Power Trailer Dolly

Aurelia · Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 9:36 am Post subject:

A front hitch would have us in the same spot.

We wanted it for the ease of boat put-away in our storage location. It is not a problem of backing. I am a trailer junkie at this point and like backing them. What I don't like, is how we have to pull forward down our long driveway (with no nearby turn around options) park the tow vehicle and unhitch on a slight slope. Then we push the trailer back and around 90 degrees on its jack wheel while using a couple of blocks to manage roll-away until we have it positioned for backing. Then we move the tow vehicle into that backing position and reconnect the trailer followed by the easy part which is backing the boat into the shed and that is the part I can actually do alone just fine. The manual pushing of the boat to get it into a backing position is hard and takes two people and I don't like the way the wheel jack protests and the manual dolly we have used for other trailers does not work well at the angle we need to use it based on the size and shape of the space.

A trailer valet should allow just ONE of us to unhitch-then crank the trailer around and back "effortlessly" and safely without the need to move the tow vehicle again. We want a shorter, single person process.

Greg

ShellBack · Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 11:16 am Post subject:

I have had a Trailer Valet for a month now and have moved the 22 several times with out any issues. We are on pavement not gravel so no issue there. I have a sharp dog leg in the drive way which was always a pain getting Thalassa back into place or out but now is a breeze by my self. It is easily removable if you are leaving the trailer somewhere or there is a security bolt if you wish to leave it on. As the season moves on I will let you know if we have any issues.
Terry

My IRA · Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 11:29 am Post subject:

We have a Power Mover three-wheel model (about 15 years old) and it has worked great for moving: 26 Olympic, 25 C-Dory, and our present 23 Venture. Our situation is somewhat unique in that we only have about 5" inches clearance on each side with the Venture and less when we owned the Olympic or the 25 C-Dory. I can and do occasionally back the Venture in using the truck (drives my wife crazy).

Both Power Caster and Power Mover have made these units for many years so I would stick with those brands

CDory23 · Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 8:22 pm Post subject:

I have had the trailer Valet for about 2 years now. Transfered it from my old 19ft Starcraft fiberglass runabout to the 22 Cruiser when I bought. It is cheaply made, rusts, but gets the job done. I have replaced a lot of the hardware with Stainless and I grease it and hit with corrosion x every so often. For the price of it versus the other options I am happy with my purchase. I always remove it when it when trailering and carry it with me. All it takes is removal of a hitch pin. Would also be easy to steal if left on. I cant imagine dipping that thing in saltwater after I've seen the rust on mine with just being stored outside while boats in storage.

I have pavers as a driveway and have to fit the boat in a very tight spot. Its pretty flat. Any hills and I wouldn't recommend it even though they say it works on them. It does go over surfaces that arent' smooth pretty well though.

Aurelia · Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 10:16 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the info and we have a relatively flat storage area so no problems there and its all asphalted so the surface is smooth. I have been following reviews and changes to the product and there have been some recently.

Here is an example from a company rep responding to complaints over corrosion.

"So in our effort to constantly improve the quality of the device, all new Trailer Valets, starting 1/15/14, will still have the layer of powder coating, and the parts that are exposed e.g. screws, jack crank, high/low gear drive shafts will now be Zinc/Nickel Plated, which is much more resistant to corrosion."

We will take reasonable care of it and not ever dunk it in salt water because our launching does not go in that far.

Greg

jdsawlor · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2016 8:26 am Post subject: Electric power trailer mover

We have a TRAX Power Dolly. It's surprisingly quick, quiet and powerful. Better yet it's very easy to connect to my trailer and extremely stable under the trailer's latch assembly too.

https://traxpowerdolly.com/videos

san juanderer · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2016 11:11 am Post subject:

I had the 4 wheeled Powermover for many years. Surface must be asphalt, does not work very well on gravel. Surface should be level, when turned OFF it will free wheel ( no braking ). Used it with the 23' and the 26' Olympic boats, it does not turn on a dime do to the tandem axle twist resistence and the tounge weight on the dolly. The Powermover uses the solid round steel post to make the connection to the trailer. I had my frame beefed up ( welding of angle stock) to help with the weight/ twist on the dolly.
It worked for the purpose.
alan

Marco Flamingo · Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2016 12:13 pm Post subject:

jdsawlor · Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 9:42 am Post subject:

Marco, that had to be a bit scary. I wonder if you had any weights to place on the back of the ranger to see if it would become more stable? I'd hate to see you loose your load going up a grade and have it tip over and cause bodily, trailer and ranger damage. Smile

Gypsy · Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 6:40 pm Post subject: Power Dolly

I bought the Parkit 360 and couldn't be happier with it. First we used it for our Bayliner 19 (which we are selling), but it would have been impossible to maneuver our recently acquired C-Dory 25. It moves it w/o any problem. The boat stays at the marina and then I use the dolly to park the trailer (29' 10") on a jungly area of our property, so it tows it over grass and dirt w/o problems. BTW, I bought the 10000 lb model; the price difference with the lesser model and the no shipping offer got me.

If you get it, order the battery charger, you won't regret it. I also bought later on a new device they came out with instead of the normal 2" ball, you hook this ball with 2 lateral wheels, and makes everything much easier (EZ Connect). Just go to Parkit360.com and you will see what I am talking about.

Good luck on your decision.

jdsawlor · Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 6:59 pm Post subject: EZ-Secure Loc Ball mount

Gypsy, I've seen the EZ Connect but it looks like it only works when you are pulling the trailer and not much for pushing. They stated on their website not use it on a grade. The TRAX EZ-Secure Loc looks like it will work much better and its much more compact and way cheaper too.

check it out -> https://traxpowerdolly.com/trailer-power-dolly/tx6000/product/34-ez-secure-loc-ball-mount

TyBoo · Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 7:24 pm Post subject:

Gypsy · Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 7:29 pm Post subject: Power Dolly

Jdsawlor, I use it every time for pulling and/or pushing and it works like a charm. Where it is more difficult is with the single ball post option, since you have to really tighten the ball to the trailer hitch so it won't wobble, the EZ connect solves this completely. We have a very long driveway (150') and have to do maneuvers to leave space for boat and trucks, or when we store the trailer in the "jungly" area (soil and grass) the EZ connect really makes it very easy. Definitely worth the $450 we paid for it. (No shipping cost either)

jdsawlor · Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2016 7:51 pm Post subject:

What size dolly did you get and how fast does yours go? Are you satisfied with the amount noise it makes?