I recently made a dolly for my boat trailer to make it easier to move around. Most Dollie’s I have seen mount an ball on them so they can lift the trailer coupler to move the trailer. I designed mine a little different. My tongue jack slides down into the dolly. This way you can roll the trailer right up the truck and lower the coupler directly onto the ball. You keep winding the jack up and the dolly falls off. Simple project but works really well. I did all the welding with my big Lincoln stick welder.
Boat trailer dolly
- Thread starter J-BELL
- Start date
Matt018888
Well-known member
I like this! Great ideal and well executed. Nice work!
Jagmandave
Well-known member
uh......maybe I'm missing something, but how do you get the handle off the trailer tongue after you drop in on the ball? You have to unbolt if from the wheels part?
Wouldn't it have been simpler to get a tongue jack with a wheel on it?
Wouldn't it have been simpler to get a tongue jack with a wheel on it?
The trailer jack simply slips into the square receiver of the dolly. As you wind the jack up to its travel position the dolly simply falls off and you wheel it away. As you can see in the picture my boat is stored in a gravel area. That’s why I used two 10 inch wheels to make it easier to roll and turn.
nadogail
Well-known member
Good looking dolly.
JohnKal
Well-known member
Maybe I’m thicker than whale sh&t, but I still don’t get it!
that's how my motorized trailer dolly hooks to the trailer .
The tongue is on the hitch, he retracts the jack and the dolly is free.
Easy!
I assume when not connected to a hitch he is leaving the dolly on.
Hey jagmandave. I think I finally understand why you didn’t get it. When you pull it up to the truck as close as you can you rotate the dolly and push it the rest of the way to lower onto the ball. Then you wind the jack up to its travel position and simply roll it out of the way. The trailer is not in the way of the handle. I do leave the dolly on the boat trailer when at home.
Attachments
Toxictom
Well-known member
I assume you have to prop it up with something until you get the dolly on the tongue jack?
I only had to prop it up the first time I made it. The trailer is either hooked up to my truck or on the dolly.
Putting it back on the dolly is just the reverse of taking it off. You roll the dolly under the jack, wind the jack down into the square receiver of the dolly and off the ball and roll it away.
kerrynzl
Well-known member
I'm curious as to why the Tongue Jack "Jockey wheel" isn't used [or popular] in the USA.
Even Cheap 8 x 4 utility "garden trailers" have them here in NZ.
They fold up out of the way when towing. [and tailgates don't get dented by them]
Even Cheap 8 x 4 utility "garden trailers" have them here in NZ.
They fold up out of the way when towing. [and tailgates don't get dented by them]
JohnKal
Well-known member
All of my boat and utility trailers have this set up. It’s quite prevalent here.I'm curious as to why the Tongue Jack "Jockey wheel" isn't used [or popular] in the USA.
Even Cheap 8 x 4 utility "garden trailers" have them here in NZ.
They fold up out of the way when towing. [and tailgates don't get dented by them]
Monza Harry
Well-known member
As for the wheels they are fine on paved or cement surfaces with very light loads, gravel, with how cheaply most here are made it is just NO FUN like not even any, think root canal fun only less [grass, broken cement, paving stones aren't much better tax audit+/-]! They also take up height on fixed jacks [swivels always flex when weighted]I'm modifying a trailer for my car, and the new tongue was built with the tongue jack back 4" from the tallest tailgate in the parking lot at work (+ the ball platform) so a well thought out setup should be fine for tailgate free from damage. Harry
kerrynzl
Well-known member
I've seen a lot of tongue jacks that bend where they mount in an A frame coupler from contacting the road [or kerb] because they don't lift high enough, and/or a bent tailgate from trying to lower it with the trailer still hitched.
Most Jockey wheels I buy need disassembling and greasing on the side pivot.
I buy the type that locks the wheel so it doesn't flop around and slowly unwind when fully up [this can be a DIY mod with a roll-pin]
Larger wheels will always roll nicer on paving stones etc, but I've found that a wheel larger tha 8" lifts the jockey wheel so it is difficult to fold away when hitched to a low vehicle like a S/W of Falcon/Commodore Ute.
If you mount it further back [like in my photo] you generally can't use "C" channel in the tongue construction because of poor torsional strength of "C" channel
I mount mine inboard for aesthetics [and a bit more Jack-knife prevention]
You can DIY make a decent Jockey wheel yourself by use a H/Duty corner stabilizer/jack from a caravan [travel trailer] and attaching a decent industrial caster wheel to the leg.
you cut the leg horizontally at the desired height ,then weld a plate with 4 holes to it [eg: where I've marked it]
Then bolt an industrial caster wheel to it.
These ^^^ are both rated at 2000lbs each . And you could wind it up ,so it tucks out of the way.
A good project for a GJer
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I haven’t found one tough enough. I tried one and it wasn’t heavy duty enough.
I like this idea! Might be heavy duty enough.I've seen a lot of tongue jacks that bend where they mount in an A frame coupler from contacting the road [or kerb] because they don't lift high enough, and/or a bent tailgate from trying to lower it with the trailer still hitched.
Most Jockey wheels I buy need disassembling and greasing on the side pivot.
I buy the type that locks the wheel so it doesn't flop around and slowly unwind when fully up [this can be a DIY mod with a roll-pin]
Larger wheels will always roll nicer on paving stones etc, but I've found that a wheel larger tha 8" lifts the jockey wheel so it is difficult to fold away when hitched to a low vehicle like a S/W of Falcon/Commodore Ute.
If you mount it further back [like in my photo] you generally can't use "C" channel in the tongue construction because of poor torsional strength of "C" channel
I mount mine inboard for aesthetics [and a bit more Jack-knife prevention]
You can DIY make a decent Jockey wheel yourself by use a H/Duty corner stabilizer/jack from a caravan [travel trailer] and attaching a decent industrial caster wheel to the leg.
you cut the leg horizontally at the desired height ,then weld a plate with 4 holes to it [eg: where I've marked it]
Then bolt an industrial caster wheel to it.
These ^^^ are both rated at 2000lbs each . And you could wind it up ,so it tucks out of the way.
A good project for a GJer
kerrynzl
Well-known member
We build our trailers more balanced than you do in the USA.
My race car trailer can be manually lifted off the towball with the race car still loaded. And my Jockey wheel is rated at 250kg [550lbs]
The secret is 50/50 balance on the deck [wheelbase is 50/50 of the deck length]
Then build a really long tongue /drawbar [you compensate for length with a long tongue
]My present trailer has a 16' deck , but the overall length is longer than an average 19'-20' trailer
This allows me to add a "pit bike" rack in the front at a later date
Most people I know with American 20' trailers move the payload rearward anyway
kerrynzl
Well-known member
You're welcome, that's what the GJ is for.
It isn't my idea, I plagiarized it from a friend who built one for a heavy caravan [travel trailer.]
I made one very similar to yours to move my 20’ enclosed trailer. Worked great.