Trailer Safety

Our Trailer Safety Tips are taken from the NTTA (National Trailer and Towing Association). For more help please refer to their website as we have just extracted the most relevant information.

Tips for Safe Use and Towing Our Trailers

The most important thing is not to exceed the recommended towing weight limits.

Police Forces use the manufacturer's recommended towing limit as their guide.

Matching the Trailer with the Towing Vehicle

It is important that the vehicle you use to pull your trailer is adequate for the job

  • Check that the engine is large enough to tow the trailer and load.
  • Check that the brakes are powerful enough to stop the vehicle and trailer safely.
  • Check that the Trailer Gross Weight does not exceed the Towing Capacity of the Towing vehicle.

The addition of a loaded trailer to a vehicle will inevitably have a very serious effect on the vehicle's performance. Starting, particularly on hills, can be much more laboured; stopping can take longer distances; cornering and negotiating sharp bends requires extra care.

Trailer Loading

Loads must be securely tied down or restrained.

There must be no load projections outside the trailer that might cause danger to other road users.

Loads should be evenly distributed across the trailer and positioned in such a way as to keep the nose weight within the recommended limits.

Livestock

There are strict guidelines for carriage of livestock, conditions of floor, partitions, tethering points etc.

Trailer Checks before each journey

  • Is the load correctly distributed i.e. Not too much or too little nose weight?
  • Is the load within the trailer's official payload? - i.e. Not overloaded.
  • Is the actual gross weight being towed within the towing vehicle manufacturer's recommended maximum towing limit (whether braked or unbraked.)?
  • Is the load correctly secured?
  • Are all the lights undamaged and working correctly?
  • Are the 7 core cable and plug undamaged?
  • Is the correct number plate fitted? (both registration number and style)
  • Is the breakaway cable or secondary coupling undamaged and correctly connected, to a suitable point on the tow bar or towing vehicle?
  • Are the tyre pressures correct and all tyres free from cuts, bulges and with adequate tread, (including the spare)?
  • Are you satisfied that the wheel nuts/bolts are tightened to the correct torque?
  • If required are the mudguards in satisfactory condition and secure?
  • Is the trailer correctly coupled to the towball or pin?
  • Is the coupling height correct? I.e. Not excessively nose down or nose up.
  • Make sure the trailer is level when coupled to the towing vehicle.
  • Are the jockey wheel and any corner steadies or prop stands fully wound up and secure?

Also

  • Check the correct operation of damper and brakes as soon as possible after commencement of journey.

 

Driving With a Trailer

  • Always keep to the legal speed limit for the road you are using.
  • Do not travel in the right-hand lane of a motorway, with three lanes or more, if you are driving a vehicle drawing a trailer.

Drive within your vehicle and trailers capabilities:

  • Always drive at a speed that is well within your capabilities, and to the road and weather conditions that prevail at the time.
  • If your trailer begins to snake or swerve, ease off the accelerator and reduce speed gently.
  • Do not brake sharply on a bend, (this could cause a possible jack-knife situation). Reduce speed before the bend and take the appropriate gear for the speed you are doing. Then gently accelerate out of the bend.

Reversing with a Trailer:

  • Never reverse a trailer without checking behind because of the huge blind spot. Ideally, have someone see you back, especially in crowded places.
  • Reversing a trailer takes practice. Find somewhere with plenty of space and keep trying until you get it right. It helps to have someone who knows how to do it to tell you where you are going wrong.

Our Trailer Safety Tips are taken from the NTTA (National Trailer and Towing Association). For more help please refer to their website as we have just extracted the most relevant information.