using a utility trailer as a truck camper dolly

[Vic_R]

I've been trying to get my mind around using a small utility trailer as a dolly to move my new camper (delivery in July!) from the driveway to the back corner of my garage (30 feet on concrete) to store when off the truck. I'm trying to figure out how this doesn't end up like a teeter-totter as well as how to push it around with my Wrangler.

I made a dolly out of 2 x 8's and a handful of pneumatic casters 15 years ago when I first got my Sun Lite camper (dry weight 1090) but with my new camper on order (figuring the dry weight will be closer to 2000) I need to up my game here - hence the thought of a nice utility trailer.

I was down looking at a very nice single axle 4 1/2 x 8 aluminum flatbed trailer yesterday that looks like it would work nicely for this and all of the other things I want a utility trailer for. Any thoughts before I take the plunge?

[Bedlam]

Many of the campers have things hanging on the rear underside like tank drains and generator exhausts that prevent them from being loaded backwards on a trailer unless you have a two-tier platform. It may be easier to find a 12' flat bed trailer that has the axle(s) more toward the rear.

[jefe_4x4]

Rick, you conniving devil. You've always had a 'make it work' mentality.
To the O.P.: why don't you turn the camper around on the trailer and all the way forward? Makes access to the tongue much easier for moving. A very HD tongue wheel would help a lot here for stability. How about a tongue wheel for the rear of the trailer too, kind of like training wheels?
I used my tow bar on the front of my CJ8 connected to a ball on the rear of my car trailer to move it into position on a pad next to the house. With the HD tongue wheel cranked down I could turn it on a dime in lo/lo and had to with the Z pattern approach, the tongue wheel waving back and forth. Then I cranked down the rear jacks and drove the CJ-8 right up on the trailer. People always wondered how the the trailer tongue was forward out in space, and how did I get the whole thing back there.
Luckily, no CC&R's for us.
There's always a way. Just follow Rick's lead.
jefe

[RickW]

MN Ben wrote:

RickW wrote:


When I had to hide the TC in the garage from the HOA police, .

What is HOA?
Home owners association???

Exactly. I brought the new TC home in the evening and parked in my driveway. By 8 am I had 3 calls telling me what the rules were and what to do next. FYI, I was elected president of the HOA a month earlier. No special treatment for me.

To show there were no hard feelings, I approved every single variance request (satellite dish, front door color, plant tree, etc) until I moved. :B

[MN_Ben]

RickW wrote:


When I had to hide the TC in the garage from the HOA police, .

What is HOA?
Home owners association???

[RickW]

You did not mention if height of the dolly bed was an issue to get the TC through the garage door.

When I had to hide the TC in the garage from the HOA police, I took a trailer like you show, removed the axle and springs, and installed 8 inch casters to the frame. The 4 in back were fixed alignment (behind the removed axle) and two in front were swivel casters. This also lowered the deck to about 12 inches (the jacks barely cleared the floor). The short hitch was not a problem for truck clearance either front (hood) or back (tailgate).

I would reinstall the axle and use as a landscape trailer without removing the casters. I just renovated the trailer last year and removed the casters as we have moved and I am no longer a HOA scofflaw.

[Steelhog]

I found a used farm wagon running gear for cheap and then shortened it to fit. I built a deck out of square tube steel that supports the entire floor along with an extended drawbar. Super stable and all I use the jacks for is to reduce rocking if using it off the truck.

[Vic_R]

This one seems a little back-heavy to tow down the road but maybe there is a lot of weight in that box at the front? This is a much lighter camper too.

[Vic_R]

so here is a random pic of what I found. It seems like the 2 variables I need to work around are center of gravity and tongue length. Time to get out the old tape measure and see how this will work.

I had considered the Titan camper dolly as well, but I am not a big fan of those small casters. I'm only pushing over concrete but the lip from the drive to the garage floor makes me a little nervous with this smaller rigid casters.

https://www.riecotitan.com/camperdollys.html

[wvabeer]

This is a great idea, I will have to try using my motorcycle trailer. It only has 8" tires but I think it should be fine. And could use it for stability while camping unloaded at camp.

[VintageRacer]

Match the weight rating of the trailer to the camper - you don't want to have the tires explode while it's just sitting there! 😉

[MN_Ben]

I have a boat trailer that has been converted to haul canoes. I have it set up so I can remove the canoe rack and use it as a flat bed. It has a long tounge and the COG would be good to use for moving around a truck camper. Maybe look into that if you cannot come up wit hanything else.

[Golden_HVAC]

I have a buddy with a front hitch on his Mits Monterro. It can move around his boat with ease, and he can 'back' the boat up to a friend's house at high speed, about 2 blocks away.

You might want to think about a front end hitch, it can be something that will make a great attachment point for a winch, or if you already have a winch bracket, it might be easy to attach a receiver on to that, and move the trailer around while looking at it!

Yes the small trailer idea would work for 'low speed' movement of a 2,500 pound camper. I don't know if I would trust the tires at much more than 10 MPH, depends on how strong they are, and their weight rating!

Key as stated above is getting the center of gravity ahead of the trailer axle. It does not need to be really far ahead of the axle, but you do not want a situation where the hitch mount will be lifted off the ball, because of negative weight on the trailer hitch. You should be able to set the jacks down once parked, and level the camper, then use it for whatever, even stock it for the next trip, and then be able to relocate the camper to the driveway, to allow mounting it on the real trip for the vacations!

You can also use a long hitch extension to put the trailer a little farther from your jeep, so that the cabover will clear. You can buy 18" long 2" receiver extensions, or build one out of 2.5" square stock (with 1/4" thick walls) and some 2" stock to slide into the hitch. Because your speed is less than 10 MPH, and weight is minimal, this should work fine. Change things to higher speed, or sudden stops, and it might bend something (hitch on the Jeep, or frame or the extension itself, or something.)

Good luck,

Fred.

[deltabravo]

The tongue won't be long enough to clear the cabover portion of the camper.

RV dealers that sell camper use a small trailer to do exactly what you want to do, but there trailers a specially built with a really long tongue.

I saw another such trailer when I was delivering an RV (travel trailer) to a dealer in Kalispell, MT Thursday, but I didn't think to take a picture of it.

I have another delivery planned for Monday to a different dealer, so I will look around and see if I can find the trailer they use.

One key factor is the CG (center of gravity) MUST be forward of the axle.

In my travels doing RV transport, I've seen the trailers used by drivers who deliver Arctic Fox campers... pretty interesting trailers. It's a tandem axle job with a tongue that must be 6-7' long.