Turning trailer around on narrow dirt road, by hand

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

You could pull the pin on the breakaway switch to lock the wheels, but not for long or you'll drain the house battery.

That is a very good suggestion for a temporary stop, as you pointed out.

[MSFrancis]

I found this solution by mistake but it seems to work. If you can shift the center of gravity over the axle by rearranging your load, you can easily pivot the camper. Be careful on any surface that is not level!!!

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by Raspy

.... Another very nice piece of gear is a hand brake mounted on the tongue to lock the wheels independently of the truck braking system. A parking brake. ....

That's a bucket-list project for my trailer. Dexter (the axle/brake mfr.) has a brake assembly that has a parking brake lever built into the backing plate. I'll replace the existing backing plate and brake assembly with the one with the parking brake. Then add cables, rods, etc. to connect to a Orscheln type lever under the trailer front frame area.

[AlanKilian]

Originally Posted by Glenn Baglo

You could pull the pin on the breakaway switch to lock the wheels, but not for long or you'll drain the house battery.

Be careful trying this if you have a trailer-mounted brake controller.

I contacted Tekonsha and they said doing this could damage the brake controller's output transistor.

In an emergency like an actual trailer decoupling it's fine, but I wouldn't try this in a non emergency situation.

[computerspook]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

He said “my quarterbacks are both hurt and shouldn’t be playing but I don’t have anyone else so they have to play hurt. I don’t know when they will have time to heal up”.

That bothered me but I knew it was the feeling of too many coaches and not unique to this rural high school in West Virginia.

This is to many coaches in the first place every place. And that is because to many of the sports boosters who control everything in small schools have this attitude. We had one coach who really was on the kid's side and would have forfeited rather than having to play hurt players. But he was the unique coach. Actually or winningest coach but the boosters thought he was not aggressive enough and enforced to many rules about the sports kids should be examples for the other kids. So the boosters hated him.



Never been sure how we fix this.

[Raspy]

Originally Posted by dfandrews

That's a bucket-list project for my trailer. Dexter (the axle/brake mfr.) has a brake assembly that has a parking brake lever built into the backing plate. I'll replace the existing backing plate and brake assembly with the one with the parking brake. Then add cables, rods, etc. to connect to a Orscheln type lever under the trailer front frame area.

This system is common on Australian trailers. The backing plates with parking brake option are available on Amazon or etrailer, and are a direct replacement for the standard backing plates.

Here is a pic of one I just installed and re-did the cables on, and another of the brake handles that I always have in stock. I don't think the overcentering style lever will work as well as the ratchet style lever because of brake wear and suspension travel. But the overcentering style works well on equipment parking brakes that are separate from the vehicle braking system, such as dedicated drum style parking brakes on the drivetrains of forklifts and old trucks.

The parking brake is a great option and I'm looking now at putting it on my X22, but the adjustable ride height and arc of the trailing arm/torsion system may not work with it because as the wheel moves up, it swings back, which would take up a lot of the slack in the brake cable. Still looking at the geometry of it.

[PatrickTXFL]

Pulling 16 foot dual axle on a fire road in the rain i found the end. No turn around and mountain twisty i wasn't going to try backing down 2 miles, my wife isn't like yours. Disconnected was just enough room to get truck turned around too muddy and slick to attempt a simple rope and go turn as one side was extremely steep drop to trees. I aligned rear of truck with tongue, truck pointing down hill now. Put a plastic stabilizer pad on top of large plastic cutting board under the tongue jack and started to slide it around with a ratchet strap. Trick was repositioning everything when i was to end of cutting board.. Took about an hour of pulling and moving truck to get it pointing down hill enough to hook back up.

In your case a strong flat pan shovel to drop the jack on should have been enough to slide it around on. Its a trick I use to move heavy items across the grass.

My wife now says no to camping off the forest roads. Imagine that

[Bingowitz]

One of the things we love about the Scamp: the ability to walk it around on a narrow road, or reposition it at camp or even in the driveway!

[Burroman]

My little pickle was nothing.
Shovel is a good trick.

[Jon in AZ]

Agree about the shovel: clever, and way better than a wheel or a flat foot on soft surfaces. So…

I have long wanted a good folding shovel to carry in my tow vehicle. Anybody have a favorite?

[Air Doug]

"You could pull the pin on the breakaway switch to lock the wheels, but not for long or you'll drain the house battery."

Most (not all) Snoozy's have hydraulic surge brakes, so you can pull the breakaway cable to set the brakes. Super easy and only takes a big flat-blade screwdriver to release them.

On another note, I installed a hidden receiver hitch inside my front bumper. The license plate hinges up to reveal the receiver. I can un-hitch, turn around, reconnect, and then push the Snoozy, rather than back it up. I have never had to do it so can't say if it is a better solution. The receiver has several other uses, though, so this is not the only reason I installed it.

[John McDonald]

On our very first winter camping trip back in 2009 Google map located Quapaw Casino ( 3 nights of free camping with hookups) near Miami OK down a 1 1/2 lane back road over a one lane creaky wooden bridge and that was far enough! Probably an 8 point turn got us turned around. And then I had the fun of getting Google map to put the casino in the correct location.
Cheers John

[Iowa Dave]

I am a little amazed but I guess I shouldn’t be, by all of the incidents similar to those of the original poster and my own. I feel better now.

Though we are not camping at the present time here in iowa, it was 38 degrees and calm this morning , now it’s one
O’clock in the afternoon 25 and a 35 mph wind.

As to a shovel, although it’s not light, it’s nearly indestructible. I am talking about my Korean War vintage US ARMY entrenchment tool. ( bought at an army surplus store or horrors a gun show). Doesn’t work great for usual shovel duties and I wouldn’t use it for planting trees but it’s good for grubbing out rocks, loosening hard packed dirt etc. I’ve never tried it but Rita’s uncle who was a Korean War veteran said they used to cook meat over a charcoal like fire in the shovel. Glad I didn’t have to do that.

They say Abe Lincoln used their shovel to do math problems when he was in school, wouldn't that be a fun thing for young kids to try. A little chalk and a shovel and you have an art contest going on. ( The ultra cheap recreation programmer in me comes out).
Iowa Dave

[computerspook]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

They say Abe Lincoln used their shovel to do math problems when he was in school, wouldn't that be a fun thing for young kids to try. A little chalk and a shovel and you have an art contest going on. ( The ultra cheap recreation programmer in me comes out).
Iowa Dave

Actually my understanding of Lincoln's process was that he didn't use chalk. He would put the shovel in the asks and get a coating of ashes on the shovel. Then he would scratch on the surface to remove ashes in lines to make writing to do his work.

[Iowa Dave]

You’re no doubt right. Lots of things I learned in school we not exactly right. Once I questioned our American History teacher when she told us something about the American Civil Was that I doubted was right because of the timing of an invention. She insisted she was accurate. I admitted that I didn’t know for sure but since she was there she was probably right. When that sunk in it detention again for Iowa Dave.

My first job out of college was in Council Bluffs, Iowa
Lincoln had proclaimed Council Bluffs as the eastern terminus of the transcontinental railroad. We maintained a couple historic monuments that were named for or connected to Lincoln. Lincoln actually owned property there and in later years it was sold and homes were built on those lots.
A couple times when I was there the homes or lots sold and the abstracts were brought up to date. Lincoln’s signature from the early 1860’s was on those abstracts and the newspaper ran a local interest story with a photo of the signature.
Iowa Dave

[Bruce Olive]

So maybe try using Lincoln Logs under the tongue to turn the trailer around?

[Iowa Dave]

Good Idea! I think a have a heavy round cardboard tube of Lincoln Logs up in the garage. My folks got a set for each of us (3 boys). I’m the only one who ended up living in a log house. My youngest brother is the only one smart enough to build a house and my other brother has a PhD in Forestry and worked his whole career for the forest service. He can really swing a pencil. He was a forest statistician.
Iowa Dave

[jerrybob]

Several yeats back....on a trail ride.....we had a similar problem with our three wagons......we unhitched the horses.....lowered the wagons down a steep hill with ropes and block pullies.....walked the horses down the hill and went on our way. I wouldn't try that with my Casita but.....I am a lot older and wiser now.

[Iowa Dave]

That’s how the pioneers did it at spot in what is new Nebraska called Ash Hollow on the Oregon trail.
As you leave to head west there’s about two miles of fence with a worn out cowboy boot on every post. No 11 6E through so I was out of luck.
Iowa Dave

[Glenn Baglo]

If you want to see horror, look at the faces of a canoeist at the take out as their buddies drag their brand new boat up a 50' slope made from rip rap.