Most trailer towers worry about having enough power to make it up and over hills, but we wish more of them spent at least a fraction of the time and money used to help making it up a grade to then be able to stop, or even just slow down, on the downhill side. Owners of diesels have the option to equip their tow rigs with an exhaust brake, which can help immensely by letting the motor create a fair amount of retardation. Everybody has the option of using the correct gear to help control speed when descending a hill, but unfortunately, not everybody uses that obvious solution. It doesn't matter if it's a gasoline- or diesel-propelled vehicle, nor if it has an automatic or standard transmission-they all have different ratios in their trannies that can be used to keep the vehicle at a prudent speed when going down a hill. Using the same gear for the descent as it required to go up could be a good starting point, but keep in mind that there's absolutely nothing wrong with going down a grade at a lesser speed than you went up. Really. You may need the brakes later for something unexpected, so it's a good thing to stay off the brake pedal as much as possible to leave them cool and functional. You're far more likely to lose the battle against gravity when going downhill than uphill. If gravity wins when going up, about the worst that can happen is that you come to a stop. If gravity wins on a downhill, you'll wish you could come to a stop. A good towing mantra to remember is that "Gears are for maintaining speed, brakes are for stopping." Actually, that holds true whether towing or not.
One reason that flat towing has fallen out of favor is that regular towbars can be a major pain to attach or detach, especially when on uneven ground and/or alone. As the name implies, the Roadmaster's Blackhawk All Terrain Non-Binding Towbar solves the binding problem and is very easy to work alone. By releasing the two latches, midway on the arms, the arms become telescopic, which allows both side-to-side and fore-and-aft movement, essentially making the towbar flexible and simple to hook up or disconnect. This Blackhawk is rated at 8,000 pounds and is available either tow vehicle-mounted (shown) or with a regular coupler. As with any towbar, it should be used in the most horizontal position possible. | 
Rather than running pricey ratchet straps around the axlehousing when securing your four-wheeler on a trailer, use axle straps such as this one from Mac's. It uses 12,000-pound webbing and has a thick Cordura protective sleeve that helps against abrasion. An alternative is to use short pieces of good-quality chain to wrap around the axles. What not to do is to run a single strap from the trailer, around the axle, and then back to the trailer. Aside from being an illegal method of tying down your vehicle in some states, if anything on that one strap lets go, there will be nothing left to keep your load from crunching into your tow vehicle at a sudden stop-or falling off the back of the trailer, should the front strap fail. Two separate straps at each end is the way to go. |
If you're trailering your vehicle often, consider putting dedicated tie-down points on it, such as these welded-on D-rings. Using ratchet straps that have hooks with spring-loaded clips ensure that nothing comes undone or falls off if there's slack in the strap. Also, it's far kinder to both the vehicle and trailer to tie to the axles than to the frame. | |
Enough already, that's what trailer brakes are for, right? Well, not quite. While you indeed should have trailer brakes-or must, depending on trailer weight and state laws-they're meant to enable stopping the heavier combination of tow vehicle and trailer, not to make up for bad driving habits. Using the brakes rather than letting the engine keep the speed down can overheat the brakes to the point that they won't work at all, no matter how many there are. Not a happy scenario if there's a sharp turn, slower traffic, or a stop sign down the road. If you picked the wrong gear and must apply the brakes to keep the speed reasonable, hit them halfway hard ever so often instead of riding them lightly for extended periods. That way, they get a chance to cool off between applications and are much more likely to remain functional.
Many leaf-sprung tandem-axle trailers are equipped with brakes on only one axle, and if so, the brakes should be on the rear axle. This may sound backwards when a typical vehicle has some 80 percent of its braking ability on the front axle, but consider the differences. The tow vehicle will nose down when the brakes are applied hard, putting more weight (traction) on the front axle. This reaction may even lift the front of the trailer slightly, but that's not the real reason for having the brakes on the rear trailer axle. Due to the small balance beam found on most leaf-sprung tandem-axle trailers, when the brakes are applied the front axle will lift up while the rear axle will get pushed downward. This action takes place whether the brakes are on the forward or rear axle, so the brakes should logically be on the rear one to be effective. Better yet, use them on both axles, even if the front axle's won't be quite as effective.
There seems to be some kind of law against good electrical wiring on trailers, and RVs in general. Since functional lights are a must, even in daylight, either carry the necessary parts and tools to fix a bum system, or carry a set of magnetic tow lights for when the trailer lights fail. These Valley units have a 20-foot harness and are made for flat towing use. While there are no marker lights, they do provide the basic stop/turn/tail functions. The set comes with a 3-foot harness for "hard wiring" a flat-four plug into the tow vehicle-with wire taps. Do yourself a favor and don't use those. Also, since the flat-four connector probably won't fit your tow vehicle, either make or buy an adapter (top) that converts your configuration to a flat-four.
An unhappy trailer owner once called the manufacturer to complain when his only-half-full trailer had literally collapsed. A legitimate gripe, until the manufacturer learned that the 3,000-pound-rated trailer was loaded with 13,000 pounds when it failed. Physically, there was apparently still room for several thousand pounds more of asphalt shingles on the trailer, but when the tires started flattening out and the trailer frame began groaning, common sense should've kicked in.
Axles, tires, wheels, the coupler, and the trailer itself all have a max load rating. Exceed any one of them, and trouble is highly likely.
Frequently overlooked are the trailer's tires. Rather than using the leftover stockers off your pickup, consider actual trailer tires. They're marked "ST," as opposed to regular P and LT tires. Built differently and with special aging inhibitors, trailer tires will work better and last longer than regular tires used for trailer duty.
Much like with the tires, whatever wheels happen to fit the trailer are often used, but some wheels just can't handle the significant side loads that multiaxle trailers can put on them. Use wheels with an appropriate weight rating and a healthy safety margin to avoid roadside breakdowns.
Trailers often live a miserable life. They're literally ridden hard and then put away until needed again. Waxing the tow vehicle actually isn't as important as checking the trailer's wheel bearings and brakes, for example. Many simply deal with the seemingly inevitable lighting failures, if they even check the lights, and then give the tires a visual pressure check before departing, hoping that things will hold together for yet another trip. Not the best recipe for a trouble-free journey. One trailer owner even made a special tool, and a holder on the tongue for it, to use for beating the coupler's latch open and closed. It would've taken marginally longer to repair or replace the tired coupler, minimizing the risk of having the trailer come off the trailer ball.
It's one thing to use questionable or unmaintained hardware on a trail-only vehicle, then swap lies at the campfire about the consequent trail repairs. It's completely different to hit the public highways with an unsafe setup. Especially if there is a trailer involved.
Hopefully some of the hints and hardware included in this story will help make towing an easier and safer undertaking for you. Happy trailers.
If you, too, have bought numerous non-running four-wheel drives, you also know the value of a good trailer-mounted winch. This Warn Works 3700 Utility Winch can handle both steep ramps and heavy (3,700-pound) loads with its 1.9hp motor. When pulling 2,000 pounds, it uses around 180 amps and moves the 43-foot wire rope at about 11 feet per minute, which is a good speed for a controlled operation. Like regular Warn winches, it has a remote, free spool, and a brake. The latter is very handy when loading alone, needing to turn the steering and the like to make it up and down the ramps. A smaller 1,700-pound version is also available, and both are part of the Warn Works line.