Teardrops n Tiny Travel Trailers

My CT, when it arrives, will be too tall to get into my garage which has a 96 inch garage door height. During the colder months of this winter, I want to bring it inside to work on it. I am looking for ideas on how to do it. One is to make small steel discs to use as wheels as one other poster did. And this make be my best option.

But I was wondering if I could remove the tires, lower the back of the CT to some dolly system and just roll it back. Given enough time and money, I probably could build something to make this work. But then I would have a "one time" fixture to store which I prefer not to have.

Then I thought of those wheel dollies you see car restorers use. Or since I have one hydraulic roll around lift, If I got another cheap one from Harbor Freight, I could use one on each end of the back corners and roll it back that way.

Has anyone seen or have any ideas for this idea?

lrrowe, Howdy;

Maybe build a rectangular furniture dolly (http://www.harborfreight.com/material-h ... llies.html),
for the back end and put a wheel under the tongue jack.
Or get a pair of these (http://www.harborfreight.com/material-h ... 60343.html),
and place your wheel hubs on them after removing the tires and rims.
Personally, I'd go for the 1500# rated smaller ones...

hank

Thanks Hank,
I ruled out the first items for being too weak for a 1800 lb trailer. But the concept could be made in a more heavy duty version.
I also looked at modifying the car dollies to go under the back. But the obvious idea of going under the wheel hubs escaped me. Thanks. They become a real option. I will do the measuring when the CT comes in.

I knew I could count on someone having an idea from this forum.

Hank, I did some very rough estimates and your car dolly idea may work.
With no changes, the total height of the CT with a Fantastic Vent on it is 101". This will not go into a 96" door.
But with the wheels removed and dollies used, I estimate the total height will be 94".

So that estimate makes it a close fit, but doable.

lrrowe, Howdy;

I was just reading the reviews and it would appear that there are 2 varities of these,
the one I linked to has plastic wheels and from the reviews the other
http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-15 ... 67338.html
has cast iron wheels and is the better of the 2 and is same price. Reviewers also repeatedly
point out the need to grease the wheel axles prior to usage.

If they doesn't "work" then take them back for a refund .....

hank

Hank, your research has basically solved my problem. You have to wonder why they need greasing. They should come from the factory that way. Wait a minute, they are made in China; enough said.

I did search the HF site and do not see the steel wheels listed. I will go to the store and see what is there.

lrrowe, Howdy;

Then you can get one of these for the jack post in the front;
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/b ... _vc=-10005

If nothing else you can order these items on the infernal web and have them delivered ...

hank

Oh most definitely...got to have one of them.

I've seen people use smaller diameter wheels with the same lug bolt pattern. I believe it was in the TnTT forums somewhere. Try a Search.

Thanks, well also check them out.

If I might add a couple of thoughts on the subject -

Is your axle straight or dropped? Are the springs above or below? How much clearance to you have now to the bottom of the axle and/or u-bolts?

On those Harbor Freight dollies I've used them to move a large display through a shopping mall and even with the two locked casters they tend to go wherever they want and with the small wheels are easily stopped by the smallest debris which may cause them to slip out from under your load or bend/break the dolly axles.

Smaller wheels with deflated tires or even just bare rims in a smaller size would give you better control.

The swivel wheel base for your jack stand will add to the height and if yours does not fold up it may not give you enough clearance even without it. You might be able to mount it directly to your tongue and temporarily remove your jack stand and/or just go ahead and replace it with a folding model. Then the wheel would serve as a safety in case your folding jack stand does not get fully locked or if you reinstall the non folding jack stand or worst case scenario, your hitch fails while moving.

I permanently mounted a pair of bogie wheels to the rear of my trailer to prevent bottoming out. They are steel and about 6 inches diameter - under $10 at Northern Tool and available fixed or swivel. They would support your trailer while your wheels are removed or just provide and additional safety factor if you use the dollies and always protect the back end of your trailer, especially when entering drive ways.

Ok,

So I read this post, and remember seeing someone with the same problem and a neat solution, but I can't remember the user name, it was the guy with the immaculate wood shop, what was his name? I hate when that happens!

Can't find it, so I scroll through the posts by date and bingo; pmspirito! It's in his build thread page 3 I think...would this help?
http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=45197&start=30



Saving to my favorites again...

Yea ..... But smart Bob got the neg -22.5 torsion axel.


So I would recommend bust out driveway & garage slab, dig down 18"
Repore sloped driveway & garage slab .... problem solved.

I made a dolly for my teardrop, not for height reasons, but for maneuverability, because of the limited space in my garage. Here's a (fuzzy) picture of it before flipping it over.



I used 500# swivel casters at all four corners. If you go this route, I'd add a middle pair for better weight distribution.

lrrowe, Howdy;
When you know what the bolt pattern is in inches between centers, re-check
the Tractor Supply page and look for some of their smaller rims. The bolt pattern
may match...

hank