Chock RV on snow/ice. NEED HELP!!!

[Skinny_D]

Question: How do you get enough traction on ice or snow to chock the tires of a travel trailer on a slight slope?

So, I just arrived at the parking lot of my nearby ski park. It was 8pm on arrival and everything was frozen. Spent over an hour trying to level and chock the trailer. Snow was so packed that my rubber chocks and plastic levelers didn't work! The levelers would repeatedly shoot out when I tried to pull up on them. We gave up and pulled into an area that is certainly not approved so that we could park with the trailer still attached to the truck on more level ground.

What can be used to get traction and help stabilize the trailer in this situation? Bring sand to put on the ground? Any Canadians out there want to offer sage wisdom? All suggestions are welcome and will not be publicly ridiculed.

[Skinny_D]

spoon059 wrote:
Every place I've ever camped in the snow has had a plethora of sites so if one is too terribly off level I could easily find another. Never camped at a ski resort though.

Yeah, in my particular situation the pickings are slim. We have tried to get here on Thursday to beat the weekend rush but even then we're getting the last slot, and on Friday they're full. And today we realized one advantage of staying at the resort... they were so busy they were turning vehicles away by 9 am. They can't turn you away if you are already there.

So, we have a very specific reason for wanting to make this work.

[spoon059]

10 more days until we leave for Florida. This thread reminds me why we go.

In seriousness, I've never parked on ice before. I'd avoid it at all costs. Snow is easy enough, it won't slide so long as you're relatively level. Every place I've ever camped in the snow has had a plethora of sites so if one is too terribly off level I could easily find another. Never camped at a ski resort though.

[BobsYourUncle]

Hey, that looks great, nice work!

And I see you are now a master at posting pics... :B :W

[Skinny_D]

Click For Full-Size Image.

[BobsYourUncle]

Skinny D wrote:

BobsYourUncle wrote:

Yes there is that capability.
Easy!!

Easy, my arse. Thanks though. Not the easiest process but it worked.

:B:B
Well, I find it easy!!
At least you got it figured out.
And nice job on the boards!

[Skinny_D]

BobsYourUncle wrote:

Yes there is that capability.
Easy!!

Easy, my arse. Thanks though. Not the easiest process but it worked.

[BobsYourUncle]

Skinny D wrote:

I wish I could just post a picture. This forum doesn't have that capability?

Yes there is that capability.

Look up to the top right where it says Forum Posting Help and Support

Click that and you will see a whole host of excellent help topics regarding everything you need to know here.

In the topics, 4th item down, there is a Sticky that reads RV.Net Tutorials and Picture Related FAQ's. This is where the gold mine of information is.

Click that, then then see the first link that says
Easy Photo Upload & Posting Web App! (1492)

Click that, and follow the instructions.
Drag and drop a photo, or point to it on your hard drive with the Select button.
It will upload your picture and respond with the code to copy and paste into your thread.

Easy!!

I have a shortcut to it in my browser shortcut bar at the top for easy access.

[Skinny_D]

I'm running with the hex head sheet metal screw idea. Here is what I have so far. Board 70" long x 8" wide. 5" bevel at each end. 6' flat surface which is what I need for the wheel spacing PLUS pulling up on levelers. #10 3/4" hex head screws in the bottom.


Click For Full-Size Image.


Click For Full-Size Image.


Click For Full-Size Image.

I'll try to post some pics of the gripper board in action.

Edit: My buddy also recommended applying epoxy to the drive surface (as done with garage floors) and sprinkling it with coarse sand. Seems like a good idea.

[JRscooby]

Skinny D wrote:

bucky wrote:
The best chocks on snow and ice are Ski Chalets.

You had me searching for Ski Chalet as a brand of chock. I get your point. But then, the place I go has no highfalutin chalet... only a parking lot. And I have a TT that offers numerous conveniences admittedly at the cost of some other inconveniences.

With infinite resources, we could all be infinitely endowed so we wouldn't need the input on a forum like this. I don't live in that world.

I thought that Ski Chalet was kind of funny. Of course, years back people asked me to go skiing with them. I had a van for the trip across Ks. But, 6-8 go, then for weeks 1 would wear a cast.

[Skinny_D]

bucky wrote:
The best chocks on snow and ice are Ski Chalets.

You had me searching for Ski Chalet as a brand of chock. I get your point. But then, the place I go has no highfalutin chalet... only a parking lot. And I have a TT that offers numerous conveniences admittedly at the cost of some other inconveniences.

With infinite resources, we could all be infinitely endowed so we wouldn't need the input on a forum like this. I don't live in that world.

[JRscooby]

I have known for decades how to chock a vehicle under any conditions. But it is more fun to think about stuff like this than the end of the county.

BobsYourUncle wrote:

I personally would not want a wheel under my hitch. Manoever it into position and leave it there.

Note I never suggested using the wheel to maneuver the trailer. In fact a friend that turns his little TT crosswise in garage to store, I built a dolly with 4 casters and a ball the same height as TV. He can unhook, lower the coupler on the ball, and push to where he wants it with no strain on jack.
What I suggest is a roller to allow the base to move the distance necessary to eliminate the flex that will happen when you adjust the height of tongue.

Now in my mind I see a triangle, where the weight meets ground at tire, (A) where the jack meets ground, (B) and where jack is attached to tongue. (C). Now the point A should be set so it can't move when you unhook, or the trailer can roll away. And the distance A-C is set when trailer built/loaded. The angle at C is set when the jack is mounted. When you crank the jack down to unhook, you set the lengths of A-B and B-C. But a RV trailer, we want the floor level, so we start changing the length of B-C. With a wheel at B, that lets the length A-B also change, no issue. But the angle at C takes more force as the length A-B resists the change in length.

Let me make a couple of points. First, I understand "gee-I'm-a-tree," as a blend of math and science, is hated by most people that call themselves educated. And I was pretty much thru with school before high school.
But with what I have learned in life I know that if you change the length of 1 side of a triangle, then the length of at least 1 other side or all 3 angles must change. Most times I complete the triangle to hold 1 angle in place. I'm not educated enough to tell you how much things would change, but I bet a engineer could.
In my example above, if the angle at B was 90 degrees, (not likely) with a calculator and the length A-B and B-C I could tell you how long A-C is. Just trumping up some numbers; 90 at B, tire to jack base (A-B) of 15 feet, and the jack base to mount (B-C) of 2 ft. Crank the jack down to 18 inches, and the distance A to C would change over half inch, and the angles at both ends would also change. But when the trailer is built/loaded both the length A to C is set. And the angle at C is set. So if you also do not let length A-B change as B-C changes something else must change. And I'm sure the ground doesn't bend. I bet the jack, and or where it mounts is what flexes.

[noteven]

My Roughneck travel trailer weighs 1250-1300lbs on the hitch. I think a wheel on the jack would go stuck ...

[BobsYourUncle]

The last TT I had with a hitch wheel was my 63 Shasta 16'.

That same old Shasta did not have the tongue weight that today's units do. I could literally pick up the front of the trailer with one hand and use my other hand to push it around. I did it all the time.
When it was on the wheel, it was a breeze to position it, as long as the wheel was not on dirt or grass.

I never see any modern day TTs with a wheel. All of them have the jack only and go on blocks of some sort.

Today's TTs have a much heavier tongue weight and will crush a standard hitch wheel, unless you have one with extreme weight capacity. The challenge is that in order to steer it, the wheel is usually offset, putting the load on the side rather than directly above the wheel. They may make them, I've never seen one.

My Tango has something like 850 pounds tongue weight. Good luck putting a wheel under that and try moving it around. Not happening.

I had a converted landscape trailer that I built a mobile solarium showroom display with. I had a 3 point electric dolly to move it in and out of homeshow venues. It struggled, but worked good only on level concrete.
I once put a hitch wheel under it and tried moving it. The hitch wheel failed and collapsed. Tongue weight was maybe 250 - 300 pounds.

Running a hitch jack directly into ice will work well if done properly. When I chock my wheels, I always put my truck in neutral, take my foot off the brake pedal for a moment, and let the trailer load up against the chocks before disconnecting. There should be no issue with bending the jack if the chocks are done solidly prior to unhitching.

I personally would not want a wheel under my hitch. Manoever it into position and leave it there.

[JRscooby]

Tvov wrote:

JRscooby wrote:
....
Something I always think of when I see/hear of a RV trailer set down with out wheel on the jack;.....

Have you seen a lot of TT with jack wheels?

My TT did not come with a wheel on the jack... same with everyone we know with a TT.

A few people I've talked to, including RV dealers, said they don't want a jack wheel to help prevent the TT from moving.

The only trailers that I always see jack wheels on are boat trailers.

My camper has a wheel. I put wheel on Dad's TT, and a pair on his 5th wheel. My tool trailer has a wheel. None of the others do, because I don't level them. If I unhook the car trailer when loaded, then what to hook with another TV, need to adjust the height, I use a dolly under bottle jack.
As far as the factory not installing one; How often do you see the factories spend a dime to increase the life of a trailer?
As for the dealers, do they level the campers? And if they have issue, it is much cheaper and likely pass cost to factory.
Back in the days before semi-trailers had spring brakes they had wheels on the landing gear. The idea was if a driver did not hook up air lines, and apply brakes, before backing under the trailer might move, but the legs would not collapse, dropping trailer on nose.