Where is the best place to buy a used Trailer Dolly?

trail-explorer wrote:
I still can't see how you are going to get a trailer around that 90 degree turn with those fences in the way.

I can!
& I'll post a video from the balcony if need be.

Funny how I do things.

I bought the Truck Camper I currently own before having a truck to put it on. LOL!
& Now I've bought the Trailer Valet XL Dolly before even buying the trailer.

But I know what I'm 90% ready to buy.

I still can't see how you are going to get a trailer around that 90 degree turn with those fences in the way.

We’ll I made my choice & bought this one used with a year warranty from the factory the refurbished it.

The new ones comes with solid tires & ghats what I ordered..
https://www.trailervalet.com/shop/trailer-valet-xl/

Nice thing about this one is it’s small & light enough to move & even take with you Camping in case you need one to finesse a parking spot.

But it’s basically just gonna help me park it at home due to my tight turn I need to make..

Still looking & thinking about calling all my local RV dealers to see if maybe they have some used ones for sale on consignment?

Thats how I bought my WDS.

Blanco1 wrote:

subcamper wrote:
I had a power caster dolly about 12 yrs ago to move our 32' TT.

There was plenty of power because the motor is geared down to a very low speed.

On blacktop it worked perfectly. One time I tried it on the grass and it worked ok on dry grass with hard packed soil. If the soil was soft and/or wet it would just spin the wheels on the mover. Also, most dolly manufacturers sell "off-road" versions with aggressive tread tires.

My dolly had a switch you could hook to the trailer brakes to activate them with a switch. Don't even consider using a dolly without a means to activate the trailer brakes. My driveway had a very slight incline. The dolly worked fine, but if you tried stopping without the trailer brakes, sometimes the trailer would just push the dolly (even thought he dolly tires were locked).

I moved out to the country and sold mine to a fellow forum member.

There are online sites that will search all the craigslist sites in an area that you specify. I have used this often and it works well. The one I used is www.searchtempest.com

Steve

Nice thanks for the tip, Is it a free service?

Yes, it is free. It's just a web site where you enter your zip code, the search radius, and what you are looking for. It comes back with CL hits within that radius.

subcamper wrote:
I had a power caster dolly about 12 yrs ago to move our 32' TT.

There was plenty of power because the motor is geared down to a very low speed.

On blacktop it worked perfectly. One time I tried it on the grass and it worked ok on dry grass with hard packed soil. If the soil was soft and/or wet it would just spin the wheels on the mover. Also, most dolly manufacturers sell "off-road" versions with aggressive tread tires.

My dolly had a switch you could hook to the trailer brakes to activate them with a switch. Don't even consider using a dolly without a means to activate the trailer brakes. My driveway had a very slight incline. The dolly worked fine, but if you tried stopping without the trailer brakes, sometimes the trailer would just push the dolly (even thought he dolly tires were locked).

I moved out to the country and sold mine to a fellow forum member.

There are online sites that will search all the craigslist sites in an area that you specify. I have used this often and it works well. The one I used is www.searchtempest.com

Steve

Nice thanks for the tip, Is it a free service?

I had a power caster dolly about 12 yrs ago to move our 32' TT.

There was plenty of power because the motor is geared down to a very low speed.

On blacktop it worked perfectly. One time I tried it on the grass and it worked ok on dry grass with hard packed soil. If the soil was soft and/or wet it would just spin the wheels on the mover. Also, most dolly manufacturers sell "off-road" versions with aggressive tread tires.

My dolly had a switch you could hook to the trailer brakes to activate them with a switch. Don't even consider using a dolly without a means to activate the trailer brakes. My driveway had a very slight incline. The dolly worked fine, but if you tried stopping without the trailer brakes, sometimes the trailer would just push the dolly (even thought he dolly tires were locked).

I moved out to the country and sold mine to a fellow forum member.

There are online sites that will search all the craigslist sites in an area that you specify. I have used this often and it works well. The one I used is www.searchtempest.com

Steve

bobndot wrote:

Blanco1 wrote:
I'm not giving up yet but starting to think it might be worth spending the money for a Park it 360 & think they are around $1,700.00?

OUCH! :(

The real OUCH would be if you tried to use the rider mower . :B
As soon as you put the tongue on it, the front wheels would tickle the clouds.

(get some estimates) See how much a welder would charge you to fab one using a lawn mower engine. You NEED to have a BRAKE on it.
Go to a body shop that does fabrications. I think L.A. might have a few. Call Jay Leno, he will know.

Boatyards use home-made movers or try your local small airport and talk to some small plane pilots.
They all use power movers to roll small planes into hangers. Might find a used one if you personally talk to them. They tend to sell them to one-another without having to advertise them.

If it hangs up on the gates track . Build 4 H.D. wedges that the TT tires as well as the dolly tires will use as mini ramps going over the gates track. These movers sometimes do not do too well on concrete inclines never mind dirt,grass or gravel.

Just an additional crazy thought :E. In case your pivot room is still too close using the dolly. Some truck camper guys build dollys to rest the camper on when they take it off the truck, in order to fit and roll into a low garage.
You might be able to use your TV to back in, while still hitched up to prevent rolling, use the homemade under wheel dolly platform to 'push n pivot' the TT into a better position to fit it in.


youtube , '5th wheel side-shifter' to get a visual of the idea.

Would you be able to install a winch close your house, then pull the TT into a better position once you get it onto the platform ? Bolt or chain the winch down to the concrete or something stationary when needed .
There is usually always a way to get the job done. :)

good luck, you'll be able to do it .



home-made dolly

Wow!
They don't show how the device does it, but I'll need to look into it.

I wish I never saw that!
Make start thinking about a bigger trailer now!

I wonder how good it does with slight grades?
Or the ridge my gate rides along?

https://youtu.be/hHfVp9wwEn0

Blanco1 wrote:
I'm not giving up yet but starting to think it might be worth spending the money for a Park it 360 & think they are around $1,700.00?

OUCH! :(

The real OUCH would be if you tried to use the rider mower . :B
As soon as you put the tongue on it, the front wheels would tickle the clouds.

(get some estimates) See how much a welder would charge you to fab one using a lawn mower engine. You NEED to have a BRAKE on it.
Go to a body shop that does fabrications. I think L.A. might have a few. Call Jay Leno, he will know.

Boatyards use home-made movers or try your local small airport and talk to some small plane pilots.
They all use power movers to roll small planes into hangers. Might find a used one if you personally talk to them. They tend to sell them to one-another without having to advertise them.

If it hangs up on the gates track . Build 4 H.D. wedges that the TT tires as well as the dolly tires will use as mini ramps going over the gates track. These movers sometimes do not do too well on concrete inclines never mind dirt,grass or gravel.

Just an additional crazy thought :E. In case your pivot room is still too close using the dolly. Some truck camper guys build dollys to rest the camper on when they take it off the truck, in order to fit and roll into a low garage.
You might be able to use your TV to back in, while still hitched up to prevent rolling, use the homemade under wheel dolly platform to 'push n pivot' the TT into a better position to fit it in.


youtube , '5th wheel side-shifter' to get a visual of the idea.

Would you be able to install a winch close your house, then pull the TT into a better position once you get it onto the platform ? Bolt or chain the winch down to the concrete or something stationary when needed .
There is usually always a way to get the job done. :)

good luck, you'll be able to do it .



home-made dolly

mobeewan wrote:
I bought a basic Parkit 360 rated to move a 10,000 lb trailer from Saferwholesale. I live on a cul de sac. At the street there is a shallow ditch and the yard is about 2 feet above the street with a slope, there is no driveway and no way to get my 28-1/2 foot trailer into the front yard. My lot is five sided and has 2 rear property lines which are 91 degrees to each other. One of the rear property lines is 40ft long and has a private paved road that parallels it and is narrower than the road behind your lot. There was no fence and I had kids cutting through.

Last September I had a 6 ft high fence with 24 ft wide hinged double swing gate put up set back 4 ft from the property line. Using the front hitch on my truck I would have no ploblem backing the trailer in and parking along the other rear property line which is 60 ft long. However I wanted to park the with the rear bumper towards the road putting the entry door facing the back of the house meaning I would have to pull the trailer in tonge first and could not use the truck to move the trailer all the way since it would not allow me to pull the trailer all the way where I wanted it with the tongue 6 ft from the side property line.

So I bought the Parkit 360. Initially I used the trucks front hitch to pull the trailer in backing the truck throught the gate first then un hitching to pull the trailer the rest of the way with the Parkit 360 continuing accross the grass and then dirt where a shed used to be. Even though I ordered it with knobby turf tires there was not enough traction in the grass and especially on the dirt the tires would just spin. Even though I was able to get 2 x 10's under the Parkit's tires the trailer tires were settling into the grass making shallow ruts keeping the trailer from rolling and the Parkit's tires would still spin. Adding tongue weight didn't even help and there were already 2 - 30 lb propane cylinders and 2 group 24 batteries on the tongue. I had to get a couple neighbors and the Guy that I was paying to do yard work that day to help push it the rest of the way to it's parking place while I steered and operated the dolly.

Fortunately the trailer will be staying there for a while. The next time it is moved will be when I put in a parking pad and compacted gravel driveway.

These dolly's will probably work fine on asphalt and concrete and probably okay on hard packed surfaces but don't work well on grass with a soft base or soft dirt.

Thanks for the info, I'll take a picture if I remember on my only concern. ( is the rail the gate rides on. )
Will it have enough power to push the trailer tires over it?
Or also the Dolly's tires over it?
Or will that be where it stops?

If I do end up past my cement pad it is pretty much hard packed dirt, being never rains, it stays pretty hard.