18 replies to this topic

[eav]

We scoured the forums for dolly designs and took up all the advice we could. We just brought our 2018 used Grandby home and spent the next saturday building this. 

 

https://photos.app.g...tey8XfZ68e5Pee7

 

 

We used 2 x 8" x 8' (two) and 2 x 8"x 45" joists and end pieces for the frame. Used 3" screws and nails. Then we put 4 x 4 x7" lumber in the corners to mount the wheels. We put 3/4" plywood, 4' x 8', top and bottom. 

 

We bought 6" wheels at Harbor Freight. Two rigid, and two swivel.

 

We were afraid we wouldn't be able to move it, but with the Grandby on it we just push it around. Two of us can do it easy. We have a level driveway into the garage. We didn't account for the extra inches on the lumber, or the depth of the wheels, but when we pushed the Grandby and dolly into the garage, it cleared the door by 6 inches. We were delighted. Thanks all for the advice. 

Edited by eav, 16 September 2019 - 08:36 PM.

[WillTheThri11]

I did about the same, but didn't use a top sheet and just left the studs supporting the camper directly.  I figured the bottom of the camper was plywood and should handle it ok.  Any particular reason you guys used plywood top sheets?

[Ronin]

I made my 1st dolly with 8" casters - 2 swivel and 2 non swivel- 4x6 pressure treated I already had, and no floor. I couldn't move my Hawk around very well on my uneven asphalt in front of the garage. I found a 5x8 flatbed trailer for $200 on CL. It was probably a boat trailer originally. Now I can move it anywhere on my 5 acres or hitch it up in case of a fire evacuation.

[eav]

We used two sheets of plywood because we read it on another thread. Something about shear or twisting out of square with the weight of the camper on it. We could have put more joists for strength but ended up with just two as that's the amount of lumber we had. At any rate it works great and fits in the garage. 

[WillTheThri11]

I could see the shear argument, i plan to install eye bolts and be able to turnbuckle it down to the dolly, i think this will effectively use the camper as the structure to keep it from twisting.  Plus, it's not like I'm adding a trailer hitch to the thing and towing it behind the truck or anything. 

[Wittmaster512]

How do you get the camper low enough to rest it on the dolly?

[eav]

Wittmaster 512, funny! We didn't even consider that the dolly wouldn't be tall enough with the jacks completely recessed! Could have been a fiasco elevating the dolly with more lumber to reach the bottom of the camper. As it turns out, it all worked out. Dolly height, jack height, garage door height. What newbies!

 

 

Willthethrill 11: I think the concept of the plywood top and bottom is to make the dolly resist shear so the camper doesn't twist out of square. Using the camper to prevent the dolly from twisting out of square is reversing the logic. But, who am I? Could work given the weight of the camper?

[WillTheThri11]

Willthethrill 11: I think the concept of the plywood top and bottom is to make the dolly resist shear so the camper doesn't twist out of square. Using the camper to prevent the dolly from twisting out of square is reversing the logic. But, who am I? Could work given the weight of the camper?

 

 

You may be right about reversing the logic, but a piece of plywood for shear in that direction isn't doing a lot for twisting either, it'll potato-chip. The plywood would take shear and keep the rectangular shape from becoming a parallelogram (when looking top down).  If you want it to keep from twisting build a platform higher and use trusses to connect it (basically a box).  But the camper already is a boxed truss structure, so I think it's probably fine...plus these things get bounced down roads bumpier than most people's driveways at higher speeds than most of us can push one.

[taco-pop]

Wittmaster 512, funny! We didn't even consider that the dolly wouldn't be tall enough with the jacks completely recessed! Could have been a fiasco elevating the dolly with more lumber to reach the bottom of the camper. As it turns out, it all worked out. Dolly height, jack height, garage door height. What newbies!

 

So what what the actual height to the platform? Or, maybe a better question is how low do the jacks go and how high is the bottom of the camper when the jacks are lowered all the way?