so the the vehicle appears to be equally between the trailer sides. Since the trailer tends to be wider than the tow vehicle you check to see if you about the same amount of trailer on BOTH sides of the vehicle as you are backing in.

I tend to do this by myself (sometimes easier to do instead of having a helper trying to give directions), line up the vehicle to the trailer and slowly back in. As you get closer hop out and check the distance from vehicle to trailer and how close to being inline with the hitch you are.

At first you will find yourself climbing out a lot and needing to make a lot of corrections but with practice you will get the hang of it.

They do make extendable magnetic "flags" that you stick on the tongue and the hitch of the vehicle you could try until you get the hang of it.

After many years of hitching trailers I can typically back in the first or second try and be on the money with no help.

Personally trying to wrestle a 1,000 plus lb trailer on anything but completely level ground is asking for a disaster. I used to do that with a 4x8 utility trailer but it weighed 500 lbs empty and that was a workout. A 1,000 lb trailer is going to fight you and if it "wins" you may be chasing it OR it will be CHASING YOU.

I would rather take a afternoon of tries at backing up before I would ever think about what you are considering..

Perhaps I wasnt being clear about what I need. I intend to back the trailer into wherever it needs to go. Disconnect and go off sight seeing or whatever. Then, when I am ready to go I need to be able to back the van up to the trailer to hitch it up. But how do I hit right on the money so that all I have to do is crank the tongue down onto the hitch ball without moving it a little bit without having to actually lift it? It is one thing if there was somebody else outside guiding/directing, but alone and without a back up camera I just dont see how. Maybe somebody has a trick/method?

What about a Harbor Freight Trailer Dolly?

Looks like dadmomh beat me to it! :)

DH got a dolly for moving his enclosed utility trailer around. Have no idea what the weight capacity is, but came from Harbor Freight, I believe. Also does a dandy job moving a flat utility trailer full of mulch, so maybe it would work. Maybe check online for "trailer dolly" or similar. Agree that moving it on dirt or gravel is not going to be easy.

We used a two wheel hand truck to move our 18ft 60's TT

We also used an ATV with a hitch mounted to the front of it. Worked really well in desert dirt.

hawkeye-08 wrote:
I have also seen double wheels that work even better in gravel.

where where where!