Here at Eco Trailer, we love a bright trailer design with all the features, driving safely whilst towing your car trailer is vital. Whether you’ve been driving with a trailer for years or you’re about to set off for the first time, it isn’t something you should take lightly.
Getting Ready to Tow
Check how much weight your vehicle can tow. Towing too much weight can overload your vehicle and make it much more difficult to control. Before driving anywhere, check your vehicle to make sure how much weight is safe to tow and don’t forget to load your trailer correctly, with the weight mostly over the front.
Check how much weight your vehicle can tow. Towing too much weight can overload your vehicle and make it much more difficult to control. Before driving anywhere, check your vehicle to make sure how much weight is safe to tow and don’t forget to load your trailer correctly, with the weight mostly over the front.
Check your tow ball and connections.
Make sure that the trailer is coupled to the tow ball or pin and that the coupling height is correct. You should also check the breakaway cable is not worn or damaged. The breakaway cable engages the trailer’s brakes or brings it to a stop if it becomes detached from the car.
Check Your Trailer Tyres
On top of checking your vehicle’s tyres, you should also check your trailer tyres for any cuts or damage as well as checking the tread is not below 1.6mm. It is also important to check all of your wheel nuts and bolts are safely secure. No one wants a tyre to burst while driving with a trailer but in case this happens, make sure you have a spare and the equipment to change it if you can, or the ability to phone a recovery company.
Driving Safely
Now you know your trailer is securely attached, what do you need to know about driving safely with a trailer?
It is much more important to arrive in one piece than to arrive on time. All trailers have a speed at which they become unsafe, that’s why it’s vital you don’t speed when driving with an attached trailer. Your trailer can start to snake or swerve when driving excessively fast, if this happens ease off your accelerator and reduce speed slowly.
Driving with a trailer means your stopping distance is increased regardless of it being a small car trailer or a large trailer. To stay safe, maintain a good distance between you and other drivers to allow yourself plenty of time to stop. It is better to give yourself too much distance than too little.
Take Wide Turns
When driving with a trailer you should take wide turns, this is to avoid hitting kerbs and to prevent any damage caused. As a rule of thumb, the longer your trailer, the wider you should take the turn. Most roundabouts and curves shouldn’t be too much of a concern, corners greater than 90 degrees however, should be avoided when you can and if you can’t, try and take them as wide as possible.
Reversing Safely With A Trailer
Arguably the most difficult part of trailer towing is reversing. Reversing with a trailer is far from intuitive and should be practised long before having to do it in a high-pressure environment, such as in public car parks or on the road. Take it slow and steady when reversing and you should be okay.
Plan Your Route
One last point worth noting is to plan your route before any journey you take. The last thing you want when driving with a trailer is to be going down a tight single track road filled with sharp bends, try and stick to A-roads and motorways whenever possible.
At Eco Trailer, we are confident that our trailers are built to last and built for safety. Our enclosed car transporters are fully customisable to suit your needs and to transport your vehicle safely and securely to its destination.
If you need some advice about a trailer that you already own, or you are in the market for a new one, then get in touch today!
