Unhitching safely on deep grass - slight slope

[ScottyP5947]

Hello all!

My wife and I have been really enjoying our IDM245 Mallard travel trailer. We have had it for around a year, and we used to rent travel trailers before that. We generally don't have many issues unhitching when we arrive on site to camp but I have noticed that we struggle under certain circumstances so I wanted to get some feedback from you seasoned pros.

When we go see concerts at the Gorge Amphitheater in WA, we always camp there on site. It's a thick, somewhat deep grass that's pretty uneven in places. Where we have an issue is when we pull up, I put it on a few Lynx leveler blocks to get it level side to side. No problem. But then I put chock blocks down on the opposite side and some more Lynx blocks under the tongue and I go to disconnect. What I have experienced several times is that the trailer tries to move when I disconnect, even driving over the chock blocks in once case. Fortunately I still had the chains connected and I didn't lose the travel trailer! It seems that the grass compresses and that's what causes the issue?

What do you all recommend doing differently in the future? Should I dig out the grass where I am putting the lynx levelers, get bigger chock blocks? I am open to any and all suggestions. Please ask for clarification about my procedure if needed. Thanks in advance for your help!!

Scott

[drsteve]

ScottyP5947 wrote:
Well, I was successful this weekend. Using the board under the trailer jack and the larger rubber chocks did help a lot. Again, I sincerely appreciate your experience with all this!
I did order a pair of lynx leveler chocks today, I feel they will help when I'm using the lynx blocks for leveling one side.
One last question, it seems relevant in this conversation. With the stabilization jacks, would placing wood under them aid the stabilization? I have the power version, the RV dealer said to just run them down until they click and stop moving and bam, you're done. However, I've found that I have to re-lower them every once in a while to keep it feeling stable. Is this normal? Seems doing anything more than walking in the coach (wink wink) results in a lot of motion. I'd like to minimize that if possible.
Thanks!
Scott

The less you extend your stabilizers, the more stable they will be. I've found that the more wood you have the better.

[ScottyP5947]

Well, I was successful this weekend. Using the board under the trailer jack and the larger rubber chocks did help a lot. Again, I sincerely appreciate your experience with all this!
I did order a pair of lynx leveler chocks today, I feel they will help when I'm using the lynx blocks for leveling one side.
One last question, it seems relevant in this conversation. With the stabilization jacks, would placing wood under them aid the stabilization? I have the power version, the RV dealer said to just run them down until they click and stop moving and bam, you're done. However, I've found that I have to re-lower them every once in a while to keep it feeling stable. Is this normal? Seems doing anything more than walking in the coach (wink wink) results in a lot of motion. I'd like to minimize that if possible.
Thanks!
Scott

[Gdetrailer]

Grit dog wrote:
And the issue isn't the slope, but rather the tall grass. Grass makes a pretty good slip plane.

^^THIS^^ is the problem.

Damp or wet grass is as slippery as snot on a door knob.

Using my method of placing the chocks between the axles and dropping a piece of 2x6 in between the chocks CAN potentially reduce the chance of slippage of the wheel chocks.

Something else the OP could do is to ask if they could "weed eat" the grass down to dirt (or near dirt) around where their trailer wheels will be..

That would get rid of the slippery grass and get the OP down to dirt/rocks which the wheel chocks can get a bit of a better grip on.

[Gdetrailer]

Grit dog wrote:
^Then it's not a "slight slope".
All the "gadgets" they sell for chocking wheels if one notices, are aimed squarely at the RV market. The other 90% of trailers on the road use either simple rubber chocks or lumber, bricks or rocks, etc.
It's akin to the wdh and sway control marketing. Sure some tow rigs and some trailers need help either due to payload capacity or the particular trailer loading, however they get sold as a "must have" and RV ers gobbled them up!

Semi trucks use air brakes which automatically apply and STAY APPLIED once the air has been removed from the brake cylinders.

RVs, not so much.

Does not take much of a slope for a RV to start moving.

With that said, I use simple yellow plastic chocks that can be found at any Walmart store and have never had any issue with any of my trailer rolling over those wheel chocks..

But that may be how I apply the chocks, I put one in front of the rear wheel and one behind the front wheel.. Then I drop a 2x6 IN BETWEEN those two chocks. This doubles the holding or gripping area under the chocks!!

I often see folks putting one behind the rear wheel then on in front of the wheel.. Doing this on damp or wet grass is an invitation for the chocks to slip since you now have much less gripping area under the single wheel chock.

[bartlettj]

I use Anderson levelers under all 4 wheels on a slope, plus a big wood block under the tongue jack. Rock solid. And yes, keep the safety chains on and keep your fingers and body out of the way so you don't get pinched. I've even yanked the brake lanyard on steep hills as a backup just until I'm sure I have it completely stable, but be aware that it will still roll a bit until the brake magnets swing enough to actuate the shoes.

[Grit_dog]

And the issue isn't the slope, but rather the tall grass. Grass makes a pretty good slip plane.

[Grit_dog]

^Then it's not a "slight slope".
All the "gadgets" they sell for chocking wheels if one notices, are aimed squarely at the RV market. The other 90% of trailers on the road use either simple rubber chocks or lumber, bricks or rocks, etc.
It's akin to the wdh and sway control marketing. Sure some tow rigs and some trailers need help either due to payload capacity or the particular trailer loading, however they get sold as a "must have" and RV ers gobbled them up!

[wa8yxm]

The problem with wood blocks, bricks and such is the Original Poster said he had used them. and the trailer rolled right over 'em.

[Ashbourne]

In 2011 I purchased an American built 5th wheel. In order to comply with European legislation it had to be fitted with a mechanically operated handbrake (parking brake). As far as I know Dexter provided the parts (4x drum back plates, cables and ratchet lever. Parts shipping and fitting cost about £650.
Once fitted it must be capable of holding the detached trailer on a 16% hill, more than enough to hold the trailer steady when unhitching.
This system does not detract from the electric brakes already in use.
Just a thought

[ScottyP5947]

Wow thanks for all the input. I purchased another set of the large rubber chock blocks from harbor freight for additional holding power. I'll also pay closer attention to how I put them down and unhitch the truck. Lastly, I'm going to use a large 2x14 board on the bottom under my lynx blocks under the trailer jack, that should distribute the load a little better. I'm headed to the Gorge now, I'll let you all know how it went!
Scott

[Grit_dog]

OMGersh!
Some of their chocks have as many moving parts as the camper itself!
What happened to good ole wood blocks, rocks, cinder blocks, bricks, etc? Or are these not allowed in some RV parks??

[SusanDallas]

I park my travel trailer on the grass also. I have acreage that slopes down to a one acre pond. My easy solution was to just use my chocks and then place a cinder block in front of the chocks. Believe me, your trailer is not going anywhere.

[hondapro]

I use large rubber chocks,I started out with the cheap plastic ones.Will never use a plastic one again.We came home from a trip one time I was tired and was unhooking the trailer, I set my plastic chocks but was lazy and did'nt load them or release the bind on the ball.When lowering the jack I saw it was stuck on the ball but kept raising the tounge up.When the trailer did release it jumped off the ball the trailer started moving backward crushed the plastic chocks and kept going for about a foot before it stopped.

I made many mistakes that day that caused that to happen,it was not just the plastic chocks that failed.

What really scared me was if the slight slope was the other way the trailer could have rolled forward trapping me between the truck and trailer.

So now I use large rubber chocks I set the rear ones back up slightly against them then set the front put the truck in neutral and let it settle,then I raise the hitch off the ball and the last thing is unhook the safety chains.

[azrving]

oyarsa wrote:
What is this about chaining the wheels?

I had my trailer try to slide on me just the other day. Put the fear of God in me. Thankfully, the chocks were sufficient, but sure scared me for a second...

Put a chain around the axle and through the wheel on each side. Not only can it keep the whole rig from rolling, it may keep the tongue from swinging around.