How to tow & push BACKWARDS?

[RetroAirBnB]

I have a Whitewater Retro 195 travel trailer.

I'm going to use it as an AirBnB in my yard.

The way the trailer needs to be situated is such that I cannot tow it into position.

I will need to PUSH the trailer in, from behind.

The area the trailer will sit in is not paved, it will be on gravel.

For that reason none of the motorized or powered dollies will work (based on the reviews I've read).

I'm wondering how I might mount a tow bar on the BACK of the RV, which i could then hitch to my 4runner. Effectively towing / pushing it backwards a bit.

The travel trailer has a large metal bumper, and I can see it'd be easy to mount a hitch RECEIVER on it.... and maybe jury rig something where i put in a 48" hitch extender, and then put a coupler on the end of that bar.... definitely not elegant, but maybe it will do the job?

Otherwise I have no idea how to move the darn thing from behind. It's 7000 GVW.

I can't be the only person with this problem.... does anyone have any solutions?

[mobeewan]

I was able to pull my 28 ft trailer into my back yard from a private street behind the house tongue 1st by using a front hitch previously had installed on my truck. I left about 6 feet behind the truck before the trailer was in it's final location so that I could unhitch back the truck up and drive around the trailer. I then used a powered tow dolly that I bought to try to get it in its final location but the tires kept spinning on the grass and dirt. The guy that cuts my grass was there so I was able to get him and 2 neighbors to push on the trailer while I guided it into place.

The reason I pulled it in that way was because I wanted the entry door facing the house instead of away from the house since the neighborhood is kind of sketchy. There's only 2 windows on the opposite side of the trailer. One tiny one at the kitchen sink and 1 escape window for the front bedroom which I could block, in case anyone wanted to break the windows to get in.

I'm wanting to move the trailer down the side of the house Because I want to build a shed and workshop with the trailer is sitting. If I pulled the trailer from the back yard to the side yard I then can't get it from the side yard to the street easily Because a crepe Myrtle tree would be severely damaged. So I'm getting a steel fabricator to make some metal wheels with cleats on them that will dig into the turf in order to use the dolly to pull the trailer without the wheels spinning. I found some metal wheels online that are made for using walk behind self propelled mowers on steep hillsides. They are drum shaped with cone shaped cleats on them. However they are $700 the each. I think I can get 2 wheels made that will work for less than $700. I'm waiting on an estimate right now.

Hopefully that will allow me to move the trailer around easier along with putting strips of plywood down under the rear wheels so I don't have a problem with the rolling resistance across the grass. Hopefully this might give you another idea.

I don't think adding a hitch to the rear of the trailer is a good idea since any amount of turning that may occur while moving the trailer is going to put a lot of side to side stress on the rear of the trailer where the hitch would be mounted.

[smarty]

Rent a small fork lift and attach a ball to one of the arms

[RetroAirBnB]

A1ARealtorRick wrote:

afidel wrote:
My concern would be local and/or state ordinances about occupation of a trailer as a residence. I know where I'm at that's a complete non-starter and I assume California is even more strict as far as regulation. Before you sink a bunch of time and energy into this you'd be smart to look into the legalities of what you're thinking of doing.

^^^ What he said

Yep. Airstream / trailer AirBnBs are permitted here. It's not a permanent residence.

[RetroAirBnB]

Yes, thank you. That's what I was trying to figure out: how to rig up a tow bar on the rear bumper. There's no products out in the market that i can see which would make that easy.

[bpounds]

My late father had a similar situation where he needed to position his trailer for storage. He rigged up a tow bar to the rear bumper of the trailer, and used his truck to back it. When he wanted to use the trailer, he pulled it out onto the street, then drove around to the other end and hitched up as normal.

[RetiredRealtorR]

afidel wrote:
My concern would be local and/or state ordinances about occupation of a trailer as a residence. I know where I'm at that's a complete non-starter and I assume California is even more strict as far as regulation. Before you sink a bunch of time and energy into this you'd be smart to look into the legalities of what you're thinking of doing.

^^^ What he said

[cougar28]

Put in the post but chain a pulley to it. Attach a cable to the front of the rv go through the pulley back under the rv and attached to your pickup. Now your pulling it in.

[schlep1967]

You are welcome. Just remember these things roll when you don't want them to. Have something with brakes attached to the back of the trailer as you pull it in. Just in case it decides to roll toward the person using the come-along.

[afidel]

My concern would be local and/or state ordinances about occupation of a trailer as a residence. I know where I'm at that's a complete non-starter and I assume California is even more strict as far as regulation. Before you sink a bunch of time and energy into this you'd be smart to look into the legalities of what you're thinking of doing.

[Lwiddis]

"You might be able to use a dolly on the tongue and push from behind as well if you had another person guide the dolly"

You might need three. I tried with a dolly...failure! TTs are heavy.

[RetroAirBnB]

Thanks very much. A come-along or electric winch is a great idea. There really isn't a tree situated where I could pull from, but i could certainly sink a very large post in concrete to serve that purpose. That's a great idea.

There aren't trees or buildings in the way. The issue is that the trailer will need to fit into a side yard that is roughly 20' x 50'. So there's no good way to tow it in, and then get the tow vehicle out. The space is long, and narrow. Just too narrow.

Thanks for the come-along idea. That + sinking large posts in concrete is certainly a way to do this!

[Grit_dog]

If you can’t winch it in, dolly on the tongue or just some plywood for the jack wheel to run on and put an old tire between the bumper and push vehicle (if you have something that actually has a bumper) and push it in.
Or 1 case of beer and a few friends/neighbors and push in by hand if it’s not uphill.

[schlep1967]

Chains and a come-along or even an electric winch.
You didn't say why you can't tow it in there. Are there trees in the way or buildings? If trees you can use a good rope and pulley attached to the tongue around the tree to the truck to pull it in place.

[RetroAirBnB]

Thanks very much. I ordered a "Ultra-Tow Heavy-Duty Adjustable Trailer Dolly" thinking exactly that: that if I could push from behind, the person in front could steer with the dolly. It's the pushing piece I'm not sure about... I'm concerned I won't be able to manually push it given it's on gravel... and without some kind of mechanism between the 4runner and trailer.... just not sure how to do it.

[colliehauler]

At my seasonal my trailer needs to be backwards in my site with pine trees preventing towing in with my truck.

I hired a guy with a skid steer to put it into position. If the trailer is small enough you might be able to use a garden tractor. On the front of the trailer.

You might be able to use a dolly on the tonge and push from behind as well if you had another person guide the dolly