Camper Dolly

I finally got around to taking some pics of the dolly I built. The camper is too tall for me to drive into the garage. So, I have to take it off the truck, put it on a dolly, and then roll it into the garage. Complicating matters is that my driveway is sloped, so I have to roll it all the way down where the sidewalk is almost flat. I mounted a snatch block to the back wall so I can use the truck and winch cable to roll it up and down the hill. Thought I would share.

Dolly is made of 2x6x8's (except for a coulpe of 2x4s to add some surface areas to the 'deck'. I used some gorilla glue and 3" screws. The ends have double 2x6's and the sides have one on the bottom too.

Wheels I orderd from northerntool.com. I don't remember exactly, but they are rated to somewhere between 500 and 700lbs each. They swivel, which has turned out to be good and bad. Good because I can roll the whole thing sideways into the corner of the garage. Bad when the wheel is turned sideways- it takes a large wrench to straighten it out before I can get it moving again. Used some lag bolts to attach.

A view from the bottom. Definately overkill- could have used fewer boards to support the weight, maybe even 2x4s. Damn thing is really heavy. Probably a few hundred lbs on its own. At least it is solid- no need to worry about it holding the weight/stress. I use the yank strap to help move it.

Here you can see the slope of the driveway.

Definately overkill- could have used fewer boards to support the weight, maybe even 2x4s. Damn thing is really heavy. Probably a few hundred lbs on its own. At least it is solid- no need to worry about it holding the weight/stress.

Holy crap... hope you do not get a job building ATC campers!

Very nice. Do you have a 4x4 version since I have a gravel driveway?

Mike

Nice work! I have the same setup with the exception of the 2x's on top. I used 1/2 " OSB plywood. Got the casters at home depot. Works like a champ.

Well done!

I spoke with a couple from Washington that attach the wheels to the foot of the camper legs. No wood frame, dolly, or anything. They are able to drive into their garage with the camper, though, so I am guessing they don't have to move it up a sloped driveway.

I spoke with a couple from Washington that attach the wheels to the foot of the camper legs. No wood frame, dolly, or anything.

I was thinking that, but couldn't quite figure out how to get wheels securely on the jacks. I also would worry about the lateral stress on the jacks/jack brackets. Especially going uphill.

Nice work! I have the same setup with the exception of the 2x's on top. I used 1/2 " OSB plywood. Got the casters at home depot. Works like a champ.

Well done!

I thought I needed the support of the 2x's on top. But now that you mention it, OSB would have been better- and probably cheaper.

Do you have a 4x4 version since I have a gravel driveway?
Mike

Sure. Just put something like these on instead of the casters:
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or these: http://www.northernt...36328_200336328

Mike,

Back when I was living in Tom Tierra's 'hood I struggled with the idea of building a useful dolly. And then lo and behold Harbor Fright oops freight had their 1000 lb trailer for sale for $120. When I put it together I did so that it wasn't folding and left the lights off. It was perfect for my sloped driveway and an excellent dolly. One plus was I could use the truck to push it into the garage when I was alone. It has 10" wheels so it should handle the gravel with no problem. I also picked up their HD trailer dolly for less than 50 bucks.


It was a pain in the a$$ to put together by myself but I managed in a couple of hours. When we moved I sold it for $20 less than I payed for it.


Just a thought.

Looks great Brett13,

Is it tall enough when the camper sits on it the jacks clear the ground. If you go into a dip will the jacks drag?

Are you going to put eye bolts in the frame to use the turnbuckles to keep it from moving on the frame when moving up the driveway slope?

Looks great Brett13,

Is it tall enough when the camper sits on it the jacks clear the ground. If you go into a dip will the jacks drag?

Are you going to put eye bolts in the frame to use the turnbuckles to keep it from moving on the frame when moving up the driveway slope?

The top of the deck on the dolly is 15" high, so the jacks clear the ground by at least 6" when raised. Thus, no problems over dips, bumps, etc.

No plans for eyebolts. Once the weight of the camper sits on the dolly, it is like one unit and doesn't seem to shift. I use the pulley to pull it up/lower it slowly and there has not been any shifting yet, even with small abrupt stops (my wife is a little jerky on the brakes) or going over expansion joints. The slope of the driveway is deceiving. I don't know how to measure the angle, but it is too steep to push/pull up it by hand, but not as steep as it looks in the pic. 10% grade maybe?