At Ainsworth Trailer Repair, we have performed every possible trailer repair since we opened in Denver in 1998. Though our ten full time mechanics take pride in their work and are committed to providing near OEM level trailer repair without delay, we offer these five tips on avoiding trailer damage so that you may never have to get a free quote on repairs.
Know Your Trailer
This seems to be common sense, but it is striking how many instances of trailer repair spring from humble origins such as forgetting clearance height, turning radius, load capacity, tongue weight rating, and other fundamental things about the trailer being used. Know your trailer’s limits and observe them.
Keep The Running Gear In Order
Whether through improperly inflated tires, dry axle bearings, a worn suspension, or even burned out signal and brake lights, many a trailer repair has begun with a break down or a collision caused by poor trailer maintenance. Fortunately, Ainsworth Trailer Repair is also about maintaining your trailer, not just fixing things after the worst has happened.
Load Your Trailer Properly
Especially after working with a trailer for awhile and driving it around a lot, complacency can set in about proper weight distribution in your trailer. We’d like to remind everyone that even if you don’t suffer an immediate accident or damage from loading weight unevenly from front to back or side to side, you are still causing fatigue to the frame and suspension components when you don’t try to even out the weight distribution as much as you can. Taking a few minutes to even out a load could be worth hours of shop time later spent straightening out a bent or broken frame.
Secure Your Load
Your trailer was designed to provide thousands of hours of service with relatively minimal maintenance requirements. However, it was not designed to cope with a suddenly shifting load. Trailer sway from a shifting load causes some of the most spectacular instances of trailer damage ever seen, and next to a tire, wheel, or axle failure, is the leading cause of a trailer tipping over at speed. Even if a suddenly shifting load doesn’t immediately tip the trailer, it can dent the walls/skins and makes the trailer more susceptible to mishandling in crosswinds.
Reverse Your Trailer Cautiously
Familiarity with a trailer can lead to complacency in how you handle your trailer. Remember how careful you were when you first reversed your trailer? Trailer boxes/bodies are built to provide load security, not direct hits. It only takes slight under compensation to clip a post, or curb a wheel and cause major damage.
