So you’re excited to get everything you need ready for your next camping trip.You’ve got the trip mapped out, the fridge is fully stocked, the water tanks are full and the whole family is ready for an exciting adventure and, and some quality bonding time in the outdoors of the Great White North. Before you hit the pavement, far from home and your trailer parts experts, it’s important to know a thing or two about your trailer parts. Here’s everything you could ever want to know about your most important of trailer parts; the hitch.
Properly Getting & Setting Up Your Towing Trailer Parts
Properly Getting & Setting Up Your Towing Trailer PartsYou’re excited to take the trailer out for your very first camping trip. You hit the road and notice that the back bumper is inches from touching the pavement underneath! You steer, and the front wheels are not responding and barely on the ground before rumbling to and fro, taking up the entire lane and then some. This means that it either wasn’t rigged properly,hasn’t been loaded properly, or potentially that the trailer parts (like the hitch!) need a second look. Your hitch is an essential trailer parts to your large trailer that mounts to your truck or pulling vehicle.
Weighing All The Important Trailer Parts
Regardless of the kind of hitch your trailer parts have, the weight ratings are important. Consider the Gross Towed weight, incorporating the weight on the title as well as the weight of all the cargo, propane, water and refrigerator contents – really any weight that you may have added goes into that calculation. Weigh everything you can, and make a decent assessment of the trailer parts you need for that amount – or use a scale at a truck stop! Secondly, is the Tongue Weight – another trailer parts importance – that incorporates the weight that the trailer coupler adds to the hitch. If your rig is swaying out of control behind the trailer, this is one of the trailer parts you may want to take a closer look at. You shouldn’t ever have less than a 10% TW, which includes the weight of the truck bed and tailgate. Thirdly, the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating is an important trailer parts weight to consider. This is the maximum entire weight of the whole setup that goes on the road. You can look up the GVWR in the owner’s manual.
Adjusting The Tongue Weight
Adjusting this weight on your trailer parts is essential to handling it well. Keeping your trailer’s tongue weight between 10%-15% is prime, and if it’s outside of that, it’s time to shift some cargo around. Believe it or not, you don’t need an expert to check this trailer parts feature – you can check it when you measure on the scale platform. Take the weight of the laden trailer, move it forward a few feet until the trailer jack is grounded, and weight it a second time, then subtract the second weight from the first. Voila! Your trailer parts and everything else included, tongue weight. Any time your cargo might change, it’s important to check and set that tongue weight for significant and smooth sailing.
