How Your Trailer Maintenance Choices Affect, Budget & Vehicle Life

Are You Proactive or Reactive?

How do your trailer maintenance decisions affect your vehicle? Many owner-operators and fleet managers are unwittingly lighting their earnings on fire with poor maintenance habits, losing money on downed vehicles, spending thousands more on parts and repairs than necessary, and replacing vehicles with increasing frequency. How can you adjust your habits to save money and extend the life of your vehicles?

Understand There are Two Approaches to Vehicle Maintenance

Some people are proactive when it comes to vehicle maintenance, while others are reactive in nature. Your chosen maintenance style can make or break vehicle productivity and profitability. Which one should you choose?

Reactive Maintenance

Reactive maintenance is by far the easiest vehicle maintenance style. Though it seems cheaper in the beginning, it is also the most costly over the long-term. While reactive maintenance requires very little planning or spending from day-to-day, when problems arise, vehicle maintenance needs are more complicated and expensive.

While you may not be spending time on monitoring the health and life of your vehicle(s), when issues do occur, they'll be more substantial. You could find yourself with a downed vehicle, stuck roadside, spending hundreds to thousands of dollars on unnecessary repairs, or pondering if replacement is a better option.

Wondering if that’s an overstatement? The cost to rebuild the average diesel engine with issues resulting from insufficient coolant or overlooked oil changes is a whopping $15-40,000 from a certified repair shop depending on the necessary repairs. The cost of those oil changes suddenly pales in comparison to that monstrous repair bill, or the cost of replacing a vehicle that suffers an untimely death.

Proactive Maintenance

Proactive maintenance is the best vehicle maintenance style. Proactive maintenance requires an upfront investment in time and money preventive and routine maintenance tasks. With proactive maintenance, it’s essential to stay on top of scheduled maintenance such as oil changes, brake jobs, and alignments. However, this is not enough. Part of proactive maintenance is also monitoring for tractor trailer repair needs that are likely to present a problem down the road, like worn tires and air system issues that can leave you stuck roadside, searching for mobile repair service.

Your proactive maintenance program should include an accurate and up-to-date service history, timetable for upcoming routine maintenance tasks, compliance with Federal Highway Administration inspections and knowledge of upcoming deadlines, as well as a log or tracking program for suspected vehicle issues. This will require more time and spending in advance, but will save you the headache of unexpected breakdowns, emergency roadside service, and thousands in repairs in the long-run.

Properly operating vehicles are the backbone of your business. Knowing this, which fleet maintenance style will you choose?

Whether you need emergency repairs or are looking to ensure the performance of your fleet with a proactive monthly maintenance program, we’ve got you covered. Contact Ainsworth Trailer Repair for a competitive quote on your fleet maintenance and repair needs today.

This article was previously published at: http://www.trailerrepairdenver.com/trailer-maintenance-choices-affect-budget-vehicle-life/

10 Tips for Safe Towing a Trailer

Whether it’s your first time towing a trailer, or you’re a seasoned veteran, common sense is necessary to prevent dangerous and potentially deadly accidents. Driver error is the leading cause of trailer towing accidents. Learn how you can avoid these common problems, ensuring safe towing with the right equipment, proper connections, attention to detail, and practice.  

Prevent Roadway Incidents & Ensure a Safe Trip with these 10 Trailer Towing Tips

1. Choose the right equipment.
   Without the right tools for the towing job, you’re destined for failure, putting yourselves and others in danger. Be sure to purchase the right equipment for the weight capacity of your vehicle and cargo load, ensuring all components are compatible. Learn the basics in our Trailer Hitch Clinic.
   
   
2. Hitch your trailer to your tow vehicle correctly.
   Learn how to connect your tow vehicle to your trailer correctly. Before each trip, double-check all connections, including the coupler, safety chains, and wiring. Our fleet maintenance team repairs a lot of damage resulting from haphazard hitching.
   
   
3. Give yourself ample stopping distance.
   It takes longer to stop when you’re hauling the weight of a trailer and cargo. Practice braking before you go, moving no more than 10mph to practice stops. Never slam on your brakes or ride them on downhill grades.
   
   
4. Stop gradually.
   The weight of a trailer and cargo puts added pressure on brakes. Abrupt starts/stops cause your tow vehicle and trailer to wear prematurely. Prolong the life of your vehicles and brakes by braking lightly, and sooner than normal. Keep your brakes in top shape with regular maintenance, including controller adjustment.
   
   
5. Remain alert, planning for problems ahead.
   It takes longer to start, stop, change lanes, and turn when towing a trailer. Be vigilant, ensuring you can react if/when needed.
   
   
6. Watch your speed.
   Excessive speed is a leading factor in trailer sway. Remain at/below 55mph. Be extra-cautious downhill and in high winds. Consider a sway control unit to address this issue. If you experience sway, remove your foot from the gas, manually applying trailer brakes via the brake controller to align your vehicles.
   
   
7. Use extreme caution when changing lanes.
   You have more blind spots when towing and require more space to change lanes. Do so slowly, or you’ll need more than mobile trailer repairs.
   
   
8. Think carefully about passing.
   It takes more distance and time to pass other vehicles when towing. If you must pass, be sure you have ample time and space. No matter the situation, avoid passing on two-lane roads.
   
   
9. Choose parking spaces carefully.
   Choosing pull-through parking with ample space to turn around, or parking farther away can help you avoid complicated backup maneuvers or getting blocked in.
   
   
10. Thwart theft.
    Always use a coupler lock. This prevents unattended trailers from being quickly uncoupled and stolen, and offers added security while driving.

Trailer towing incident? Ainsworth Trailer Repair has you covered, from trailer body and frame repair to simple maintenance issues. Learn why our customers love our trustworthy, A+ BBB accredited services. Contact us to get a competitive quote today.

This article was previously published at: http://www.trailerrepairdenver.com/10-tips-safe-towing/

How to Hook Up a Trailer Safely

We know it’s embarrassing when you have to bring your trailer into your local trailer repair shop because you failed to hook it up properly. We see a lot of these types of repairs. Though some result from a hurried hook-up, many result from simple ignorance. To ensure safety, we offer this guide on properly hitching up your trailer once you’ve had a trailer hitch safely installed. 

Steps for an Easy Trailer Hook Up

1. Phone a friend or grab a neighbor.
   It’s much easier to hitch up your trailer when you have someone outside the vehicle to guide you. Before beginning, ensure you’re both clear on the signals to back up and stop. Your assistant should stand on the driver’s side, by the trailer tongue, in clear sight of your mirror.
   
   
2. Line up your tow vehicle with the trailer.
   With the help of your assistant, position your tow vehicle in line with your trailer. This is easier than zigzagging into position. Stop when the two vehicles are a foot away.
   
   
3. Adjust the trailer coupler height.
   Adjust the trailer coupler height. It should not be too high, just a few inches above the trailer ball ensures adequate clearance.

4. Continue backing up.
   Once you've verified the coupler and trailer ball are at the right height, aligning perfectly, continue backing up, very S-L-O-W-L-Y. Pay careful attention to directions from your helper. If things are not lining up, return forward, and try again. Because trailer leasing companies see a lot of damage resulting from unskilled operators making mistakes at this stage of the game, Ainsworth fleet trailer maintenance professionals frequently deal with repairs to hitch-end connections.
   
   
5. Lower the coupler onto the ball.
   Put the vehicle in park, engaging the emergency brake. Check the coupler latch is in the upright, unlocked position. Then, use the trailer jack to lower the coupler, slowly lowering it onto the ball. If the coupler is offset, raise the jack, move your tow vehicle forward, and realign the two vehicles again, properly.
   Professional Tip: Greasing the trailer ball before hookup allows for a smoother connection, and prevents premature wear.
   
   
6. Latch the coupler.
   Once the coupler is firmly seated, engage the latch and secure it with a coupler lock/safety pin. Once it's secured, test the connection. Jack up the trailer tongue slightly. If it comes off the ball, the coupler is not seated correctly, and it is unsafe for towing.
   
   
7. Attach the safety chains.

Do not skip this step. Chains are required by law, catching the coupler in the event it becomes disconnected from the ball. Attach chains in a crisscross pattern beneath the coupler, forming a cradle that does NOT touch the ground. This chain must be rated to meet or exceed the gross trailer weight.

8. Retract the jack.
   Next, fully retract the trailer jack, moving it up and out of the way before towing. (Some swivel over and up, others retract into the jack post.)
   
   
9. Connect the trailer wiring.
   Connect the wiring harness, ensuring it does not touch the ground. You can limit the slack by wrapping the harness around the trailer tongue, leaving enough length to make turns without tension.
   
   
10. Verify light function.
    With the aid of your assistant, make sure your brake, hazard, running lights, and turn signals are all working.
    
    

Always Take the Time to Hitch Up Your Trailer Right

Deadly accidents can occur when trailers are not connected properly. It takes only a few moments of attention to save a life. If you can’t figure out how to hook up your trailer and tow vehicle properly, the Ainsworth team will gladly show you how.

Are you suffering trailer hitch troubles? The Ainsworth Trailer Repair crew has you covered. Contact us for help avoiding hitch-up hazards or repairing damage from connection mishaps today.

This article was previously published at: http://www.trailerrepairdenver.com/hook-trailer-safely/