3 Tips For Towing A Camper Trailer Safely And Efficiently
When you are towing a trailer or camper with your pickup truck, whether it be for leisure or work, you should do all you can to make each equipment hauling experience a good one. There are several tips you can use to help you achieve this during your trailer hauling trip. Here are three things you can do when you haul a trailer to increase your safety and hauling efficiency.
Secure Loose Items Inside Your Trailer
Even the most secure items you have tied down inside or outside your trailer can become loose during a bouncy ride. As the suspension on your trailer moves up and down, it can loosen bicycles, camping chairs, and any other extra items you may transport with your trailer.
It is a good idea to stop every hour of traveling to make sure these items are still secured. Otherwise, they can come loose and fall off onto the highway, or bounce around inside your trailer, causing damage. Alternatively, you may wish to secure and carry these items in the bed of your pickup truck if you have the space, so you can keep a better eye on them.
Also, never allow passengers to ride inside your enclosed camper trailer during travel. They can easily become injured during a ride. And, as the driver, you won't know about it during the drive.
Install Spring Bars On Your Trailer Hitch
Anytime you are hauling a camper or trailer with your pickup truck, make sure your trailer hitch comes with spring bars. Spring bars will help evenly distribute the weight of the trailer on the back of your truck. Without spring bars, the ball hitch can pull down on your truck and trailer hitch connection. This can cause the back of your trailer and the front of your truck to be pushed upward during the trip. An uneven hitch weight distribution can cause your trailer to sway while you are hauling it. It can also cause your truck's lights to point upward from the downward pull of the trailer.
The two spring bars on the hitch push down on the rear of the trailer tongue. This takes the normal center of weight off the trailer's hitch and redistributes it to your truck's axles and the axles on your trailer. Plus, with spring bars, you can tow a trailer that is more than 50% of your truck's weight.
Lighten Your Load
When you are going to haul your camping trailer out on vacation, you will need to fill the freshwater tank. The freshwater will allow you to have running water in the trailer for the faucets and the toilet. But, instead of filling your tank with freshwater before you leave on your trip, fill it when you are nearing or are at your destination.
By filling your freshwater tank with gallons of water, it will add unnecessary weight to your camper and your haul weight. An average-sized 50-gallon freshwater tank can add over 400 pounds of weight to a trailer. Save some gas and look for a place near your destination to fill up your trailer tank there instead of at home. Many camping sites will have a drinking water hose available for their patrons to use for free.
Then, at the end of your camping trip, find a close RV dump location so you can lighten your trailer of its used grey and black water. You don't need to travel all the way back home with these tanks full, so don't use the gas to haul it.
Use these three tips to help make your experience of towing a trailer a positive and safe hauling experience. They can help make your trip gas-efficient and safe for you and all your passengers.
