Vexing towing problem

[Diamondpilot]

I would have a dozer or large farm tractor pull you and your truck up. Dont try two trucks, that is a disaster waiting to happen.

Chris

 

[RobertN]

With the 5th wheel, if you can get it up there, then you may need to manuever, disconnect and reposition the angle of the truck, reconnect. Repeat as necessary.

Someone else mentioned about clearance. Make sure as you start up and hill, and you crest it, that you don't hit the top of the bed with the trailer.

I have a short section of steep drive with a curve; I have to watch how I approach that area. Starting up the hill, the front of the 5th wheel gets close to the bed. As I crest the hill, the top of the taligate gets real close to the trailer body. Never actually bumped, but I do approach that part of the drive carefully.

I thought I said it was a 5th wheel trailer, re-reading, I didn't, but it is. That does make it a bit easier to maneuver the trailer but the truck is a long box four door that is pretty clumsy in small spaces.

 

[Soundguy]

i think i'd have the dozer pull me up.. or / and fix that steep drive. you will be driving it EVERY day...

soundguy

 

[James150]

With the 5th wheel, if you can get it up there, then you may need to manuever, disconnect and reposition the angle of the truck, reconnect. Repeat as necessary.

Someone else mentioned about clearance. Make sure as you start up and hill, and you crest it, that you don't hit the top of the bed with the trailer.

I have a short section of steep drive with a curve; I have to watch how I approach that area. Starting up the hill, the front of the 5th wheel gets close to the bed. As I crest the hill, the top of the taligate gets real close to the trailer body. Never actually bumped, but I do approach that part of the drive carefully.

Yes, these are the other issues. I don't use a tailgate when towing the 5th wheel for just that reason. No question I need to be careful on this one.

Jim

 

[flusher]

Suppose: big dozer not available, big ag tractor not available.
But: friend has a 3/4 or 1T pickup with a front mounted winch.

Now solve the problem.

 

[MG1867]

If you can make sure the video cam is rolling when you make this happen

 

[jenkinsph]

I would grade the driveway first whether you concrete it now or wait. I would then get the above mentioned mobile home tracked mover to put your trailer in place. this would be the least costly way to do it. I should also mention the mobile home guys are insured to do this type of work in most cases, and they are the experts at this type of moving and positioning too.

Haven't seen any pics of this but grading the area ahead of time will give you a chance to let it pack down with the heavy trucks and get a better idea of how well it will work longterm. Better to know before you pour.

 

[RobertN]

If you crest a tight angle on a drive, going into a parking lot or whatever, the rear part of the top of the bedrail can still hit, the underbody portion of the 5th wheel.

Yes, these are the other issues. I don't use a tailgate when towing the 5th wheel for just that reason. No question I need to be careful on this one.

Jim

 

[Depmandog]

beckmurph mentioned a mobile home mover....I want to agree with her, but I don't know if they can hook onto a fifth wheel or not. IF they can, this would be the ticket:

Dean

 

[Cadillac2012]

Check out http://www.americantracktruck.com/ for more traction.
Cheers,

 

[Artisan]

Sounds like you should kill two birds w/ one stone. Rent a tracked whatnot that has a ball out back and either pull the trailer up or back it up into the hole, but FIRST, do your rough grading and perhaps throw down some base.
If you make that road more user friendly your project will go fatser as well. Ehress and Degress when hard slows things down considerably....

Grade the driveway, spread out base, compact what you can w/ the dozer, set the trailer and be done by noon... Send movies when you do it! :thumbsup:

 

[mdelmarcelle]

Got nothing else to add in terms of machines you could use to pull it up the driveway. But, I'd suggest taking any full glasses of milk or other drinks off the counters in the mobile home when you pull it up the drive. There's a good chance they'd fall right off the counter and create a huge mess.

 

[James150]

Got nothing else to add in terms of machines you could use to pull it up the driveway. But, I'd suggest taking any full glasses of milk or other drinks off the counters in the mobile home when you pull it up the drive. There's a good chance they'd fall right off the counter and create a huge mess.

Yep, I'm going to unload the refrigerator, clear the counters and even make sure the gray and black water tanks are empty. I want this to go as easily as possible.

Lots and lots of good ideas and suggestions . . .I'll let you know what I decide on (now I gotta go but a video camera . . .****

Jim

 

[xtn]

Don't know why you would have to OWN the helicopter. Sky-crane services are available for hire. Best. Idea. Ever.

xtn

 

[Combustix]

What nobody mentioned a team of clysdales. 4 big horses gives you 16x16. Can't beat that for traction and a good square of hay $8-$12 bucks. lol

 

[Sutol]

Helecopter idea is a good one

I had one years ago but lived in town and had no where to park it so I had to tie a rope to it and leave the engine running.
Rope snapped one night and I never saw it again

 

[flusher]

Is it possible you can add a tow hitch to the front of your truck and get a winch mounted on it with a receiver hitch. Use the winch to help you pull your truck and trailer up the hill. We installed a septic system down in a very steep draw and the 2wd backhoe could not drive itself back up the steep gravel drive way. We bought a 12k winch and helped pull it backup. I would go with a dozer or wrecker truck it that is feasible.

If I had this problem, I'd find someone with an 8K or larger winch front mounted on his pickup. He backs up the incline 50-100 ft, plays out the cable and attaches it to the front of the pickup/trailer. Use the winch assist and the pickup with trailer to climb the incline. Repeat this process until you reach the top. If you were fortunate enough to have a friend with this type of winch setup, this job would cost you only beer and pizza money.

 

[Diamondpilot]

If I had this problem, I'd find someone with an 8K or larger winch front mounted on his pickup. He backs up the incline 50-100 ft, plays out the cable and attaches it to the front of the pickup/trailer. Use the winch assist and the pickup with trailer to climb the incline. Repeat this process until you reach the top. If you were fortunate enough to have a friend with this type of winch setup, this job would cost you only beer and pizza money.

That would pull the truck doing the winching right down the hill. Seen it done a few times with wreckers and such at the boat ramp. In this case the only thing you can do is chain it off to a tree or a few more trucks.

There is no way a truck weighing 7,000# with a winch is going to pull a 7,000# truck and a 14,000# trailer up a hill on gravel while staying still.

Chris

 

[RobertN]

Grew up in Jeeps; saw that happen numerous times. Jeep try to winch out a pickup or something larger. The winch just drug the Jeep to the heavier stuck vehicle. Without anchoring, what could a 2500lb vehicle do(Pre-'76 Jeeps were pretty light...)

That would pull the truck doing the winching right down the hill. Seen it done a few times with wreckers and such at the boat ramp. In this case the only thing you can do is chain it off to a tree or a few more trucks.

There is no way a truck weighing 7,000# with a winch is going to pull a 7,000# truck and a 14,000# trailer up a hill on gravel while staying still.

Chris

 

[Combustix]

Grew up in Jeeps; saw that happen numerous times. Jeep try to winch out a pickup or something larger. The winch just drug the Jeep to the heavier stuck vehicle. Without anchoring, what could a 2500lb vehicle do(Pre-'76 Jeeps were pretty light...)

Yep quad has a winch and tried to pull the tractor out once. Unless you anchor the truck the lighter one will be pulled to the bigger one