Twin Axle Trailer Maneuvering

[DarylA]

Hi,

I have recently purchased a Mac 26m, with which I am delighted.

I have a bit of a problem to solve however as I wish to keep it at home on my drive. The entrance is narrow, the road outside is also narrow and its all on an incline! The good news is that its on my drive right now... so I know it's possible! Getting it there however was not as refined as I would like, hence my post.

How I got it on my drive:
I presented it to the driveway using my Land Rover. Then (as the road is too narrow to do much more) I connected a winch to the rear crossmember of the trailer, uncoupled the car and started winching. I have made three winch anchor points so I can keep moving up one to keep the angles as good as possible. I wound the jockey wheel down as low as it would go.. to ease side pressure on the front wheels. Then three of us pushed the front across whilst a forth winched.

My problem:
It took a lot of effort to push the front across and the front tyres looked in danger of being pushed off.

My question:
How can I refine this and make it easier and safer? I don't think I have the room to put a front hitch on the car.. even if it is on one side. I am considering purchasing a heavy duty trailer dolly so I can steer the nose around. I'm concerned that with the incline that my increased nose weight may break it however.. the ones I've seen are rated at 300kg. Also I'm thinking of taking two wheels off the trailer just whilst we get it around the corner (but which two?). If I remove the front wheels I increase the nose weight still further. I'm not sure about the c of g if I remove the back wheels. It's even been suggested I remove one wheel from each axel, I cant get my head around the effect of this idea however!

Can any experienced Mac owners give me their thoughts on how this process may be refined?

Any idea's would be very much appreciated.

Daryl.

 

[MrBill_FLL]

UK? OZ?

google trailer tug. (or electric trailer tug).

harbor freight sells a manual trailer dolly, but that's probably not going to cut it.

there are many brands of electric tugs...
this is just 1 example
http://www.parkit360.com/pricing/p360s/ship-to-eu-uk-au-a-nz.html

ex. 2:
http://www.powercaster.com/

might even look on ebay...

 

[Sumner]

I made something that might do the trick...

..... for your situation I would beef up the square receiver tube that the stub axle slides into some. I'd brace it up higher and triangulate it. There are a lot more pictures here....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor/trailer-mods-2.html

...the parts don't cost much and it shouldn't even cost that much to fab it up at a welding shop if you don't have a welder or access to one.

The nice thing is that it uses your spare tire/wheel and stays...

...attached to the stub axle.

If you did this mod and pulled off the tires/wheels from the front axle I think you could maneuver it a lot easier than what you have now.

I put a front hitch on our Suburban....

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor-trailer/trailer-mods-18.html

.....since I have to turn the boat/trailer 90 deg in about its own length to get it into my shop door and past an overhanging shop extension that goes out about 12 feet. I'm on gravel and to do this it does push the wheels/tires on one axle sideways on the gravel. I wouldn't want to do this on pavement.

With the single tongue wheel and only tires on one axle you should be able to turn it as sharp as you want.

Good luck,

Sum

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[monkeybars]

for not too much more money,buy a small used honda quad,for years i used my trx300 to tow my heavy dual axle 26M from the back lot out to the front where i would prep it and hook up to the truck.with the short wheel base of the quad i could manuver in very tight angles.most all quads already come with a trailer hitch from the factory.

 

[Timo42]

If you are using properly rated trailer tires, the side movement won't damage them, the sidewalls are stronger for just that reason. I pivot my fully loaded horse trailer around without any issues. If you try the removing the tires route, I would go with the rears, you should still have enough tongue weight with the rears removed. Maybe fabricate a pair of S-hooks to go between the frame and axle that you could use to take the weight off the rear axle. Crank up the jack in front as high as it will go, attach the hooks, drop it back down, should make it easier to pivot. Haven't tried it, but it sounds feasible. Or maybe a couple of ratchet straps.

 

[DarylA]

Many thanks for the response so far.

I'll check the spec's on the tyres. I didn't know that their was any in-built resistance to being dragged sideways. I've wondered about trying to use the trailer suspension to get two wheels up higher... I'll try some straps and see if I can make a difference.

Sum. Thanks for the photo's and fascinating project. I was thinking I may try to get an old pallet truck and convert it to fit either the jockey or ball. Then Id have two wheels that I could steer. Then remove the actual forks from the truck altogether.

I'll post more when I've got a little further.

Thanks again,

Daryl

 

[finding41]

DarylA: Practice backing it up in a parking lot with painted lines. Then practice some more. You will get good at it. If the trailer has brakes you will want to disable them just for backing up. Have someone spot you and guide you. Have someone stop traffic for you. Don't get discouraged by people honking and yelling. If they get out of there car lock your doors and put the windows up.
The trailer tires flex and go sideways just as much going forward as when backing when you make a tight turn. Keep the tires properly inflated and replace them when they need it. Proper bearing tightness and lubrication is important as well. We seem to pay more attention to the trailer when we go backwards. (Because we are looking that way.) Its not that heavy of a load to worry about hurting the trailer tires.
Keep trying.

 

[centerline]

the set-up that Sumner has built using his spare tire is about the best idea I have seen short of a power dolly for moving trailers.
In the situation you are in, It would be kinda good if you had some spacer blocks built that would fit between the frame and axle.... without falling out.
you could then jack up the rear axle, (and then block it up before working on, around, or under it) or, the safest way is to back it up on ramps so the front axle is almost coming off the ground and put some blocks between the frame rails and front axle. when you come off the ramps, all the weight will be on the front axle and the rear tires will slightly scuff around corners without effort.
by blocking the front axle, it lessens your wheel base and will let you turn sharper with less off track (watch your tail swing) just make sure you have enough tongue weight that you can keep the trailer from tipping back when you un-hook from the hitch.
in a perfect world and you were on pavement and the balance was correct, when you blocked the front axle, there would be very little tongue weight and you could move it around on the jack wheel.

After you get the blocks built, this easier than pulling the tires every time you want to park your trailer.

 

[Sumner]

..... the safest way is to back it up on ramps so the front axle is almost coming off the ground and put some blocks between the frame rails and front axle. when you come off the ramps, all the weight will be on the front axle and the rear tires will slightly scuff around corners without effort. ....

That is a good idea and would be easy and quick to implement when needed. Then a tongue wheel wouldn't possibly have to take as much weight,

Sum

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[DarylA]

Finding41

Thanks for the advice. The problem I have is a wall opposite my drive. The trailer comes within half a meter of the wall.. so I have no room for the car!

Im reassured that side pressure on the tyres isn't the issue it appeared to be.

Appreciate the help,

Daryl

 

[DarylA]

Centerline,

Love the idea of reversing onto ramps to relieve pressure on the front axle! I'm trying to get my head around how to secure the axel up. My trailer appears to have a torsion bar, the axels are short and beneath the frame. So I'm looking onto finding a way of retaining them in the up position, maybe straps would work. Either way I'll have an experiment when I can & report back.

Thanks again,

Daryl

 

[centerline]

Centerline,

Love the idea of reversing onto ramps to relieve pressure on the front axle! I'm trying to get my head around how to secure the axel up. My trailer appears to have a torsion bar, the axels are short and beneath the frame. So I'm looking onto finding a way of retaining them in the up position, maybe straps would work. Either way I'll have an experiment when I can & report back.

Thanks again,

Daryl

without some engineering, I dont think you can hold a torsion axle up, or down for that matter. when I posted, I was speaking in relation to spring suspension. the problem with tandom torsion axles is that depending on the slope of the ground, which ever axle is taking the most weight at the moment, that is the one that is going to lead..... so when backing up, it can really mess you up if you are doing tricky maneuvering and the ground isnt perfectly flat. so my two cents hasn't helped at all, LOL...