Dolly for trailer front wheel?

[Navy Jr.]

Just wondering if anyone makes a dolly you can lower the trailer tongue jack on in order to more easily more the trailer around in the garage. I know there's a 2-wheel trailer mover that connects with the coupler and has a long handle used for leverage, but I'm looking for something without any handles so that the folded swing tongue can be easily pushed around in a tight garage space. Thanks. Ken.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Dolly for trailer front wheel?

http://www.iboats.com/Marine_Store/dm/keywords.tongue jack--submit.Search--submit.x.24--submit.y.9

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: Dolly for trailer front wheel?

Thanks, TD. I've got the tongue jack and wheel, but it's sometimes hard to change the direction of the wheel to get the trailer into a tight spot. Tongue weight is 250 lbs. So I was thinking that there might be a dolly with 4 small wheels that I could slide under the wheel of the tongue jack before unhooking from my tow vehicle. Then I could fold the swing-tongue closed and move the rig around a little more easily. As it is now, I have to keep the swing-tongue open and locked to get the kind of leverage needed to change the direction of the wheel and grunt the trailer into position. Hope this makes better sense than my last post.

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Dolly for trailer front wheel?

I believe something like this may work. a lot of trailer places use this to move smaller trailers around in the showrooms.

Not sure where you could get one local but if you checked at a trailer place that sells RVs, they may or could refer you to one.

http://www.bosstoolsupply.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2452

 

[AZMinyard]

Re: Dolly for trailer front wheel?

Perhaps a furniture dolly with some minor modifications?

This one is rated at 1000 lbs:

Cover the opening with a steel plate, bolt a jack foot to it and you are good to go. These run about $25 at your local hardware store or used from places such as U-haul. Add the cost of the steel plate (also available at most hardware stores), jack foot and you should have what you are looking for without spending more than $75.

Wooden furniture dollies will work also, they are just rated for a little less weight (500-800 lbs).

Hope this helps.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Dolly for trailer front wheel?

i was thinking the same as AZMinyard. put a piece of 3/4 plywood on it, and a 1x2 or 2x2 small frame to hold the jack wheel in place.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Dolly for trailer front wheel?

Here's the perfect deal:

$36 + S&H from:

http://clarkecasters.com/catalog/carts-dollies-three-wheel-dollies-c-27_2182.html

I didn't see a capacity rating, but with three wheels, it should handle most boats.

 

[CATransplant]

Re: Dolly for trailer front wheel?

Here's another one, with a 600 lb. capacity:

http://www.mappcaster.com/detail.aspx?ID=1369

 

[AZMinyard]

Re: Dolly for trailer front wheel?

Well, gee, if you want to make it easy and all . . .

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: Dolly for trailer front wheel?

Here's the perfect deal:

$36 + S&H from:

http://clarkecasters.com/catalog/carts-dollies-three-wheel-dollies-c-27_2182.html

I didn't see a capacity rating, but with three wheels, it should handle most boats.

There! Now that's exactly what I was looking for! Thanks CAT!!!

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Dolly for trailer front wheel?

it would also be easy to change to larger casters.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Dolly for trailer front wheel?

I made one for my one boat for when I was building it, I cut off the original wheel from the swivel jack and made a removable pneumatic swivel caster with a hair pin clip to attach and detach it. It's more rigid than the small plastic wheel, it can run on rougher pavement and dirt, and the one I used even has a locking brake mechanism on it to keep the boat where I put it.
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...oncepts&cm_pla=Google&cm_ite=pneumatic+caster

I simply took a flat piece of steel, drilled it to match the caster bolt pattern, then welded on a piece of 3" tube and drilled a hole through both the tube and the lower trailer jack tube by which to attach it with.

The best part was that it allowed me to roll the trailer about the shop without having to hook up a vehicle and it allowed me to roll it in and out by myself. It rolls just fine even on loose gravel in my driveway.

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: Dolly for trailer front wheel?

Thanks for all of the responses. I ended up finding a 3-wheel caster furniture mover at our local home supply store (Menards) for $5.97 + tax. It isn't nearly as durable as the ones posted above as it only supports 200 lbs, but it seems to work just fine. Only need to move it 4 feet each time I hook up and each time I unhook. Time and use will tell. Might need to upgrade to a bigger model like ones posted in this thread or one I found on e-Bay for much more $.

The picture doesn't do it much justice. Looks much smaller than it really is (it's 6 1/2" across). Sort of like when taking a picture of someone and their catch of the day. Trick is to hold the fish out in front of you as far towards the camera as you can to make it look bigger than it really is! This is just the opposite. Object is further away.

 

[mthieme]

Re: Dolly for trailer front wheel?

Harbor Freight has all the items discussed so far too.