Rotating a trailer with a winch in a tight boondocking site

[profdant139]

Often, when we are using the truck to scout new boondocking sites in remote parts of the national forests, we will find a great little pad with a good view, a stream nearby, shady, but there is no room to turn the trailer around! So we move on to a more wide-open site. (There are times when I wish for a truck camper -- not often, but sometimes.)

So it occurred to me that I have a winch, and it is not permanently mounted on the truck. I have learned, through painful trial and error, how to use the winch safely. I have lots of winching hardware -- snatch block, heavy straps, chain, etc. I could in theory unhitch the trailer from the truck, move the truck out of the way, and use the winch to rotate the trailer into the desired position. When it is time to re-hitch, just finish the rotation -- the trailer is now headed back up the access road, and off we go.

The problem is this -- these sites are almost never dead level. If I were to hook up the winch and remove the chocks so that the trailer can rotate, the trailer would roll, often in a bad direction.

So that is my question -- is there a way to do this job safely and in a careful and controlled way? Is there a way to trigger the electric brakes on the trailer if it starts to roll? Is there a way to handle the chocks so that the trailer can rotate in place without rolling?

Thanks in advance for your advice! (By the way, a message to the moderator -- the reason I posted this question in the boondocking forum is that this problem is unique to back-country boondocking. If it should be in the trailer forum or the do it yourself forum, please excuse my error, and please feel free to move it. Thanks.)

[profdant139]

Bedlam, that's pretty slick. Not enough ground clearance for serious boondocking, though.

[Bedlam]

It sounds like you need to mod your trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-j7ABrvoaE

[greenrvgreen]

In fairness, this is what DJ was linking to 4 days ago. On eTrailer, it's called the "Trailer Valet". I entered "Trailer Valet" into Amazon search and got a wide range of options.

Read the reviews, there's no clear consensus.

[profdant139]

Interesting! I will look into it.

[MrWizard]

I think the one in the picture replaces your normal tt jack
So you don't have to dismount it, and carry it in the truck
And it's less than $300
Just mount it and use it. It stays with the tt

[profdant139]

Mr. Wizard, that would do the job -- but I don't want to carry all of that stuff on every trip, just in case I find a nice (but tight) boondocking site. That is why I am trying to do the same thing safely with my winch, which I already carry with me, plus chocks and straps and so forth.

I think the problem here is that I have camped in a few spots that are really designed for truck campers, not trailers (no matter how small and nimble they may be). And my wife and I have really, really enjoyed remote camping, the remoter the better. So as we poke around on seldom-used forest roads, we have sometimes had to reject prime sites that were just a little too tight for us. That is the goal: I know I can't go where a real truck camper goes, especially not the kinds of XTC (extreme truck camper) sites that Jefe goes to.

And in the US, we don't have the kinds of truly off-road "caravans" that the Australians do, although I have modified my trailer extensively, in order to handle rough roads (very, very slowly -- like 5 mph).

But within the boundaries of my own skill, my equipment, and my own risk-averse nature, I am trying to do some XTTC, or extreme travel trailer camping. (By the way, if you Google "extreme travel trailer camping," in quotes, you get no hits at all. Hmmm. That is not a good sign.) 😉

[MrWizard]

your over thinking this
you need something like this



Electric trailer dollies

[profdant139]

Jefe, thanks for those tips! But you might have me confused with someone else -- you said "long trailers like yours." Mine is eleven feet long! (Actually ten feet from the hitch ball to the axle.) Anything smaller would be a teardrop. And because my single axle trailer is so short, it is really hard to back up -- very squirrely. We can do it, but it has taken a lot of practice to get it right.

[jefe_4x4]

Dan,
I like campgrounds....off-season. We do a wide splay of camping styles. What ever presents itself, we are there. I like your rig. It is a good, solution to off-road camping in style.
The front receiver hitch idea is a good one. We have used ours to good avail backing trailers into tight spaces. Just back in as far as you have to have a pass around or find a "T" intersection to back into to turn on the Wye. Long trailers like yours are easy to back up, unlike short jeep trailers. Like a siding on a railroad. Back in a little ways. Unhitch (with trailer brake on or wheel chocks) with the tongue wheel down. Turn the TV around to face the tongue. Hitch up to the front . Wheel up. Its very easy to go quite a ways as you can see the trailer in front of you. You may have to lean out the door to see around the trailer. Leave it hooked to the TV. It will be interference if anyone else tries to occupy the same real estate. When you are done camping, back out the same way to the same place as before. Deconstruct your former moves.
This would all become second nature for you. However, I still think this is all more trouble than it's worth and stay with Brian's solution: move on to a pull-through site.
jefe

[profdant139]

Jefe, I appreciate your concern, but unlike the serious off-roaders, we do not look for trouble. I promise not to drop the trailer down a waterfall. We are just looking for out-of-the-way pockets that are fine for a truck camper but just a little tight for a small trailer. I think that with enough precaution (lots of chocks, backstopping the trailer with a rope to the truck, etc.), and with enough care, we will be ok. I always scout every site with the truck before towing the trailer into place -- so we can pick a place that will not result in disaster if the "winch-around" method does not work.

If we wanted a no-risk life, we would stay in paved campgrounds!

[jefe_4x4]

I would agree with Brian. Find another spot. Too big a chance for something to get out of control in the boondocks. No use looking for trouble. I've spent a lifetime looking for trouble, and, as luck would have it, I found it.
I've winched straight up and straight back down waterfalls with the wire rope slung between the axles and the chassis coming down to keep you from doing an endo: Looking for trouble. The main thing is to stay in control with physics working for you not against you with a reasonable margin of safety..
jefe

[wbwood]

I would say, just pick another spot...lol

You will have to get it out, just like you put it in.

[SteveAE]

profdant139 wrote:

Thanks for all of the ideas and suggestions -- we will just have to give this a try next time we go camping.

I look forward to hearing how it works out.

[profdant139]

Frizzen, I bought one of those Harbor Fright dollies, and the axle bent when I hit a small crack in my driveway! So I took it back. It sounds like you had better luck with it than I did.