Backing up to an inclined and narrow driveway

[RonValor]

Hi All,

Greetings from a soon-to-be first-time trailer owner.
My wife and I finally decided to buy a Coachmen Clipper 16RBD trailer. We are excited.
I'm watching youtube videos on how to backup a trailer.
What I'm nervous about is that our driveway is very narrow (8ft-4in) and has a steep inclined approach/portion coming from the street.

The Clipper 16RDB has an overall width of 7ft-4in so I only have 6 inches clearance on both sides.

My question is it still possible to park my trailer and how relatively hard or not so hard will it be?

I do not have any trailer hauling experience let alone trailer backing experience.

Some articles says to practice with cones in an empty parking lot. I will do that for sure.

Thanks for any advise.

Ron

PS I'm attempting to attach some pictures but the Image button says "Enter the complete URL for the image." and I cannot browse to a folder location.

[PAThwacker]

RonValor wrote:
Thanks for the recent replies.
I will check out the front-mount receiver option.
My vertical clearance is 10ft (from ground to the lower point of the roof overhang). The Clipper 16RBD has an overall height of 9ft-8in including the AC (but the AC really is somewhere in the middle-center of the roof).

You can get it in there easily. I had a similar angle and had to swing the truck and trailer around a tree and the swing all the gear to the side of my garage. Did it fine with an 18ft popup camper. Over time removed three trees and just bee lined it on the grass to the spot.
Monkey wrenching trailers with a 3/4 sub. That concrete section by your steps would be where my front of truck would swing the rear of tt.

[tinstartrvlr]

Maybe I'm off but looking at the 10 foot number concerns me. Exampe- A 10ft tall trailer will fit under a 10 foot tall clearance, WHEN LEVEL. But if your rig is still at an angle when you reach the overhang, wouldn't the rear of the trailer be sitting a little bit higher than 10 feet?

[73guna]

While we all can give our opinions and advice, nothing beats experience.
My advice to RonValor is to learn how to back correctly and confidently, it will serve you well in the years to come.

This is coming from someone who is a truck driver/yard spotter jockey and camper for over 20 years.;) 😉

[SoundGuy]

73guna wrote:
Dont waste your money on a front mount receiver hitch.

Hardly a "waste" if it solve the OP's problem. :W I've been towing for quite a few years and backing up on to that driveway would be a challenge for me. :E

[wing_zealot]

I don't think long term you're going to want to store that trailer in your driveway. And I have serious doubts you can get it in there without seriously scraping the back bumper.

[73guna]

Dont waste your money on a front mount receiver hitch.
Practice, practice, practice.
Trust me, it will come in handy, Ive parked in some pretty tight campgrounds.

Dont forget you'll have to get in the trailer.
Is there enough clearance to open the entry door on the passenger side of trailer?

[AJR]

What is the distance from the lowest point of that cable attached to the bottom of the eave to the driveway? I think that is the lowest point of the eave. I sure hope that measurement is 10’.

When backing up if you have any doubt “Get Out And Look”.

I travel alone and when I had a TT I used the GOAL method allot. I also learned to watch the tire I could see in the mirror. If it was not where I wanted it. It was time to try again. Or GOAL and see if there was room for a correction.

[bguy]

RonValor wrote:
Some addendum.

I live in a cul-de-sac, so I guess less traffic for me.
The 88" of the 7-ft wide trailer is the overall width include the awning.
On one side of my driveway, I have a "hard" clearance (the corner of the house structure). On the other side, I have some more additional clearance since I trimmed some of the plants/ivys.

Thanks for the the picture insert procedure.
Here are some pics, one the approach angle, and one is the width.

[img][/img]



Thank you again for all the advise and insights.

My question is where are you going when you get past the corner of the house?

I think you can manage it but it will be very helpful to have a straight shot at the mouth of the driveway and clear some of the limbs/brush on the left.

If you have 0 trailer experience that is not the place to learn. Consider alternate storage site until you can get more comfortable maneuvering the trailer. The biggest problem with tight spaces is the fact that the back of the trailer will move just turning the TV wheels and mot moving.

[SoundGuy]

Ozlander wrote:
I don't think the front hitch idea will work. You're sitting there looking at that big wall (front of the trailer) and can't see the rear of the trailer.

An inexpensive camera sitting on the bumper would solve this. I use a Swift Hitch SH02 (5 pics) wireless camera system for hitching up ... particularly flexible because both the camera / transmitter and monitor are each self powered so there's no installation required. The camera unit could be mounted in any one of a number of ways, including a magnetic base that would secure perfectly to a trailer bumper.

[Ozlander]

I don't think the front hitch idea will work. You're sitting there looking at that big wall (front of the trailer) and can't see the rear of the trailer.
You can see the rear of the trailer using the mirrors and you need to see that to see which way the trailer is heading.

[MikeInOregon]

We had a similar situation at our previous house. The driveway gained 5 feet in elevation over 50 feet in length. There was maybe one foot clearance on each side when backing-in beside the house. My wife and I got the job done and parked the trailer after each camping trip, but it was a pain. I always dreaded going home and parking the trailer.

It was such a pain that we decided to move to a new house that would accommodate the trailer. We had a new house built with a level U shaped driveway that goes around the house. The trailer has it's own parking area with 30 amp hookup, water and dump station. It's great to simply pull-through when entering or leaving. This was not the only reason we moved, but was certainly one of the reasons. I know that moving sounds like an extreme fix, but we are now happier campers! 🙂

[RonValor]

Thanks for the recent replies.
I will check out the front-mount receiver option.
My vertical clearance is 10ft (from ground to the lower point of the roof overhang). The Clipper 16RBD has an overall height of 9ft-8in including the AC (but the AC really is somewhere in the middle-center of the roof).

[theoldwizard1]

The front mounted receiver is the best suggestion so far.

I store my boat in a friends garage for the winter. There is only 2" of clearance on each side going through the garage door. I am not THAT good at backing up a trailer, even with a spotter. The driveway is gravel but there is a good bump where it transitions to the garage floor, so between these 2 small obstacles you can't even push it back by hand.

If you just can't get the hang of backing up, the hill through your narrow gap, here is what I did. Get yourself set of caster wheels for the tongue jack and an electric winch mounted to something at the top. Just get the trailer "started" going uphill, install the tongue wheel and hook up the winch.

You will probably need extra cable to reach down to the street. Also, rear bumpers on TT are not very strong. It will have to be reinforced. You could possible mount the winch to your TT reinforced rear bumper so you could use the TT battery (don't skimp on the wire size).

[All_I_could_aff]

Even if the roof clears, I'll bet there is a plumbing vent pipe, ceiling vent, etc. along that side if the roof that won't clear.

Even if it does fit, that's a job for an experienced tower, and experience takes time.

Is there an alternate location you could store it for the first few months until you are more practiced, and if necessary, permanently?

[PAThwacker]

RonValor wrote:
Sorry I did not know if only a single picture per post is allowed. I tried pasting two links in my last reply. Anyways here is the inclined approach from the street.

That should be a piece of cake. Wait until you try to camp, show up at 9pm, and have obstructions to hit with front of truck, and the trailer the minute you put it in reverse.