Quick Tip: Rolling a Boat Trailer Across Pavers and Seams by Hand

Pavers look smooth from standing height, but a dolly's wheels feel every sunken brick, open joint and raised edge. The short version: walk the route first, cross each seam slowly and square, and keep the whole move on level ground. If the route mixes pavers with gravel or grass, that changes which dolly fits.

Walk the route before you hitch up

Walk the whole path the dolly will take and look for:

• Sunken or lifted pavers that leave a step between neighbors
• Open or washed-out joints where sand has gone and a gap is left behind
• Expansion joints and slab seams where pavers meet a concrete apron or a garage floor
• The garage threshold, which is often a small lip
• Edging, drains and transitions to gravel or grass
• Any slope. Paver drives are often graded for drainage. A manual dolly should only be used on level ground, never on an incline or decline.

Sweep loose sand off the route and note the worst spots.

Cross seams square and slow

A wheel that meets a joint or lip at a shallow angle can drift along it instead of rolling over it. Where you can, line the dolly up so its wheels meet each seam head-on, and do any turning on the flat pavers before or after the seam rather than on top of it.

Keep the pace slow and steady. If a wheel stops against a lip, don't shove harder: back up a few inches, straighten out and try again. The trailer's own tires cross the same seams, so watch both ends.

Small things that make a seam easier

• Check the trailer tires. Underinflated tires make every seam harder to roll over. Our tire pressure routine covers where to find the right number.
• Know your tongue weight. Boat position, the motor and gear shift it, as our boat trailer dolly FAQ explains.
• Bring a helper. One person steers while another watches the trailer tires and stern; plan on more help for larger boats.

Which Trailer Tug fits a paver route?

If your route is pavers, concrete or asphalt from start to finish and the pavers are in good shape, the Trailer-Tug 3.0 is built for hard surfaces, with a tongue weight rating up to 3,500 lbs. Its 8-inch wheels are made for firm ground, so still take open joints and lips slowly.

If the route also crosses gravel, a grass strip or uneven ground, look at the Monster-Tug. It has 13-inch flat-free wheels for gravel, dirt, grass, sand and uneven ground, but its tongue weight rating is lower, at up to 1,200 lbs, so confirm your boat trailer's tongue weight first.

For the bigger picture on matching a dolly to the ground, see How to Choose a Trailer Dolly by Surface.

Parking at the end

Once the trailer is where you want it, set the dolly's hold brakes and chock the trailer wheels. The hold brakes keep a stopped trailer in place; they are not designed to stop a moving or rolling trailer, which is one more reason to keep the pace slow over seams. If you're fitting the boat into a garage, our garage parking checklist picks up from here.

Not sure which dolly suits your driveway and boat? Contact us with your surface and tongue weight.