TRAILER ROLLED!!!

[nwbearcat1998]

Hello,

I had the scare of my life this past weekend. We got lost on the way to the campground and had an issue filling up the fresh water tank (didn't have the new drain valve installed).

In a hurry, I setup the the Camco Wheel Stop and the stabilizer jacks. (I put the wood under the jacks on the side instead of flat).
On one side or the other I always use at least one of the orange "Lynx Levelers" to level the TT side to side but since it raises the tires off the pavement I do not put a chock under those tires since it would rest against the lynx leveler and not the tire itself.

While relaxing in the TT with my wife and 18mo son, the trailer MOVED SIX FEET!! My F150 was parked at an angle to the trailer so thankfully it stopped us from traveling any further. The trailer had zero damage but the truck had a little more
Thankfully no one was hurt and the truck can be repaired easily. The rest of the weekend went much smoother. It will be a trip we will never forget though!!!

Question for everyone is what DO YOU USE for leveling the trailer left/right and then ALSO CHOCK the wheel on the side that is raised???

Thanks!!

[TundraTower]

SoundGuy nailed the problem. It is amazing how much the tires shrink as they cool down.

We use those Camco Chocks and I can set them as tight as I can when we first set up and an hour or two later they are finger tight.

If we have to use the Leggo's to level one side we set another block on the ground next to it to hold the wedge chocks, although they don't "bite" on the plastic. If we are on a level spot I may not do this, but if we are on an incline I'll use everything I have on board to lock the wheels.

[Huntindog]

I do not depend chocks or boards of any kind.
All of those methods can fail.
I had my TT roll many years ago. It was setup with chocks on what appeared to be solid dirt... It rained and that dirt turned into soft mud. The chocks sunk into the mud from the pressure of the tires. The boards under the TJ tilted in the mud and the TT rolled forward collapsing it. Fixing this in a muddy downpour was not fun.

I have seen others have the same thing happen to them in just soft dirt. I have never depended on chocks since that day many years ago.
I now use the strongest and most foolproof system there is.
Gravity.

I dig holes for the high side tires. Once the TT is set into the holes, Gravity makes sure it stays there.

I do use some homemade wood/long bolts to clamp the tires to make it more stable, on occasion. But that is only for comfort, if I'm going to be there awhile.
I have gotten really good at estimating how deep to dig the holes.

And the only thing I need to have is a shovel. It is a handy thing to have in camp anyway.

Obviously, this solution is not for everyone. I do not use established campgrounds with neighbors I can see or hear.

I prefer the solitude of boondocking on public land.

But where this can be used, it works very well. Gravity has never failed me.

[profdant139]

Soundguy, thanks for the tip on the single wheel chock -- I will check that out!

[time2roll]

I just use the rotos between the tires most of the time.
If there is any incline the wedges come out.

Sorry about the dent. 😞 still no-one hurt is a good thing 🙂

[JoeTampa]

Bigbird65 wrote:
I never had a problem using Andersen levelers and home brew chocks. Use the chocks on both sides of the trailer.

Andersen if I need to level. Regular chocks if I don't.

[RoyBell]

I always chock both sides of the trailer. I picked up the anderson levelers and they are nice. I also use the BAL X-chocks as well. Sometimes I don't put those on until night time after the tires shrink, or I re-tighten them at night time after the sun is down and tires are cool. Better to have too much than not enough.

[SoundGuy]

profdant139 wrote:
We have a single axle trailer, so those "between the tires" devices won't help us. And when we use the Lynx Levelers, it is sometimes hard to get a good contact between our rubber chocks and the tire.

Norco has the perfect answer for you as well in their BAL Single Tire Chock ...



... 'cause as the tires cool and shrink you can quickly snug the BALs up again.

I've even used a set on dual axle trailers, chocking one tire on each side of the trailer. 🙂

[RVcircus]

I use Andersen levelers with their included chocks and I always chock the other side as well

[profdant139]

How great that no one was hurt! That is the most important thing, by far.

We have a single axle trailer, so those "between the tires" devices won't help us. And when we use the Lynx Levelers, it is sometimes hard to get a good contact between our rubber chocks and the tire. So we almost always add a big rock behind each chock, or else a big piece of wood. That is probably overkill, but I never want to see my trailer move without my express prior permission!

[Boins]

Glad everyone is okay!

Anyways, I uses Andersen Camper Levelers on the low side to level left and right. They are super easy to use and so far I've had no issues.

For the other side of the trailer, I just chock the back of the rear tire and the front of the front tire. So far, this has worked fine.

Video on how Anderson Camper Levelers work

Amazon link to Anderson Camper Levelers

EDIT: After reading other posts, I'm gonna add a between the tires chock system to my current setup. Something like the X-Chock Wheel Stabilizers I think.

[JIMNLIN]

SoCalDesertRider wrote:
In that situation, I would just leave the trailer hooked up to the truck. The truck will keep it from moving.

Good short term over nite idea however in my case on a several day stay the truck pulled a 5er/boat for a double tow so the truck was needed to load and unload the 18' boat at a nearby boat ramp each day..or sometimes twice a day when they were bittin'.

[SoundGuy]

Tvov wrote:
Learn something new every day. They maybe should think about taking the word "chock" out of the name if those are not designed to be used as wheel chocks. That's what I always thought they were for.

Agree completely but you gotta know that's not gonna happen. :R In their defense though Norco does include a note in every box of X-Chocks warning not to rely on these chocks solely as a "parking brake" ... no idea whether the Camco chocks include a similar warning. Maybe it doesn't matter as no one seems to read it anyway, based on the many who claim to use nothing but in-between chocks like the Camco or X-Chocks to secure their trailer. :S Unfortunately the OP found out the hard way that this isn't such a good idea. 😞

[dave17352]

I find split firewood makes great chocks.

[Bigbird65]

gaymeadowsman wrote:

Bigbird65 wrote:
I never had a problem using Andersen levelers and home brew chocks. Use the chocks on both sides of the trailer.

We use this set up also. I also go back after about 3 hours and retighten the chocks after the tire cool down.

People who use the Andersen levelers can greatly benefit by installing 1/4" cords. Sure makes it easier to snatch them out when you are leaving. Also safer.