Getting TT up a steep driveway?

[dhatcher]

Wondering if anyone has any tricks for getting a travel trailer up a steep'ish driveway?

My wife and I are looking at trailers and one thing we noticed is the, driveway up to our RV storage on the side of our house is rather steep. Likely the bumper of the trailer would hit the driveway before the wheels could get on it to change the angle.

I'm sure people have run into this before and have solutions. Our thoughts so far were a set of heavy duty aluminum ramps to help lessen the angle.

Any other ideas?

[Grit_dog]

If you're moving the trailer in and out a bunch of times a year, a permanent solution along the lines of what I wrote above is what you need to do.
The other solution, that I'd be inclined to do if you can line the trailer up dead straight perpendicular to the sidewalk/fence, and don't have to "turn" the trailer as you're backing in (which prolly means you're pulling onto the neighbors front lawn across the street)
is build a couple ramps you can drag out there and bridge over the dip.
Short of that working or the construction project, limit yourself to an off road camper, single axle, may give you the rear departure angle needed, or flip the axles on a normal camper, big a tires as you can get on it and lower the hitch to the ground almost when getting it in and out of the yard. And hope the sewer pipe or something else don't hang down in the back.

[Grit_dog]

I agree, the best way is to flatten that sucker out, however I see more than just a little "re-grading" and slap some pavers down. Your whole yard, fence, house, the city sidewalk is built around that grade separation from the street to yard level and I'm assuming the yard is relatively flat at the upper elevation behind the fence.
(Been moving dirt from jobs like this to half million yard roadway cuts into the side of a mountain for a while now, lol)
What I see is, you cant change/raise the sidewalk, but you'll need to flatten that ramp out a considerable length, into the back yard, behind the fence.
If the gate is wide enough to accept the trailer width plus a little gravity block retaining wall on each side, you could cut a "slot" through there and stack a landscaping block wall along each side. Or could take out the far post, and widen the opening to do the same.
Then gravel, paver, etc the new lowered driveway. Note this will require even more width if you relocate the gate to within the 2 walls so it can run down to the new ground level.
This isn't a day for a contractor or a 24 beer diy job.
All in, you're removing gate and part of the fence,
excavating the slot, grade/prep/install about 150-200sf? of retaining wall, re surface the new ramp, new posts and gate.

[2012Coleman]

dhatcher wrote:
Yeh wife and I have quickly been coming to the conclusion, re-grading seems the only way. In order to do that though we'd have to chop up some of the concrete pad at the top. May have to look into off site storage. 😕

IMO, it's a no-brainer to have it regraded - regardless of the work involved. At least have a contractor come out and take a look to give you options. Storage at home is way better than off site. Upgrading your approach will pay for itself in the storage fee savings.

[dhatcher]

Yeh wife and I have quickly been coming to the conclusion, re-grading seems the only way. In order to do that though we'd have to chop up some of the concrete pad at the top. May have to look into off site storage. 😕

[pitch]

Is it possible to regrade that drive? Be a one day job for a professional or a weekend job for you with rented equipment.
I don't see anyway around it.

[MikeInOregon]

In your picture, that sudden change from a level surface to a steep incline is much more severe than my driveway that I described above. There is no trailer with enough ground clearance to clear that incline. You would need to use a large ramp which would be a pain to deal with. I would always prefer to have my trailer at home, but a storage facility might be best in your situation.

Camping is suppose to be fun adventure, from the moment you leave the house until you return. Our current driveway reduces the fun of camping so we decided to move to a more RV-friendly property.

[eichacsj]

Well it is there in front of a RV Gate (or did you put that in), how did the previous owners do it?

[ronharmless]

Your only choice would be some very long steel or aluminum ramps. But I would guess they would have to be nearly 20 to 25 feet long to work (and even then may not work). Something that size is going to be expensive, is going to be heavy, and is going to be a bear to deal with. If it was me, I'd look for offsite storage.

[You_can_t_take_]

I'd be inclined to get two sheets of 3/4" plywood and place them side by side (lengthwise) so each would take one set of wheels. Then place fixed wood blocking under each one so that they won't move when backing over them. They will be heavy to move but with enough blocking (to prevent buckling) they should work.

[Gene_Ginny]

Flattening the crown so it is straight would help. Those bricks look like they are cemented so it would be a bit of work. Also, could you lower it a bit for a few feet inside the fence gate? A couple of planks on the sidewalk while backing might raise it up enough too.

[dhatcher]

Here are a couple of photos to give an idea of what we're looking at.

[shaner82]

Can you enter the driveway on an angle? Or what about put some more weight in the front end of the trailer to try to get the nose down and rear end up a bit? Maybe fill the fresh water tank (if that's where it's located).

Planks or ramps may work too

[lovetotow]

We had that issue, tried the bumper wheels and found they jammed into the pavement, so then started backing to just before the bumper hit then unhooked the equalizer hitch, this changed the angle of the trailer just enough to get up. Caution make sure your hitch and vehicle can handle the weight

[MikeInOregon]

Our driveway has an 8 degree slope up and the the trailer parking area is a tight fit beside the house. One of the criteria when we were shopping for a trailer was good ground clearance. Our Creekside can be backed up the driveway without hitting the driveway. Many other trailers would bottom out. So if you have not purchased yet, look for a trailer with good ground clearance.

After a year of backing up the steep driveway and squeezing in to our tight parking area, we decided to move to a different location. We purchased a level one acre lot where we are building a new house. There will be an RV parking area with a horseshoe shaped driveway that enters on one side of the lot and exits on the other side. No backing up! It seems like an extreme solution, but if the steep driveway is too much of a pain, just move to a new place. When we tell folks about the new house, we explain that my wife will get the kitchen that she has always wanted and I will get the dump station that I have always wanted. 🙂