Skid Wheels

[jpgaggin@yahoo.com]

We bought a used 2005 Fleetwood Wilderness 250RKS. We love it. But it's only 25 feet, and and it scrapes something horrible moving it in and out of our driveway apron. It hits at about the 2/3rd mark of the camper... maybe 4/5ths. My point is, it's not the bumper. It's the steps, or some other low hanging fruit. The camper rides low as it is. And my concern is, I may really damage something one of these times. What are your thoughts on Skid Wheels? Not at the rear, but closer to the steps, bolted to the frames. Please advise. Thank you.

[mptjelgin]

I would try to find out exactly what is scraping. It shouldn't be too hard to have someone looking as you move it in/out of the driveway.

Once you know, you may be able to adjust the spring positions or hitch height to get a little more clearance. One potential problem with the skid wheels is that you could end up supporting the trailer on a portion of the frame that wasn't meant to do so.  Frames are designed to be supported by the axles and suspension, and picking them up somewhere else could cause unanticipated damage. 

 

Edited July 15, 2020 by mptjelgin

[Kirk W]

10 hours ago, mptjelgin said:

I would try to find out exactly what is scraping.

I absolutely agree on this. It may be that you have a suspension problem causing this, rather than a driveway problem. A great deal depends on the grade of the driveway and any dip you have to enter it. With my second motorhome we found that the rear overhang was such that I made ramps that I laid into the gutter to lessen the dip when we moved it in or out as the problem was the drive. We currently have a travel trailer that is single axle (they have more tendency to tail drag) and I do have skid wheels on it, but they are attached to the rear of the trailer on some metal brackets that were there as skids from the factory. 

          

If it were mine, I would get an assistant to watch and pull forward just to the point where it begins to touch and then stop to figure out exactly what is dragging and consider how to protect it. Unless your driveway is petty unusual, anything that drags there will probably hit from time to time in other situations. If you look at this link you will see that there are many different types of skid wheels available.