Tips To Tow Or Trailer A Boat

If you are passionate about boat and love dragging out your boat to the waters every weekend, you would agree with the fact that the trip from garage to the sea can be challenging at times. With a little preparation and practice, however, that challenge can easily be done away with. There are some essentials that you will need to take care of for making the task smooth and simple. Have a look at the useful tips given below:

Prepare A Checklist : 

Making a proper checklist of all the things that can ruin your experience of towing a boat would help you a lot to avoid them. For example, you might forget to replace the drain plug or fail to strap the vessel properly to the trailer. But if there is a checklist for you to go through before embarking on the journey, it will instantly remind you whatever that you forgot to address, such as tightening the lug nuts on trailer wheels, inflating all tires properly, securing the motor or outdrive, and so on.

Don’t Forget To Turn Wide :

Suppose you have a 4 car hauler and your boat is just as big. Towing with such a wide load is not at all an easy task, and you are bound to forget essentials such as turning wide. But you need to prevent that from happening. Therefore, always remember that turning radius of your hauler is tighter than of your vehicle. Failing to clear that curb can be an open invitation to trouble.

Avoid Over-speeding : 

Before setting out towards the waters, calculate how much time it will take for the vehicle and trailer to stop once you have got them up to speed. You have the physics as well as a lot of extra weight acting against you. So be careful and do not overspeed even if your trailer has got its own pair brakes. It will ensure the safety of your boat, the entire towing equipment, you and other vehicles on the road.

So next time you are preparing to bring out your boat on a hot summer day for relaxing in the waters, make sure you follow the above mentioned guidelines. In addition to that, keep in mind maintaining your hauler trailer is also essential. Otherwise, you would not be able to use it for pulling your boat. The aim is to have fun, without experiencing any problem.

How To Ensure Safety While Towing a Trailer

Whether a car hauling trailer is used for commercial purposes, recreation or some private reason, it is important to follow certain measures as well as towing tips for ensuring safety of oneself and other drivers on the road. The foremost thing is to apply proper techniques for loading cars or other materials in order to maintain appropriate equilibrium. The bulkiest items should never be placed at the facade or rear part, as it may result in excessive tongue weight and unloading of the tires making it hard to control the tow vehicle. While loading cars, their front should be placed first in the trailer.

Next comes securing the loaded items properly to prevent them from moving while the trailer is being hauled. There are various ways for tying down loaded cars in a 4 car hauler. One can make use of ratcheting tie down straps for securing the cars, one strap at each corner of a vehicle. The tie down straps should, however, be of good quality. Another tool which can be used for securing cars to a trailer is axle strap. Axle straps will have to be tied around either the lower control arm or the front cross-member and the rear axle.

Trailers are notorious for swaying, especially when there is wind or the load is not placed properly. Distribution hitches can help in minimizing sway by spreading weight across the chassis rather than the single ball hitch point. Besides decreasing rear suspension drop, distribution hitches can also reduce chances of whipping. Some states have strict laws that make it mandatory to use these add-ons with particular weights and trailers.

While towing a trailer, it is also important to keep an eye on the driving speed. Towing affects various systems of a vehicle, including suspension, drive-train and brakes. People who are still new to trailering must not exceed the speed limit. But it does not mean that experienced haulers can drive at any speed they want. Keeping the speed low provides more room for maneuvering while changing lanes. Stopping takes about twice or thrice the time and distance comparatively. The most prudent thing to do would be driving within 65 miles per hour.

Last but not the least, one must use the right kind of tires on the trailer. Some people use cheap light truck tires which are not designed for handling loads that trailers have to carry. These tires can blow up after frequent usage and result in serious accidents.