Possible to hitch to trailer at an angle?

[Storyleader]

I have just bought a 2007 Chevy Suburban 1500 extended. I am hoping to buy a 27-foot trailer coach to tow behind it. I also hope to store the trailer in our driveway. We live on a one-lane, paved road. UPS trucks go down it easily.

I was shopping for a sway-reducing hitch, when it dawned on me: will we be able to:

1. Get the trailer into our driveway?
2. Hitch and unhitch the trailer from the Suburban, given the angle the Suburban will have to be at relative to the trailer, and given the size restrictions?

The driveway is unpaved (seashells). The one-lane road is asphalt. The uneven, grassy area across the road from the driveway has some wild bushes (removable) and slopes gently up hill away from the driveway.

The trailer is about 27' by 8'; the suburban is about 18.5' by 6.5'

Here is a to-scale diagram:



As marked on the diagram, the driveway is 30' x 42' and the road is 8-9' across (it's hard to measure it right now because of the snow cover).

Is this possible? Is there a sway-reducing, weight-distributing hitch that will allow attaching to the Suburban at a sufficiently great angle?

Any thoughts?

[twinboat]

Drop the trailer on the ball, plug in the lights and take a slow ride to an open area to finish the hookup.
Same on the way home.

[George Z]

Originally Posted by twinboat

Drop the trailer on the ball, plug in the lights and take a slow ride to an open area to finish the hookup.
Same on the way home.

Good info

[lynnmor]

You will have the 8' road blocked for a time. Will other users have a problem with that?
The idea looks doable, like others said, you only need to drop the coupler on the ball and complete the hookup down the road. A temporary longer shank would allow more of a bend if needed.

[Storyleader]

Originally Posted by lynnmor

You will have the 8' road blocked for a time. Will other users have a problem with that?

Not a problem. There are only 4 houses past us; we're all used to waiting for each other, pulling over to let each other go by, etc.

Thanks for the suggestion about the temporary longer shank! I'm new to hauling a trailer, but along with the idea of temporarily just resting the trailer on the ball, I think this solves the problem.

[Superslif]

When I was towing my 25' tt and it only had the friction control sway bar, I would loosen it up before I backed it up the driveway. At the time I had a shorter wheelbase SUV that I was able to cut the corner rather sharp. If your talking about a WD (Weight Distribution hitch) I think you might have to remove the spring bars since your final resting spot will be at a angle. There is not going to be a problem backing up with a WD setup. My newer 26' tt I have backed up with both the old SUV (Toyota 4Runner) or my new Tundra with no problem with leaving the spring bars on. But my final parking spot is straight.

Are you talking about a friction control sway bar or a WD hitch? I would think a WD hitch you will like the way it tows much better...

[keymastr]

Some people have a second hitch receiver attached to the front of the tow vehicle to make it easier to park the trailer in a narrow place as it is easier to maneuver.

Also be sure to investigate your cargo capacity. That vintage of 1/2 ton Suburban may be overloaded if you plan on carrying people and gear in it as well as tow the trailer. There is a sticker on the drivers side door sill that lists the curb weight and axle weight limits that will determine how much weight you can carry in people, gear and tongue weight.

[Mr_D]

Originally Posted by twinboat

Drop the trailer on the ball, plug in the lights and take a slow ride to an open area to finish the hookup.
Same on the way home.

Yep, have done it many times when I had a TT.

[papaw.1]

I agree with Twinboat.I use to do this with a 27' toyhauler.I would make sure to have someone to watch the blind side just in case.Good Luck.

[Storyleader]

Originally Posted by keymastr

Some people have a second hitch receiver attached to the front of the tow vehicle to make it easier to park the trailer in a narrow place as it is easier to maneuver.

Thanks! I never would have thought of that.

[Storyleader]

Originally Posted by keymastr

Also be sure to investigate your cargo capacity. That vintage of 1/2 ton Suburban may be overloaded if you plan on carrying people and gear in it as well as tow the trailer. There is a sticker on the drivers side door sill that lists the curb weight and axle weight limits that will determine how much weight you can carry in people, gear and tongue weight.

Thanks. We had been focusing on the weight issues, and only recently turned our attention to the weight distribution and sway issues. We believe that , with just the two of us, we can stay within the 7000-lb towing capacity of the Suburban.

[jsdigger]

I have a similar scenario as you but i have 1/3 less driveway and a 8ft wide alley i have to drive down,after a several attempts i was able to do it and my trailer sticks out past the driveway.tundra(dbl cab,6.5bed)/trailer are cranked to roughly 115° angle.now its no big deal to bring the trailer home and park it in the drive way to get it ready for the next trip.I unhook/hook up WDH in the front of the house before/after i'm out of the alley

[Storyleader]

Originally Posted by jsdigger

now its no big deal to bring the trailer home and park it in the drive way to get it ready for the next trip.
Attachment 85128

This is very encouraging! It helps to know that you've succeeded in an even more difficult situation.

[NFlcamper]

Disconnect the WDH before any angled driveways or steep up hill turns. I had a WDH "Blowout" on one side from such a turn. One cup where the bars insert into the hitch head broke from too much weight during a slow speed turn up hill. It was where the gap is in it to insert the bar. Now I stop and unhook for sharp turns going up hill.