When you live in a state like ours, odds are many of your recreational activities involve the great outdoors and grown up toys like boats, snowmobiles, ATVs, motocross cycles, campers and more. Getting those toys from your home or storage place to the particular piece of the great outdoors that you want to play on usually involves hauling them there on trailers.
Trailers are a great way to transport items that you can’t strap on the roof of your vehicle and you’ll see them on the roads carrying all types of goodies particularly on the weekends. But trailers can be tricky and if you are new to the game we will offer a few tips that hopefully will make your trailer experience completely uneventful.
First let’s cover your liability exposure with a couple of insurance facts:
- Insure the vehicle doing the towing and the item being towed separately. In other words, get separate coverage for your truck and for your boat.
- Your vehicle insurance will cover property damage and personal injury caused by the towed item WHILE THE TRAILER IS IN MOTION. So if you jackknife on the road and smack into another vehicle with the trailer, the insurance policy on the towing vehicle comes into play.
- When the trailer is not moving and it causes damage, like a trailer jack that fails and causes the trailer to move or lose its load, the insurance coverage could fall to the item being carried (like a boat) or to the trailer itself. Check with your agent which applies in your particular situation.
- And then there’s when you help a friend move and rent a trailer. Consult with your agent to see if you have coverage or if you need to accept the rental company’s coverage.
New to Sticking Something that is Almost as Big as Your Vehicle to the Back End of your Truck or SUV?
For people who are new to trailer operations there are 2 critical elements to consider…capacity and compatibility.
Before you run out and buy that 5800 lb. boat and trailer combination you may want to check the towing capacity of your big honking Toyota 4Runner which is 4700 lbs. Always check the capacity of the towing vehicle before you hook up. If you significantly exceed the vehicle’s limits you are looking at serious engine, transmission and brake problems as well as a potential liability nightmare.
When it comes to safe trailer operations size does matter. Make certain that the ball on the hitch of the towing vehicle can accommodate both the weight and the size of the trailer being attached. Both capacity and size are normally stamped into the ball. Trailers that have a 4″ connection will not be secure on a 2″ hitch ball no matter how tightly you clamp them together.
If you have the right weight and the right connections the next step is practice and that’s probably a two person job. Backing up will be the most difficult maneuver to master because it is counter-intuitive, Try to find an empty industrial park on a weekend to practice turns and backing up.
Don’t get discouraged, thousands of people have learned how to safely trailer stuff. Just take it easy and use common sense.
