Skid Wheels for low camper

Like I stated above, I raise my old trailer by re-positioning the axles under the RVs/TTs leaf springs. Very easy DIY task. Now:
- NO worry about it rear plumbing dragging.
- No worry about its rear dragging and bukling its roof.
- No worry about its rear dragging and splitting its floor.
- No worry about its side door shutting properly either.
- Properly aligned with its Tow Vehicle hitch.

Easy fix that can be done under 3 hours. Especially with axle under/over kit from Dexter.

If the rear of my "loaded down" Vehicle's rear dragged, I'd raise its rear suspension via proper suspension improvement - like Timbren SES units, Air bags or Add-Leaf upgrade. Adding drag bars on its rear bumper / rear frame (even re-enforced drag bars with little rollers) is "bent frame / bent chassis" waiting to happen. And when it happens, the RV/Trailer is re-sold for pennies on the dollar.

I have the addon wheels onto the OEM drag bars. It just makes sense to avoid the friction and hard drag forward or backward. Touching the drag bars to the ground- inevitable IMHO.

We are in Western PA. "Ain't no place flat" ;) Gas stations, driveways, CGs, turn arounds, parking lots, etc.

They decrease clearance by what, maybe an inch? No problem.

I believe in them and have seen the in actual use a number of times by quite a number of campers, motor homes, etc.

spike99 wrote:
Theory??? My previous Prowler trailer had drag bars under its rear frame. It dragged one time and bent one of the bars near flat. Darn near took out its low plumbing as well. After that, I re-positioned its 2 x axles "under" its leaf springs. Raised the trailer's chassis 5". Problem solved. And, its tongue was now properly aligned with its hitch as well. And, did I mention "it wasn't theory"?

If they say... If one is going to do it, then do it right.

I'm talking adding wheels to drag bars. Not reinforcing them to not bend. If you think they have no place on your TT then don't use them. It doesn't mean they don't work.

Lowsuv wrote:
we mostly camp without hookups often the last couple of miles down a gravel road .
I tow my 21T komfort slightly nose down with my 9200# GVW duramax pickup .
we sometimes have to ford gullies and rarely some really bad roads .
for remote camping shorter is better .
for remote camping a heavy tow rig is also better .
we use 1000 # tongue weight and 5300 # on the trailer axles .
going to a 225/75 from a 205/75 will help a small amount for clearance .

It sounds like you travel and use your trailer similar to the way I use my 19.5' trailer. I run about the same weight on the tongue, but I also can carry a second quad on the front of my trailer. It was designed high enough not to need a skid plate or wheels.

For those who do have the dragging issue, I did put a set of heavy duty wheels on the back of my Avion 34' trailer. It would drag just coming out of some commercial driveways. The Avion is long and low. Sometimes there are no reasonable alternatives. This Avion used split leaf spring independant axles which you just can't move the axle to underneath the leaf spring. So it wasn't a reasonable alternative to just "raise" the trailer. This is also true of trailers using the rubber torsion axles. It is a lot more complicated. In those cases, it is easier to have a skid plate or properly installed wheels. One caution that I will bring up, and that is the use of skid plated or wheels on frames that are weak like those on Airstreams. You will probably bent the rear of the frame if you aren't careful.

Theory??? My previous Prowler trailer had drag bars under its rear frame. It dragged one time and bent one of the bars near flat. Darn near took out its low plumbing as well. After that, I re-positioned its 2 x axles "under" its leaf springs. Raised the trailer's chassis 5". Problem solved. And, its tongue was now properly aligned with its hitch as well. And, did I mention "it wasn't theory"?

If they say... If one is going to do it, then do it right.

we mostly camp without hookups often the last couple of miles down a gravel road .
I tow my 21T komfort slightly nose down with my 9200# GVW duramax pickup .
we sometimes have to ford gullies and rarely some really bad roads .
for remote camping shorter is better .
for remote camping a heavy tow rig is also better .
we use 1000 # tongue weight and 5300 # on the trailer axles .
going to a 225/75 from a 205/75 will help a small amount for clearance .

I could not back into my driveway with my 5er without dragging on the cement. It was so bad that I had problems pushing the drag skids up hill and it really dug into my drive. I took it to a local welding shop and had them weld a 2" square piece between the frame ends and then weld some solid steel, non swiveling wheels to that. They cut off the skids that were on the trailer so that the wheels actually were a little higher that what we started with. I am very satisfied with what I had done and would do it again. The solid steel wheels are so solid that there is little chance of them hitting and being peeled of or bent over.

So, you think the drag bars are there to allow you to continue with dragging them on whatever incline you are hitting them on?? And the wheels just allow you to continue with your low clearance situation without scrapping so much?? Or making as much noise??

Okay, if that's what you want to do... It's your rig, do what you want... ;)

Personally, I've used them to tell me that I'm hitting and I should NOT CONTINUE with my current path... I have backed up and re-adjusted my approach and was clear on the second try and didn't just drag my trailer's rear end.. :)

People preach on here that trying to level any corner of your trailer with your stabilizer jacks alone will 'twist' your frame.. What do you think letting those drag bars (or wheels) hit and then you continue pulling thru it, putting all that 'twist' to your frame is doing??

As I said, it's your rig, do as you wish.. I do a lot of things with my trailer that others say is 'bad' too, yet here I am... :)

Good luck!

Mitch

I have a 2010 Passport 300BH and I do have issues with the rear end dragging when I come up onto down off of relatively steep grades. I have an accessory hitch installed on the I-Beam frame that actually causes more drag, but the beefy steel that hangs between the I-Beams does not seem to be any worse for the wear. I have noticed however, that the newer Passports do sit up a lot taller than ours. If you look closely the A-frame of the tongue is welded in below the trailer frame. On you 2009 and my 2010 the A-frame of the tongue comes straight out from the I-Beam frame. Because of this it leads me to believe that Keystone realized that the longer Passport models had drag issues and they fixed the issue with in the later designs. However, other than this one minor issue we really do enjoy our 300 BH.

I had a Sunline with no slide that was very low to the ground. It had drag bars that I added wheels to. They were made for drag bars and hung down about 1 inch past the bar. They worked great. No scrapping and they did support weight at times in and out of steep driveways. Don't listen to "theories". Get your info from people that have had actual expierience with these.