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So, I bought a Trailer, Only one problem...


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I have never owned, Towed, a trailer before in my life until a few days ago. Any tips on Towing? I know a couple of tips like "try to keep the load on the trailer wheels, not too far back, not too far forward" and "When backing a Trailer hold the steering wheel at the bottom and to go right, turn it right, left, left."  

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You should get a hold of the DMV where you live. In Texas I can tell you that trailer is not road legal, might be different in Cali, but in my experience, Cali is stricter in most ways than Texas.

I see no trailer plate, I can not see how you are providing power, and connections, to the brake lights on the trailer, and the actual hitch appears a little jury rigged, but the photo of it is not that good, so I can not tell.

Also, do not drag that chain ever. It damages the road, creates sparks which can lead to brush fires, and is a pretty hefty fine.

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What are you planning to haul with it? That'll make a difference in what kind of a tailgate you set up for it. And on load balancing, you want the center of gravity to be a bit forward of the trailer axle.

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You don’t want to balance the load.  That will cause the trailer to fishtail.  It’s better to have 200-400 pounds of tongue weight. 

You have the basic backing technique. Go slow and make constant small corrections.  Don’t let it get off course and then have to make large corrections or have to pull forward and try again.

Make sure the trailer is securely fastened to the hitch.  Use a pin or lock to make sure the latch doesn’t open accidentally.  The chains should be short enough to hold the trailer to the vehicle  should the hitch fail, but long enough to allow the smallest turning radius. 

Make sure the trailer’s wheel bearings are well lubricated and the brakes are in good condition. 

Allow more distance between your vehicle and the car ahead. If the trailer brakes are properly adjusted, the tow vehicle and trailer should stop normally.  However, if they are not adjusted properly or fail, you are relying on the tow vehicle’s brakes to stop the combined load and that will take more time/distance.

Signal when changing lanes; don’t forget you’ve got more length behind you to allow for when passing.  Don’t take corners too tight or you may drag the trailer over the curb or into a ditch.

These are the basics.  Be cautious and get the feel of the rig.

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1 hour ago, Craisler said:

You don’t want to balance the load.  That will cause the trailer to fishtail.  It’s better to have 200-400 pounds of tongue weight. 

You have the basic backing technique. Go slow and make constant small corrections.  Don’t let it get off course and then have to make large corrections or have to pull forward and try again.

Make sure the trailer is securely fastened to the hitch.  Use a pin or lock to make sure the latch doesn’t open accidentally.  The chains should be short enough to hold the trailer to the vehicle  should the hitch fail, but long enough to allow the smallest turning radius. 

Make sure the trailer’s wheel bearings are well lubricated and the brakes are in good condition. 

Allow more distance between your vehicle and the car ahead. If the trailer brakes are properly adjusted, the tow vehicle and trailer should stop normally.  However, if they are not adjusted properly or fail, you are relying on the tow vehicle’s brakes to stop the combined load and that will take more time/distance.

Signal when changing lanes; don’t forget you’ve got more length behind you to allow for when passing.  Don’t take corners too tight or you may drag the trailer over the curb or into a ditch.

These are the basics.  Be cautious and get the feel of the rig.

What he said

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Here are a couple more thoughts:

Adjust the mirrors so you can see the back end of the trailer and any vehicles that are in that area.  If necessary, use extension mirrors to get the necessary views.  As a test, park a vehicle within a car length behind the trailer.  If you can’t see that vehicle clearly from the driver’s seat of the tow vehicle, you need extension mirrors.

A Suburban is a good tow vehicle and should handle the trailer pictured with no difficulty. It would best if the tow vehicle was equipped with the towing package.  That usually includes a larger radiator and transmission cooler.  

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I've hauled lots of stuff on a trailer, more often than not overloaded (shhhh!). 

The center of gravity of the load should be a little bit forward of the axle but not by too much.

I'm guessing the trailer axle is suspended on leaf springs, correct? Are there any dampers? If not, try driving around with the trailer unloaded for a while. You may find that at certain speeds the trailer will wobble up and down on its suspension as the springs get in their resonant frequency. You might want to avoid going at that speed with the trailer unloaded. The resonant frequency will decrease as you add load, so the trailer suspension may start to resonate at lower speed (and its integer multiples). This is something to watch out for, if the suspension is undamped and doesn't bottom out even with a significant load, if it starts to wobble at speed it can upset the stability of the trailer and your car.

The car appears to have a good rear visibility and the trailer sideboards are quite high, so backing it up shouldn't be too difficult. What I prefer to do when backing with a trailer is to physically turn around and look back to see where the trailer is going, and the proper way of correcting its path with the steering wheel just comes intuitively, instead of watching where the trailer goes in the mirrors, which can get confusing. 

 

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5 minutes ago, DiapersOfTheStorm said:

I've hauled lots of stuff on a trailer, more often than not overloaded (shhhh!). 

The center of gravity of the load should be a little bit forward of the axle but not by too much.

I'm guessing the trailer axle is suspended on leaf springs, correct? Are there any dampers? If not, try driving around with the trailer unloaded for a while. You may find that at certain speeds the trailer will wobble up and down on its suspension as the springs get in their resonant frequency. You might want to avoid going at that speed with the trailer unloaded. The resonant frequency will decrease as you add load, so the trailer suspension may start to resonate at lower speed (and its integer multiples). This is something to watch out for, if the suspension is undamped and doesn't bottom out even with a significant load, if it starts to wobble at speed it can upset the stability of the trailer and your car.

The car appears to have a good rear visibility and the trailer sideboards are quite high, so backing it up shouldn't be too difficult. What I prefer to do when backing with a trailer is to physically turn around and look back to see where the trailer is going, and the proper way of correcting its path with the steering wheel just comes intuitively, instead of watching where the trailer goes in the mirrors, which can get confusing. 

 

I agree.

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I do know that you will need to go to the DMV and put it in your name, you need to check with them, on the web site would be easy, to see if you need to have the title, you may get away with a bill of sale to register it and tag it. But I would make sure you have working tail and brake lights. I think its too small of a trailer to have trailer brakes on it. My experience is with travel trailers ( camping trailers). But I do know you can build your own trailer and register it at DMV. I just don't know the process, without a title. I see a lot of good info on here about driving and backing etc. Patience and not speeding Knowing the max tong weight and max load weight will be required when you go to DMV, They will most likely want to inspect it, if you don't have a title. Hopefully you have a title it will save a lot of work on your part.

 

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13 hours ago, GhostGirl said:

You should get a hold of the DMV where you live. In Texas I can tell you that trailer is not road legal, might be different in Cali, but in my experience, Cali is stricter in most ways than Texas.

I see no trailer plate, I can not see how you are providing power, and connections, to the brake lights on the trailer, and the actual hitch appears a little jury rigged, but the photo of it is not that good, so I can not tell.

Also, do not drag that chain ever. It damages the road, creates sparks which can lead to brush fires, and is a pretty hefty fine.

Okie dokie here.

1. I now have proper Straps

2, All the lights work, I even got it registered with a new License Plate, I was pulled over while towing it and told by the Police I needed a License Plate light, So, I added one. 

3. it now has a Tail gate. 

4. Yes, it is registered to my dad and I Permanently. No Registration renew, Ever! :D 

5. Yes, I did buy New tires for the Trailer as well as my Truck. :drive1:

7 hours ago, Craisler said:

Here are a couple more thoughts:

Adjust the mirrors so you can see the back end of the trailer and any vehicles that are in that area.  If necessary, use extension mirrors to get the necessary views.  As a test, park a vehicle within a car length behind the trailer.  If you can’t see that vehicle clearly from the driver’s seat of the tow vehicle, you need extension mirrors.

A Suburban is a good tow vehicle and should handle the trailer pictured with no difficulty. It would best if the tow vehicle was equipped with the towing package.  That usually includes a larger radiator and transmission cooler.  

Its got a quad core rad and Trans cooler added. 

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13 hours ago, GhostGirl said:



Also, do not drag that chain ever. It damages the road, creates sparks which can lead to brush fires, and is a pretty hefty fine.

oops :blush:  Did fix the Tow Chains. Though. Only pulled it up the driveway to the house. 

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The chains should cross under the trailer tongue to form a 'saddle' that will keep the tongue from falling onto the roadway should it become unhitched. There needs to be enough slack in them to allow all turns, but no more than that. Either wrap the chains around the tongue to shorten them, or use link couplers with a screw-on sleeve. If the latter use the biggest ones which will fit through the links. Always be sure the wiring and it's connector is well out of the way.

The shorter the the trailer is, the harder it is to back up. Slowness is your friend here. Look at the entire distance you want to back up and imagine the arc you want to follow. If you get very far from that, stop, pull forward till you're back where you wanted to be, then try again. Find a large empty parking lot to practice backing. Use the lines there to guide you and to see how well you are doing. Set out some boxes, traffic ones, or something like that which cannot damage the trailer and then practice curved backing. 

Here is where many folks err- trailer maintenance. Keep a check on the wiring and inspect it before each use. Having some ty-wraps in the glovebox makes this quick and easy. Keep the wheel bearings greased; many people forget this very important part. And if you are going to park the trailer for a month or more, raise the tires off the ground or move the trailer a few feet to where a new spot on the tires contacts the ground. Check the load rating and inflation on the tires. Even though it increases wear, higher tire pressures make the trailer more stable. And make sure the hitch has a locking mechanism of whatever sort it is supposed to have securely in place. 

One last thing is keeping your trailer as yours. Trailer theft is rampant and easy, and a padlock through the hitch latch when in use or when parked is a minimum. Use a good hitch lock when parked, the kind that covers or goes into the hitch ball recess,  and add a strong cable and high-security padlock through the wheels when parked. Alternately they now sell 'tire boot' locks like parking maids use which prevents drive-away theft. "Gone in sixty seconds" is very, very true with trailers and with so many states not requiring titles or tags for small trailers, a thief can make it disappear faster than the police can write a theft report. Also see what your car insurance covers regards trailers, as there is a lot of variation in this.

Happy Trailering, looks like you've got a good one :D 

Bettypooh

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