With a design tailored for roving Mars, Trailer Valet’s RVR remote-controlled pulley system is bound to turn some heads, especially as this 75-pound robot tows 9,000-pound trailers.
The RVR, with its heavy-duty treads, is one of the products Trailer Valet is releasing in March, which will have applications in both the end-user market as well as the B2B realm.
“RVs have always been a hard thing to move unless you happen to have the right skill or a forklift to be able to do it,” said Rico Lucero, Trailer Valet’s director of global sales.
That’s where Trailer Valet comes in, starting with the 5X which enabled customers to precisely maneuver 5,000-pound trailers using a chain crank system to navigate most driveways and garages.
Company founder Ted Chen was originally given the 5X product by a family friend six years ago.
“I didn’t know what to do with it,” Chen said. So, he attended his first show at the Los Angeles Boat Show and ended up selling 10 units. Clearly there was a need for an improved pulley system.
Afterward, he brought on manufacturers and began branding the device.
“I was a one-man show for about two or three years,” Chen said, sourcing manufacturing, commuting to-and-from China, customer service, etc.
“It took a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to get where we are right now,” said Lucero.
During that time, customers professed that they wanted a heftier dolly. When Trailer Valet released the likeminded, power drill-operated XL, which can handle up to 10,000 pounds, the supplier’s market doubled. Trailer Valet went from boats and trailers to larger RVs, and the company sold almost 7,000 units of the XL and 5X to the consumer market last year.
But now the company is bringing more products to the B2B and OEM side of things.
“We had been looking into different applications to improve on the XL from less of a homeowner use to more of a B2B application,” said Lucero. After modifying a few of the customer’s suggestions, they came up with the soon-to-be-released Pro – the idea for which came from a customer using the XL to move custom-made trailers.
“It’s kind of like an XL but on steroids,” said Lucero
Before the XL model, the tongue-and-jack dolly systems used a hand-crank method with an option to use a 18- to 20-volt cordless drill with a proprietary drill bit adaptor. Now, with each Pro, users receive a 60V, high-torque cordless drill that’s attached with a U joint. Then it’s just a matter of hitting forward or backward on the drill.
The Pro also has a bracket system allowing it to stand upright a bit better, a power supply (which wasn’t previously available), and the ability to maneuver 12,000 pounds. The RVR comes in three models with towing capabilities ranging from 3,500 to 9,000 pounds, and a lithium-ion battery that can tow for a up to 30 minutes on a full charge.
The XL Pro and RVR will begin shipping mid-March with limited supply at first. Both products will become more readily available via Trailer Valet’s partnership with NTP-STAG, Meyer, Arrow, Northern Wholesale Supply, and Atlas (Canada).
