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03-10-2015, 03:07 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: ..., New Mexico
Trailer: 2013 Esc19/'14 Silvrado
Posts: 4,193
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Camping on a grade
The Organ Mountains are on the road east of Las Cruces and west of White Sands, New Mexico. They were declared a national monument not long ago. We camped at Aguirre Campground there last weekend, and we also visited the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces. That’s a 47-acre campus devoted to the fun of cowboy life, farming, and ranching.
A 6 mile drive in from Route 70, getting to Aguirre Spring Campground features plenty of hairpin turns not designed for towing a big trailer. Nice sites without hookups, nice covered picnic tables, and steel boxes for dumping edibles so the wildlife don’t come scratching at your door. $5 a night. The campground is right upside the rugged Organ Mountains and many hiking trails. Views of the monster valley down below, actually part of the White Sands missile testing range, are sensational.
The thing that spurs this report, though, is the most level spot at Aguirre Spring we could find was just not looking right. Parking was on all loose gravel. The grade made me very nervous. Using simple wheel chocks to prevent down hill momentum seemed inadequate to unsafe. Was thankful I had a wheel wedge thingo to immobilize the 19’s trailer tires. For parking on any slope this is perfect peace of mind. Had built mine months ago, copied from Alberta Ice-Breaker’s (brilliant) wheel wedge design, but I had never used it. Now, I highly recommend.
__________________
Myron
"A billion here, a billion there...add it all up and before you know it you're talking real money." Everett Dirkson
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03-10-2015, 03:19 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Missoula, Montana
Trailer: Escape 19, 2018: Last Best Escape
Posts: 395
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Thank goodness this was about camping on an incline. For a moment, I thought maybe I'd get an "F" for some of my parking.
KSitte
__________________
2018 Escape 19: Last Best Escape
2015 Escape 19 (previous): Escape Goats
2011 Escape 17 (previous): SittEscape
Honda Pilot 2019
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03-10-2015, 04:24 PM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
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I've had some sloped campsites, but that beats any I've been in. It looks like about a 7% grade.
In our motorhome I've had to lift the front wheels right off the ground to get level, a situation compounded by the long distance between axles (about 6 metres or 20 feet). This is most commonly an issue in a family member's driveway, rather than a campsite... and it's never an issue in a truckstop, rest stop, or store parking lot. If anyone tries a motorhome and finds they need to do this, only jack the more lightly loaded and not driven axle off the ground (conventionally this is the front), and be warned that the jacking system manufacturer will say to never to this.
With our current trailer this isn't really an issue, because it has a single axle and can tilt a long way before bumper or coupler (depending on direction of slope) touches down. An Escape replacement will likely need to be larger, and thus will have tandem axles, which doesn't help ability to handle a slope. A least the tandems do offer the option of using that wedge device between the wheels as parking brake, which is handy since the trailers don't come with a parking brake (although they do in Europe, and could here if desired).
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03-10-2015, 04:29 PM
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#4
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Site Team
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Canyon Lake, Texas
Trailer: 2015 19 "Past Tents", 2021 F150 Lariat 2.7L EB
Posts: 10,222
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One of the reasons we picked up a pair of x-chocks.
__________________
"You can't buy happiness, but you can buy an RV. And that is pretty close."
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03-10-2015, 05:16 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 2013 19' & 2013 15B
Posts: 2,636
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MyronL
...Using simple wheel chocks to prevent down hill momentum seemed inadequate to unsafe. Was thankful I had a wheel wedge thingo to immobilize the 19’s trailer tires. For parking on any slope this is perfect peace of mind. Had built mine months ago, copied from Alberta Ice-Breaker’s (brilliant) wheel wedge design, but I had never used it. Now, I highly recommend.
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I have used my wheel wedges nearly every time that we use the trailer. I have found (as you did) that they are great security when parking on an incline. Additionally, I have found that they significantly reduce the amount of trailer movement that occurs when walking around inside your Escape. Gives things a much more stable feel. I agree with you that for such a simple and cheap device to construct, they work really great.
__________________
2013 19' \ 2013 15B, 2020 Toyota 4Runner TRD Offroad
"It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it." - 1907, Maurice Switzer
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03-10-2015, 07:41 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Juneau, Alaska
Trailer: 2015 17A - Ready for more Maiden Voyages ....
Posts: 881
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MyronL
The Organ Mountains are on the road east of Las Cruces and west of White Sands, New Mexico. They were declared a national monument not long ago. We camped at Aguirre Campground there last weekend, and we also visited the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces. That’s a 47-acre campus devoted to the fun of cowboy life, farming, and ranching.
A 6 mile drive in from Route 70, getting to Aguirre Spring Campground features plenty of hairpin turns not designed for towing a big trailer. Nice sites without hookups, nice covered picnic tables, and steel boxes for dumping edibles so the wildlife don’t come scratching at your door. $5 a night. The campground is right upside the rugged Organ Mountains and many hiking trails. Views of the monster valley down below, actually part of the White Sands missile testing range, are sensational.
The thing that spurs this report, though, is the most level spot at Aguirre Spring we could find was just not looking right. Parking was on all loose gravel. The grade made me very nervous. Using simple wheel chocks to prevent down hill momentum seemed inadequate to unsafe. Was thankful I had a wheel wedge thingo to immobilize the 19’s trailer tires. For parking on any slope this is perfect peace of mind. Had built mine months ago, copied from Alberta Ice-Breaker’s (brilliant) wheel wedge design, but I had never used it. Now, I highly recommend.
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Myron, Is that your new tow vehicle you are riding there and who are you shooting at .... the engineer who designed your campsite?
__________________
Consciousness: That confusing time between naps
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03-10-2015, 07:54 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: ..., New Mexico
Trailer: 2013 Esc19/'14 Silvrado
Posts: 4,193
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Think that campsite was poorly planned? You should see the one in Denali.
__________________
Myron
"A billion here, a billion there...add it all up and before you know it you're talking real money." Everett Dirkson
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03-10-2015, 08:25 PM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Oakland, California
Trailer: not yet
Posts: 166
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Did you take that picture of the cowboy on the horse? You got the shell ejected in mid-air!
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03-10-2015, 08:31 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Steveston B.C., British Columbia
Trailer: 2012- 17'B.... 2016 Tacoma SR5 TRD
Posts: 504
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If your on loose gravel just dig a couple of trenches and back in .
It's not going any where .
And you should have a beer cracked in about 10 min. And the Mrs. can have her tea or tall glass of B.C. wine. That's how I roll .
__________________
I've almost been everywhere man.
Almost been everywhere.....
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03-11-2015, 09:20 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Oswego, New York
Trailer: 2017 Escape 21C, 2018 Ford F150
Posts: 5,373
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My favorite set of chocks on a slope was at Quail Creek State Park in Utah. While the photo doesn't quite show how steep the slope was, a pair of rocks keeping this Trillium in place made me a bit nervous - it was parked uphill from me, no owners or tow vehicle ever appeared, and the last day we had 40 - 50 mile per hour winds that blew a chocked boat trailer across a flat parking area...
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03-11-2015, 09:38 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: May 2013
Location: ..., New Mexico
Trailer: 2013 Esc19/'14 Silvrado
Posts: 4,193
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Our campsite was on the other side of the mountains. Wonder if that Trillium was rigged to carry two canoes on top? Low bridges would make me nervous.
__________________
Myron
"A billion here, a billion there...add it all up and before you know it you're talking real money." Everett Dirkson
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03-11-2015, 10:04 AM
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#12
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Trailer: 2017 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 15,554
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vermilye
My favorite set of chocks on a slope was at Quail Creek State Park in Utah. While the photo doesn't quite show how steep the slope was, a pair of rocks keeping this Trillium in place made me a bit nervous - it was parked uphill from me, no owners or tow vehicle ever appeared, and the last day we had 40 - 50 mile per hour winds that blew a chocked boat trailer across a flat parking area...
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Very cool rack setup on that trailer. That is a great idea to carry stuff without causing stress on the fibreglass body.
__________________
2017 Escape 5.0 TA
2015 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost
2009 Escape 19 (previous)
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln
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03-11-2015, 10:43 AM
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#13
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Ventura County, California
Trailer: 2015 Escape 17A
Posts: 2,347
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Bennett
Very cool rack setup on that trailer. That is a great idea to carry stuff without causing stress on the fibreglass body.
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I thought it was a roll cage, for when it broke loose of the chocks.
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03-11-2015, 11:22 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Trailer: 2017 Escape 5.0 TA
Posts: 15,554
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dfandrews
I thought it was a roll cage, for when it broke loose of the chocks.
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Even better, double duty.
__________________
2017 Escape 5.0 TA
2015 Ford F150 Lariat 3.5L EcoBoost
2009 Escape 19 (previous)
“Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.” — Abraham Lincoln
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03-11-2015, 11:38 AM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: North Van., British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19, sold; 2019 Escape 21, Sept. 2019
Posts: 8,819
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Keep those travel reports (and photos ) coming. Glad I made a set of those wheel locks also. They definitely add peace of mind to sloped sites like that.
Also an advantage to have a tandem axle to be able to use them. Not all sites are equal, that's for sure. This one, at Deception Pass State Park, was described to us as a "70' pull-through" The hitch was on the ground, don't know what a longer unit would have done. Didn't feel secure at all. Locked tandem wheels would have given much more peace-of-mind.
Ron
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03-11-2015, 03:43 PM
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#16
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 1979 Boler B1700
Posts: 14,935
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron in BC
Locked tandem wheels would have given much more peace-of-mind.
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So would a parking brake.
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03-11-2015, 05:21 PM
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#17
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Edmonton, Alberta
Trailer: 2013 19' & 2013 15B
Posts: 2,636
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian B-P
So would a parking brake.
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I was not aware that such a device was available. Brian, are you aware of a camper trailer that comes with a parking brake?
__________________
2013 19' \ 2013 15B, 2020 Toyota 4Runner TRD Offroad
"It is better to remain silent at the risk of being thought a fool, than to talk and remove all doubt of it." - 1907, Maurice Switzer
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03-11-2015, 05:48 PM
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#18
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: North Van., British Columbia
Trailer: 2014 Escape 19, sold; 2019 Escape 21, Sept. 2019
Posts: 8,819
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian B-P
So would a parking brake.
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Actually I've had the thought of designing an add-on mechanical brake. My original thought was that it could be part of a storage security set-up. Locked wheels that don't have any obvious way of being released would make a unit very hard to steal.
Ron
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03-11-2015, 06:06 PM
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#19
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Ventura County, California
Trailer: 2015 Escape 17A
Posts: 2,347
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ron in BC
Actually I've had the thought of designing an add-on mechanical brake. My original thought was that it could be part of a storage security set-up. Locked wheels that don't have any obvious way of being released would make a unit very hard to steal.
Ron
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Could it be as simple as a cable attached to the actuating arm down near the electromagnet, then through the backing plate to a latch or toggle lever that is locked in either 'on' or 'released' positions?
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03-11-2015, 06:25 PM
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#20
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Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: North Vancouver, British Columbia
Trailer: 2009 Escape 17B 2020 Toyota Highlander XLE
Posts: 17,136
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Wouldn't pulling the trailer break away pin lock the wheels?
__________________
What happens to the hole when the cheese is gone?
- Bertolt Brecht
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