Camper slides when unhitching - what am I doing wrong?

jgpell14

Hello,

I sometimes have a problem when I unhitch whereby the trailer slides. It goes like this...

- I get to my site and level from side to side using Anderson levelers.
- I chock the other wheel.
- I unlock the tongue hitch and raise the trailer off my vehicle ball. 
- When the hitch comes off the ball the tongue slides either left or right anywhere from 6-12"

It's scary and dangerous and I don't know what I'm doing wrong. 

Has anyone experienced this? Any suggestions on what I should change?

Thanks!
John

Sharon_is_SAM

Are you on gravel, sand, uneven ground?  Is there something under the jack post or are you using the wheel?

SLJ

"I chock the other wheel."
You have to chock both sides of the other wheel and make sure the Anderson side is chocked tightly. Using a rubber mallet helps.

bergger

Yes as @SLJ said, chock both sides.  If you only chock on side the trailer may pivot depending on the terrain.  

XenanMe

I had similar issues and made some small changes that helped.
1. I now only pull the trailer forward onto the leveller (not backup onto it).  This helped because the trailer doesn’t slide back suddenly when releasing from the ball.
2. I really pound the smaller piece of the leveller in before releasing the trailer.  I use a rock or other implement (rubber mallet is a great idea) to make sure it is in there.
3. Chock both sides of the opposite (non-levelled) tire.  Again pound those chocks in with said implement.

These steps made a big difference for me and I no longer wonder if the trailer is going to roll away when it releases from the ball.  Good luck!

Binghi

After I have leveled and chocked the trailer and before I start cranking the trailer tongue off the hitch ball, I look down to make sure the ball is centered under the tongue. Sometimes it is too far back and sometimes it is too far forward. In either case the tongue will hang up and create a big jerk when it finally breaks loose from the hitch ball. If the tongue does start to hang up, I lower it back down, get in the tow vehicle and move the vehicle forward or backward to re-center the ball, then try again.

kottum

Good advice above.  To add to it, I always try to back the trailer straight into it's site (rather than at an angle) even if it means some back and forth to alleviate the angle as much as I can.  Overshoot the position, then pull forward a foot or two to remove any side pressures on the ball connection.  If no side or fore-aft pressure, the coupler should smoothly lift off the ball as you crank it up.  

Personally I would ditch those Andersen style levelers in favor of old-fashioned two foot long 2x10 boards (with a 45 degree slope cut on the ends) under the low-side wheel, then chock both sides. Easier to use, less chance of binding the hitch connection, and if you forget and drive away without them you haven't lost much money.

Binghi

Straightening out the tow vehicle and trailer as much as possible is a great idea.

To finish up about centering the ball under the tongue: I often find that putting the tow vehicle in neutral and taking my foot off the brake pedal briefly does the job.

Slackers

The red Anderson levelers can be slippery.  I applied strips of fabric medical tape lengthwise on the faces of the levelers.  This adds some friction to reduce the wedges from slipping.  There's probably a better solution using rubberized strips, but I found a roll of the medical tape at a campsite and hacked this solution during a cross-country trip.

jgpell14

Thanks to everyone for your comments. This was a huge help!

Denny16

@Slackers, my Anderson leveler kit came with a large rubber pad to put between the wedges to prevent slipping.  Contact Anderson, and see if you can get one or two.  The pads to prevent slipping, and I have never had our TaB slip,sideways when unhitching.
cheers

Slackers

Thanks @Denny16.  We have an old cheapo rubber door mat that can be repurposed for this. Like you I haven't had the Tab slip sideways.