Safety Tips for Travel Trailer Operators
Travel trailers are among the most popular non-motorized campers and come in a plethora of sizes and styles. While these trailers can enhance your camping experience and increase the amount of time you spend outdoors, it’s important that you’re adhering to the right safety guidelines whenever operating your trailer. Following the right safety measures will allow you to travel with peace of mind in knowing that you and your passengers are protected from harm out on the road.
Sun & Fun RVs of Tiffin, IA doesn’t just provide quality travel trailers to our clients but also share expert knowledge to prevent unfortunate circumstances from affecting our customers. We recommend following these safety tips to reduce risks while driving so you can properly enjoy your trailer.
Hitching
Travel trailers rely on towing vehicles to be able to get from one destination to the other. Different travel trailers require different styles of hitching for effective towing based on their size, weight, and your towing vehicle’s capabilities. There are weight-carrying hitches that distribute tongue loads through your frame, weight-distributing hitches that distribute the weight from the rear tires of your trailer to other tires, a gooseneck hitch that centers weight on your truck bed over the rear axles, and fifth wheel hitches which center most of your trailer weight over the towing vehicle. Your owner’s manual should tell you which hitch is most suitable for your trailer, so you don’t have to worry about any disconnections while traveling.
Towing Vehicle
Another important part of safety when it comes to operating your travel trailer is having a compatible towing vehicle. Whether you’re looking to buy a new truck along with your camper or you already have one designated, you must consider the payload and bed size of said truck. These elements affect the carrying capacity and balance of your truck respectively and need to be aligned with the right trailer for optimal use. Your truck’s user manual will likewise have this information so that you can approach your trailer dealership with an idea of what you should be looking for. Not taking this step seriously will affect your driving maneuverability and defensiveness and can place you and your passengers in harm’s way while on the road.
Servicing
One of the best risk preventative measures when it comes to your travel trailer is to get it serviced routinely. Carving out time in your busy schedule for general upkeep of your trailer and towing vehicle might just be out of the question for some drivers. That’s why professional servicing is made available so that you can keep your vehicles running smoothly without sacrificing your time and energy to do so. Make it a habit to take your travel trailer in for oil changes, overhauls, or any other procedures they need to keep working properly. Again, this step can save you from risky situations when you’re out trying to enjoy some quality time with family.
Visit our store in Tiffin to view our stock of awesome travel trailers! We’re happy to serve all patrons from Iowa City, and Davenport, IA as well.