Positioning TM with HiLift Jack

Recently, I needed to park the TM somewhere that was a tight fit, and which I couldn't quite get in straight with my TV - so the TM was slightly angled from what I wanted it to be. There was no way of backing it and getting it where I wanted, because of where I wanted it to end up and some obstructions in the driveway.

I used one of these I had handy: http://www.tellico4x4.com/product_in...ducts_id/26358

For people unfamiliar with these, they have a pivot on the foot, so what you do is: unhook the TM using the tongue jack, chock one side of the TM but not the other, and then placing this jack under the tongue, jack it up and push it the direction you want it to go. You can fix a bad angle pretty easily with this, and a whole lot easier than trying to roll the thing on that tongue jack wheel.

Obviously you only want to do this on level ground and you want to make sure everyone around the TM knows to get out of the way if something goes wrong (including yourself) - it's better to damage property than people.

I use one of these: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=37510
except it's one I built myself.

I don't understand the problem.

On the street in front of my house, which is paved with asphalt and very nearly level, two people can push the TM down the street with very little effort. It rolls very nicely.

When I back my TM into the garage, I intentionally park it with a slight angle. I chock front and rear of one wheel only. Then I push the front towards the wall. It rolls very easily with the front wheel on the concrete floor. It pivots around the chocked wheel.

It makes it easier to park a car next to the TM when the space by the garage door is slightly wider than it is at the back wall.

I would never try this on a hill.

Wayne, if that works for you, great. I tried doing that on our back patio and it has exposed aggregate and the TM tongue wheel will not roll and if I get it to roll, I can't get it to swivel, so I use the trailer dolly and it works great. It would be nice to have one of those electrics, but I'm too cheap for that. For twice a year, (Fall and Spring) I'll use the dolly.

[Bill]

Freedom -

How much effort is it to move your TM on that dolly? I ask because I bought that same 600 lb Harbor Freight dolly to use in moving my boat around. I figure that the boat, motor, trailer, etc, must weigh around 1600-1700 pounds. The ground is hard-packed dirt mixed with "crusher dust" rock particles, and there is a slight but definite slope in an unhandy direction.

So the boat weighs about half of what a TM weighs. And I can move it, so I have accomplished my goal - but Lord, it is a hard job!

However, I have to admit that the trailer axle is probably in the wrong spot, and the tongue weight is way too heavy. When I bought the boat, the trailer that came with it was much longer than it had to be, and it wouldn't fit in my boathouse. The dealer offered to shorten the trailer for me, and I think all he did was cut 4 feet off the back end and then weld the cross piece back onto the stub. So, do you think that excessive tongue weight would make it harder to move with the dolly?

Like you, I am way too cheap for one of those overpriced electrics, so the Harbor Freight dolly will have to do.

Bill

[Bill]

Joel -

If I understand you correctly, what you are doing is jacking up the tongue and then pushing it off the jack. I have done that in order to move a car under unfortunate circumstances, and it is an interesting process, to say the least. As long as you don't jack it too high, I concluded that it is not too dangerous, and as you point out, the high-lift jack doesn't bend or break because of the pivot on the foot. However, when the tongue comes off the jack, and is moving sideways and down, does all the moving mass come down on the tongue jack's stem? Again, as long as you keep it near the ground, the jack stem is probably strong enough to withstand that sideways force. But would it make sense to have the wheel on the jack, so that as it comes down it can roll in the direction you want it to go?

Or am I misunderstanding your technique?

Bill

I am new to the forum, but we have used a jack for lifting a car.

Bill, you're probably right about needing the wheel on there. I'll do that next time.

Bill, I didn't buy the dolly from Harbor Freight - I just used their picture to show what my dolly looks like. I built my own, so I can't say what their's is like. When I put the TM on the back patio, I can get it close to lined up with the Jimmy, but have to move it a couple of feet to square it up and move it close to the stairs to the back deck. The patio is level, so all I do is chock the wheel that is in the right spot and pivot the tongue over so the TM sits parallel to the house. I can still use the back door, and the stairs to the back deck. I really don't move it around that much and the dolly works for me. (I have no idea what the capacity of my home-made dolly is.)

[Bill]

Joel -

I don't know if you need the wheel - that's why I was asking. But as the stem of the tongue jack hits the ground and bites in, I would hate to see it bend.

The high lift jack you mentioned is an interesting beast. I inherited one from my father, but I had never seen him use it, and I had no idea what it was. I kept it around for several years, and had just about talked myself into throwing it out, when suddenly I found myself needing to pick up the tongue of my boat trailer, from a position flat on the ground. Since it was on the ground, I couldn't get the pivoted tongue jack under it, it was too heavy to lift by hand, and I couldn't figure out how to raise it. The high-lift suddenly hit me like a bolt from the blue - my Dad's jack will lift from below ground level if needed, so it was perfect.

My high-lift now has a special place in my tool collection.

Bill