Maintenance & Restoration

Tom Trostel · 11-01-2011, 09:49 PM

I use one chock, the BAL single axle chock.

http://www.amazon.com/BAL-28020-Sing.../dp/B001UGPEJA

And, on the opposite side I use a BAL light trailer tire leveler.

floyd · 11-01-2011, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaci and John

The added safety of 4 gives piece of mind and only takes an extra minute to add. A very tragic incident happened at a campground here in Memphis just last weekend. A couple was hitching up their camper to leave. The camper started to roll so the wife attempted to jump in the truck and apply the emergency break. She was hit by the door and was knocked to the ground and killed when the trailer rolled over her. This was on very flat level ground. Perhaps keeping all the wheels chocked until they were certain everything was secure could have prevented this horrible accident.

I wrote a very astute response to your post, but since the joke I made earlier was left totally uncomprehended, (picture the jesture made by Peanut ,Jeff Dunham's puppet), I realized that it too would be misconstrued, and so decided to remain exasperated.

Carol H · 11-02-2011, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by floyd

So it took off with the stabilizers down? Each of my stabilizers is rated for more than the entire weight of the trailer.

Yes it did Floyd. I had placed 2" high wooden blocks under the stablizers as my stablizers are not the long ones and with the smallest of slop at the rear they dont reach the ground. It had been raining so my theory is that the wood or grass the block was on got wet and slippery allowing the stablizer on the side I did not have the wheels chocked to slid off the block. The trailer did a little spin of no more than a 2 feet - but those 2 feet where not good as there was a big log beside the trailer which actually stopped it from going further - good news is that the trailer only had a small 2" scratch on it as a result - could have been way worse.

Had I not had the front tongue wheel in a holder which was stopping the whole thing from doing a roll backwards and had I been on more of a slop I have no doudt the trailer would have gone further. When the trailer spun the wheel that did have chocks on it went on an angle so that the chocks where not actually directly behind the wheel any longer.

The intreasting thing is I had already spent 2 nights in the trailer and it had not rocking or moving in anyway prior. I wasnt present when it took off but my understanding is it took off when someone simply stepped out of it.
When I hook up I do leave chocks on the wheels and leave the stablizers part way down - the reason I leave the stablizers part way down is for when I am on a big slop and need to crank the tongue up really high I dont want to risk the trailer goimg down on its back end. The chocks stay in place as I have a friend who had the experence of going for a trailer ride of about 15' without being hooked to the tow. She had been putting things away in the trailer and her partner started to hook up the trailer - the whole thing took off in reverse before he got it hooked over the ball.

Edit note: since above took place I dont use wooden blocks anymore - I use the yellow plastic leveling blocks stacked instead.

honda03842 · 11-02-2011, 10:07 AM

Carol,

I'm with you. The 4 chocks are the first thing down before we disconnect from the ball and the last thing up after the ball is attached.

Carol H · 11-02-2011, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by honda03842

One rush like the trailer rolling forward is a sufficient reminder to do it each time, particularly if you are between the trailer and tow vehicle.

I know that rush all to well! Once in a long border wait I decide to take the dog for a short walk. Got between the trailer and the tow & open the hatch & dog jumped out when the driver started to pull forward - day dreaming and forgot about the trailer being back there. Moved *real* fast and the trailer only clipped the back of one of my legs.

floyd · 11-02-2011, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnF

All of the sites I'll be using are going to be fairly level to start with.

Curious from a safety standpoint if most folks are chocking just one wheel or both?

Well, there you have it! Some use them all the time... uphill side, downhill side, and on the level.
Some use them only when and where they deem prudent.
Nobody has said whether they use them when overnighting with the tow vehicle attached.
So you are left right where you started...
Ultimately it's up to you to decide when it is prudent to use wheel chocks.

IMO; The good to come out of this discussion is to bring awareness to those who have not considered all likely contingencies when setting up or breaking camp.
Happy camping, and don't forget the duct tape!

Mike Magee · 11-02-2011, 06:05 PM

If I stay hooked to the tug, no chocks. If unhooking, usually just 2 chocks (I only carry 2 actual chocks)... but if I have any doubts due to the lay of the land, I have a couple of 2x4 chunks that I will add to the open spots. I guess I'm not paranoid, just prudent.

JohnF · 11-02-2011, 09:17 PM

Yes, a great set of stories and approaches.

I'm simply adding 2 more chocks to my kit and will do both wheels all the time. Simple enough.

Roger C H · 11-02-2011, 09:43 PM

We made a very simple pair of chocks with four pieces of 2x4 and two pieces of 1x4.
Make the 2x4s about 4in longer than your tires are wide. Place one in front and one behind each tire. Lay the 1x4 across the protruding ends, nail or screw and you're done!

As far as a level area. Yes there are such things, although I haven't found very many. HOWEVER there is always the WIND. Since our eggs are so easy to move by hand, I think the wind would also find them easy to move.

As long as you are playing with 2x4s why not make a pair for under your stabilizers. A campground with nice, white concrete pads will appreciate not having rust stains left on them.

If you want even more fun, you can paint your ground tackle whatever color you like.

Having a one piece block makes it simple when setting up and tearing down. See picture before I painted mine.

Also notice the picture of the Mustang in the Mesa Aircraft Museum. What more level floor could you find than inside a building, yet they block the wheels of all the aircraft on display. Maybe they know something?

rabbit · 11-03-2011, 10:45 AM

Jacks need help because they have limited range of movement. Stabilizers likewise. I have a stack of 10 pieces of 3/4" plywd 8" square, all edges radiused with a router and a 5/8" dia hole bored in the middle each. Tie a stopper knot in a piece of polyprop, pass thru the stack; tie a bowline or other loop in the carrying end and throw in the forward locker. At the Pococo KOA in July, had a site which appeared relatively level but after leveling fore and aft the left bumper stabilizer dropped to contact with the slag fill and the right didn't. Plus it's slag and reacts to load by moving and settling. So out come the stack of pads--one under the left to spread the load over a wider area; three under the right so that, like A Lincoln's legs, it's of sufficient length to reach the ground. One under the tongue jack also. I'm not about to back time and again onto "leggo" ramps so I love the Baljack for transverse leveling, but there again, one can run out of lift. It also cam be shimmed but it's some work with a bottle jack on the frame to get the low side tire off the ground to place pads.

jack

Jeff Richardson · 11-03-2011, 02:37 PM

On the Fourth of July weekend this year I was forced to get creative with leveling my 1977 Scamp. This was my third camp out with this Scamp that I bought almost a year ago in November of 2010. It is my first trailer.

This was a Teardroppers of Oregon and Washington event that I had visited for the past 5 years. It was primarily for teardrop trailers but vintage travel trailers were welcome too. It was held at a member's 5 acre home in Carnation, WA. Most of the property is on a steep hill.

He has a collection of vintage automobiles (mostly 1936, his favorite year) and motorcycles so it was vintage vehicles and trailers, a real fun event. I would drive my 1931 Ford DeLuxe Roadster there for the day.

After several years of attending I was getting close to building a teardrop trailer but was never too interested in towing anything behind my Roadster. I then discovered glass eggs and that was the end of the teardrop thing.

I live 40 miles from Carnation. I towed the Scamp there with my 1983 Ranger truck and stayed the night. I then went home and drove my Model A back to drive around for the next four days. I had to drive the Model A back home on the last day to get the truck to bring the Scamp home. This added up to 240 miles of driving between both vehicles to and from this event but it was worth it.

I had never seen anyone park at the location I chose. It was near the house and upper garage where I could plug into power and be very close the the meals and other activities.

I wanted to be very sure my Scamp would not roll down the hill into the white and blue 1975 Scamp or others below. I chocked both wheels front and back. I used a bottle jack on the downhill side for leveling. I left it in place. I put two jack stands under the tongue (one for back up). I used pieces of 2 x 10's to angle them towards the slope of the hill. I wanted to be real sure this Scamp didn't move. There was not enough height for the tongue jack so I left it up.

It was very stable. The uphill tire actually sunk down a little into the soft soil. We had a wet winter and spring and the ground was still soft in early July.

Sadly, after ten years of Fun in Carnation, this event is no more. The owner is moving to Arizona. We all will have to find something else to do on the Fourth of July from now on.

It was so nice to have my own trailer at this event. I don't expect to have to park on a hilly location such as this again but you never know.

Jeff

Jeff Richardson · 11-03-2011, 02:55 PM

Sharp-eyed viewers will probably notice that I don't have an upper vent for the 3-way Dometic refrigerator that I had just installed. I only ran the referigerator on 120v electricity this year.

My trailer had an old, broken original 1977 ice box in it and I decided to replace it with a refrigerator.

I didn't want to waste one minute of nice summer weather working on the Scamp. There will be plenty of rainy, cold days to work on it this winter. I will then enclose the back of the refrigerator, plumb the propane to all appliances and install the upper vent.

It was bare-bones camping in the Scamp this year. I went out 8 times and did mostly tear drop, glass egg and vintage trailer camps.

I will be very busy completely restoring and upgrading my egg this winter for coming years.

Jeff

floyd · 11-03-2011, 03:07 PM

Are you sure that other trailer was a Scamp? It's hard to tell with such a small picture but it looks like it has that "boss" above the front window like a LoveBug? the jalousie windows say otherwise though.
If I had that little feather of a trailer I would not have hesitated to install a hitch on my '29 sedan. Just let the "lady" take it easy, she'd do alright, It's only 40Miles. You might have to build up that right leg though!
(You could add surge brakes to the trailer.)

Nice car!

Jeff Richardson · 11-04-2011, 02:22 AM

Yes, it is a 1975 Scamp. It was at three of the gatherings I went to this year. I've put three pictures of it in this message.

The owner of this Scamp used to have a teardrop trailer. She was at a vintage trailer meet with her teardrop a couple of years ago. It was raining and she was getting tired of it. A local man stopped by the meet to look at the trailers. He told her about this Scamp that used to belong to his father. She went to his house to look at it and bought it that day.

Many of the teardroppers are moving up to eggs or stick-built vintage trailers. One man refers to them as "stand-up" trailers. I've included a picture of the teardrop that he built and towed behind his 1929 Model A Tudor for almost 10 years. They now have a 1960's trailer that has separate beds and lots of room compared to the teardrop.

Like I said in my previous message, I wasn't really interested in towing anything behind my Model A. Now that I've done some towing with my
Ranger pickup I would feel more comfortable towing with the A at slower speeds.

One thing I found out last year is that most vintage vehicles insurance policies do not allow towing anything. A man in Ohio had to get a standard insurance policy for his Model A coupe to be able to be covered while towing a 1935 Bowlus trailer.

A standard insurance policy from State Farm for my Roadster was $1200 per year when I ask about it several years ago. A vintage vehicle policy from State Farm runs about $230 per year. Vehicle use is limited to car shows and club events but it is a lot cheaper. The man with the teardrop has two different insurance policies. One for the trailer and one for the Tudor. If there is an accident they work together.

This motivated me to think about a larger trailer than a teardrop since I wasn't going to tow a trailer behind the Model A. It didn't make sense to tow a teardrop behind my Ranger. I already have the same sized sleeping area in the bed of the Ranger with my canopy on it. Once I discovered fiberglass egg trailers I was obsessed with getting one.

I am considering looking into having a professionally-built, custom hitch put on the the Model A. There is a local company that has been building custom hitches for a long time and I would like to talk to them to see if it would be possible to tow the Scamp with my Roadster. The hitch would have a certified rating and would hopefully reduce my liability in case of an accident.

I will be putting a new axle under my Scamp this winter and it will have brakes. I really feel that it needs it with my Ranger and there is no way I would tow it with the Model A without electric brakes on the trailer. My Model A Roadster is 12 volt negative ground so wiring a brake controller in it would be easy.

I realize we've strayed a little from the original topic of this thread. I have learned a few new things about chocking my trailer. I really like the BAL Light Trailer Tire Leveler. I'm going to take a look at them tomorrow. I think it would be really useful to raise the trailer to put stands under the frame to take the load off the torsion axle during storage.

Jeff

floyd · 11-04-2011, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Richardson

Yes, it is a 1975 Scamp. It was at three of the gatherings I went to this year. I've put three pictures of it in this message.

The owner of this Scamp used to have a teardrop trailer. She was at a vintage trailer meet with her teardrop a couple of years ago. It was raining and she was getting tired of it. A local man stopped by the meet to look at the trailers. He told her about this Scamp that used to belong to his father. She went to his house to look at it and bought it that day.

Many of the teardroppers are moving up to eggs or stick-built vintage trailers. One man refers to them as "stand-up" trailers. I've included a picture of the teardrop that he built and towed behind his 1929 Model A Tudor for almost 10 years. They now have a 1960's trailer that has separate beds and lots of room compared to the teardrop.

Like I said in my previous message, I wasn't really interested in towing anything behind my Model A. Now that I've done some towing with my
Ranger pickup I would feel more comfortable towing with the A at slower speeds.

One thing I found out last year is that most vintage vehicles insurance policies do not allow towing anything. A man in Ohio had to get a standard insurance policy for his Model A coupe to be able to be covered while towing a 1935 Bowlus trailer.

A standard insurance policy from State Farm for my Roadster was $1200 per year when I ask about it several years ago. A vintage vehicle policy from State Farm runs about $230 per year. Vehicle use is limited to car shows and club events but it is a lot cheaper. The man with the teardrop has two different insurance policies. One for the trailer and one for the Tudor. If there is an accident they work together.

This motivated me to think about a larger trailer than a teardrop since I wasn't going to tow a trailer behind the Model A. It didn't make sense to tow a teardrop behind my Ranger. I already have the same sized sleeping area in the bed of the Ranger with my canopy on it. Once I discovered fiberglass egg trailers I was obsessed with getting one.

I am considering looking into having a professionally-built, custom hitch put on the the Model A. There is a local company that has been building custom hitches for a long time and I would like to talk to them to see if it would be possible to tow the Scamp with my Roadster. The hitch would have a certified rating and would hopefully reduce my liability in case of an accident.

I will be putting a new axle under my Scamp this winter and it will have brakes. I really feel that it needs it with my Ranger and there is no way I would tow it with the Model A without electric brakes on the trailer. My Model A Roadster is 12 volt negative ground so wiring a brake controller in it would be easy.

I realize we've strayed a little from the original topic of this thread. I have learned a few new things about chocking my trailer. I really like the BAL Light Trailer Tire Leveler. I'm going to take a look at them tomorrow. I think it would be really useful to raise the trailer to put stands under the frame to take the load off the torsion axle during storage.

Jeff

I was thinkin' a little weak there for a moment. All you need is brake lights, not juice to run the trailer brakes

Nice!
Thanks for the photos!
And now to get back to the subject of Chocks....