Seven Deadly Sins
These seven common trailering mistakes can wreak havoc on your trailering experience. Here's how to avoid them.
By Dave Kelley
March 1, 2004
Not many can honestly say that trailering to and from the launch ramp is their favorite part
of the boating dream. In fact, it's a safe bet that you wouldn't say that at all. Yet you trailer
on, because having a permanent marina berth for your boat is either geographically or financially
impossible. Fortunately, trailering isn't really all that difficult, provided you know the 7 most
common trailering mistakes ... and how to avoid them.
1) Driving Too Fast.
There's no other way to put it. At best, too much speed can kill a good time; at worst it can literally be fatal. The ultimate key to trailering success is to SLOW DOWN, whether you're loading the tow vehicle and hitching up the trailer, driving to and from the launch ramp, or actually launching or retrieving the boat. Speed reduces your margin of error while compounding the ill effects of any error, so again, SLOW DOWN. Start at the beginning, as you're loading the tow vehicle and hitching up the trailer. A calm, unhurried pace will set the tone for the entire day while helping you make sure nothing is forgotten or overlooked. Probably the main reason given for rushing is "running late," so do yourself and everybody else a favor and get an early start so you won't feel hurried. And if you do start running behind, don't ever try and make that time up on the road. By adding a trailer, boat and gear, you're effectively doubling the size of your tow vehicle, both in length and weight. It will, therefore, take you exponentially more space to maneuver, and exponentially more time to accelerate and decelerate. Speeding increases those factors even more. By slowing down on the road, you counter the added size and weight by giving yourself more space and time to speed up, slow down, and maneuver.
2) Riding The Brakes.
The added size and weight of a trailer and boat don't just increase the time and space needed to slow down or stop, but put greatly increased strain on your tow vehicle's brakes. In a nutshell, the tow vehicle's brakes have to work harder to slow the load; the added effort increases the heat on the brakes; and the heat reduces the brakes' effectiveness and requires more braking pressure. Now you're in a vicious cycle that can end in a total loss of braking. Under most conditions, this isn't a huge risk, but in hilly areas it can be a serious danger as drivers "ride the brakes" down hills to keep their vehicles and trailers under control. To avoid this, simply use the built-in braking power of your tow vehicle's engine by shifting to a lower gear ("downshifting") as you crest a hill or approach a stop. In a vehicle with automatic transmission, simply shift from Drive to "2" or "D2," going all the way down to "1" or "L" as needed. Don't let the engine over-rev; keep an eye on the tachometer and use the brakes lightly if the rpm approach the redline. This downshifting will slow your vehicle in a highly controlled manner while keeping your brakes cool and ready for when they're really needed.
3) Not Turning The Engine.
One of the most common complaints heard from those who trailer is the lack of acceleration they get from their tow vehicles with a load attached. This can be a nuisance, but if you find yourself on an incline without enough oomph, you can get in a lot of trouble. The solution: Keep the engine's rpm in the maximum torque and horsepower range. Most tow vehicle engines produce maximum torque and horsepower at around 3000 rpm. Thing is, most drivers are used to hearing their engines cruising along at around 2000 rpm, so they try and keep the rpm in that range. No big deal when the load's light, but add a trailer and you see significantly reduced performance, to the point that you can find your vehicle stalling out on an incline. So keep those rpm up, even if it sounds like your engine's struggling a wee bit. (It's not. You're just not used to hearing it really work.) The easy way to do this is to turn on the "Tow" feature of your automatic transmission, if your vehicle is so equipped. If not, or if you have a manual transmission, rely on the tachometer and manually override the automatic, only shifting to a higher gear when the tach reads 3000 rpm. This, combined with downshifting on declines, will give you better performance and more control of your vehicle and load.
4) Unbalanced Trailer.
A safe trailer is a balanced trailer, and balance is achieved by staying within your trailer's safe tongue weight. Tongue weight is the amount of pressure applied to the trailer hitch by the trailer tongue, and it should equal 5 to 10 percent of the total trailer weight. Too much tongue weight (too much weight that's forward of the trailer axles) will cause the tow vehicle to sag at the rear and can cause enough lift at the front end of the tow vehicle to compromise steering. Too little tongue weight (too much weight rear of the trailer axles) can cause the trailer to lift the rear axle of the tow vehicle and cause both tow vehicle and trailer to fishtail at highway speed. To make sure your load is balanced correctly, have your dealer weight the tongue under load and adjust the axles accordingly. (Don't try this at home.)
5) Overloading Your Trailer Or Vehicle.
Overloading your trailer or tow vehicle is a recipe for disaster that's easy to avoid. Both the trailer and tow vehicle have listed capacities, both in the owner's manuals and on the equipment. The rule of thumb for safe operation is to never exceed 80 percent of the listed capacity of either trailer or tow vehicle. So if your trailer has a 5,000-pound listed capacity, you should never put more than 4,000 pounds on it. If your tow vehicle has a towing capacity of 10,000 pounds (as some now do), then the combined weight of your trailer AND boat (and all gear in the boat, including fuel and water) should not exceed 8,000 pounds. (To figure the weight of the fuel and water on your boat, multiply the fuel capacity by 6.5 and the water capacity by 8.33.)
6) Not Tying Down.
Even under the best of conditions, trailers ride rough. The tires are responsible for most of the trailer's shock absorption, so unless your tires are dangerously underinflated or the load is dangerously heavy, there's going to be some serious bouncing back there. And if there's a whole lotta bouncin' goin' on, things have a way of flying out. It may be something as trivial as your favorite fishing hat, or as catastrophic as the boat itself (a not unheard of occurrence). You can easily replace a hat, but if a boat comes flying off a trailer, that's a major problem. This is why it's absolutely critical that everything on the trailer - the boat and everything in it, in other words - be secured. Nothing should be loose on the deck or in the cabin, and the boat/trailer tie-downs should be snug, as loose tie-downs will work themselves looser and looser as the load bounces down the road. Always take one more minute to walk around the trailer and double-check the security of the tie-downs and the gear in the boat.
7) Neglecting Your Trailering checklist.
Getting a ticket for a minor traffic infraction may not be a life threatening event, but it sure can ruin the mood of an outing. That's why you should always have a trailering checklist that you review religiously before hitting the road on a trip. For starters, always make sure that your trailer's brake lights and turn signals are working BEFORE you pull out of your driveway or away from the launch ramp, and keep some spare bulbs in your tow vehicle - just in case. Remind yourself to renew your trailer's registration and get new license plates each year at the start of boating season. Always use your turn signals on the road and, above all else, SLOW DOWN. Remember - speed kills. Nobody likes dealing with registrations and inspections and all the other little things required to keep your trailer on the right side of the law, but the upside is that doing so ensures you'll be having a safe and enjoyable experience every time you head to the water.
1) Driving Too Fast.
There's no other way to put it. At best, too much speed can kill a good time; at worst it can literally be fatal. The ultimate key to trailering success is to SLOW DOWN, whether you're loading the tow vehicle and hitching up the trailer, driving to and from the launch ramp, or actually launching or retrieving the boat. Speed reduces your margin of error while compounding the ill effects of any error, so again, SLOW DOWN. Start at the beginning, as you're loading the tow vehicle and hitching up the trailer. A calm, unhurried pace will set the tone for the entire day while helping you make sure nothing is forgotten or overlooked. Probably the main reason given for rushing is "running late," so do yourself and everybody else a favor and get an early start so you won't feel hurried. And if you do start running behind, don't ever try and make that time up on the road. By adding a trailer, boat and gear, you're effectively doubling the size of your tow vehicle, both in length and weight. It will, therefore, take you exponentially more space to maneuver, and exponentially more time to accelerate and decelerate. Speeding increases those factors even more. By slowing down on the road, you counter the added size and weight by giving yourself more space and time to speed up, slow down, and maneuver.
2) Riding The Brakes.
The added size and weight of a trailer and boat don't just increase the time and space needed to slow down or stop, but put greatly increased strain on your tow vehicle's brakes. In a nutshell, the tow vehicle's brakes have to work harder to slow the load; the added effort increases the heat on the brakes; and the heat reduces the brakes' effectiveness and requires more braking pressure. Now you're in a vicious cycle that can end in a total loss of braking. Under most conditions, this isn't a huge risk, but in hilly areas it can be a serious danger as drivers "ride the brakes" down hills to keep their vehicles and trailers under control. To avoid this, simply use the built-in braking power of your tow vehicle's engine by shifting to a lower gear ("downshifting") as you crest a hill or approach a stop. In a vehicle with automatic transmission, simply shift from Drive to "2" or "D2," going all the way down to "1" or "L" as needed. Don't let the engine over-rev; keep an eye on the tachometer and use the brakes lightly if the rpm approach the redline. This downshifting will slow your vehicle in a highly controlled manner while keeping your brakes cool and ready for when they're really needed.
3) Not Turning The Engine.
One of the most common complaints heard from those who trailer is the lack of acceleration they get from their tow vehicles with a load attached. This can be a nuisance, but if you find yourself on an incline without enough oomph, you can get in a lot of trouble. The solution: Keep the engine's rpm in the maximum torque and horsepower range. Most tow vehicle engines produce maximum torque and horsepower at around 3000 rpm. Thing is, most drivers are used to hearing their engines cruising along at around 2000 rpm, so they try and keep the rpm in that range. No big deal when the load's light, but add a trailer and you see significantly reduced performance, to the point that you can find your vehicle stalling out on an incline. So keep those rpm up, even if it sounds like your engine's struggling a wee bit. (It's not. You're just not used to hearing it really work.) The easy way to do this is to turn on the "Tow" feature of your automatic transmission, if your vehicle is so equipped. If not, or if you have a manual transmission, rely on the tachometer and manually override the automatic, only shifting to a higher gear when the tach reads 3000 rpm. This, combined with downshifting on declines, will give you better performance and more control of your vehicle and load.
4) Unbalanced Trailer.
A safe trailer is a balanced trailer, and balance is achieved by staying within your trailer's safe tongue weight. Tongue weight is the amount of pressure applied to the trailer hitch by the trailer tongue, and it should equal 5 to 10 percent of the total trailer weight. Too much tongue weight (too much weight that's forward of the trailer axles) will cause the tow vehicle to sag at the rear and can cause enough lift at the front end of the tow vehicle to compromise steering. Too little tongue weight (too much weight rear of the trailer axles) can cause the trailer to lift the rear axle of the tow vehicle and cause both tow vehicle and trailer to fishtail at highway speed. To make sure your load is balanced correctly, have your dealer weight the tongue under load and adjust the axles accordingly. (Don't try this at home.)
5) Overloading Your Trailer Or Vehicle.
Overloading your trailer or tow vehicle is a recipe for disaster that's easy to avoid. Both the trailer and tow vehicle have listed capacities, both in the owner's manuals and on the equipment. The rule of thumb for safe operation is to never exceed 80 percent of the listed capacity of either trailer or tow vehicle. So if your trailer has a 5,000-pound listed capacity, you should never put more than 4,000 pounds on it. If your tow vehicle has a towing capacity of 10,000 pounds (as some now do), then the combined weight of your trailer AND boat (and all gear in the boat, including fuel and water) should not exceed 8,000 pounds. (To figure the weight of the fuel and water on your boat, multiply the fuel capacity by 6.5 and the water capacity by 8.33.)
6) Not Tying Down.
Even under the best of conditions, trailers ride rough. The tires are responsible for most of the trailer's shock absorption, so unless your tires are dangerously underinflated or the load is dangerously heavy, there's going to be some serious bouncing back there. And if there's a whole lotta bouncin' goin' on, things have a way of flying out. It may be something as trivial as your favorite fishing hat, or as catastrophic as the boat itself (a not unheard of occurrence). You can easily replace a hat, but if a boat comes flying off a trailer, that's a major problem. This is why it's absolutely critical that everything on the trailer - the boat and everything in it, in other words - be secured. Nothing should be loose on the deck or in the cabin, and the boat/trailer tie-downs should be snug, as loose tie-downs will work themselves looser and looser as the load bounces down the road. Always take one more minute to walk around the trailer and double-check the security of the tie-downs and the gear in the boat.
7) Neglecting Your Trailering checklist.
Getting a ticket for a minor traffic infraction may not be a life threatening event, but it sure can ruin the mood of an outing. That's why you should always have a trailering checklist that you review religiously before hitting the road on a trip. For starters, always make sure that your trailer's brake lights and turn signals are working BEFORE you pull out of your driveway or away from the launch ramp, and keep some spare bulbs in your tow vehicle - just in case. Remind yourself to renew your trailer's registration and get new license plates each year at the start of boating season. Always use your turn signals on the road and, above all else, SLOW DOWN. Remember - speed kills. Nobody likes dealing with registrations and inspections and all the other little things required to keep your trailer on the right side of the law, but the upside is that doing so ensures you'll be having a safe and enjoyable experience every time you head to the water.
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Seven Deadly Sins: These seven common trailering mistakes can wreak havoc on your trailering experience. Here's how to avoid them.
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