Trailer Maintenance

Many people don’t understand a trailer needs Servicing in a similar fashion to a car. To help people do this we have a trailer servicing –  maintenance schedule as a guide. It is more important to service a trailer than a car because:-.

  • Trailers carry a lot of weight as a result can cause damage or serious injury.
  • If a trailer becomes detached or has a major problem you are not in control.
  • There is no MOT for a trailer and as a result end up in poor repair.
  • Vosa are checking trailers more often for road-worthiness. A driver can get points or a trailer seized due to poor maintaince.

Trailer servicing – maintenance schedule:

Maintenance of the trailer is the responsibility of the trailer owner or transport manager of a company. In addition you should not tow a trailer if you are aware of any problems. Poor maintenance of a trailer can result in Catastrophic results.

We have listed below the minimum a trailer owner should do to ensure a safe trailer. This can differ because trailers that are submerged and used in harsh or off-road environments may need more.

Checks to be made on your trailer every trip:

  • Lights work correctly
  • Coupling has no play on towball.
  • Tyre pressures
  • Wheel nuts / Bolts (correct torque)
  • Breakaway cable / Secondary Coupling chain / cable
  • All fasteners are secure and working.
  • Correct Number plate displayed
  • Load is secure and positioned correctly.

Checks to be made every 500 miles:

  • All items under Every trip
  • Brake adjustment
  • Play in Bearings
  • Any bolted Connections / fittings (new trailers only)

Safety and cost:

If you keep up with your trailer maintenance you may find there is not much wrong with your trailer. When a trailer is well maintained regularly small problems are picked up that are probably rectified easily. A small problem can end up costing money or cause more damage when it is not found early. If you have found a fault with your trailer feel free to bring it in or take a look at our Blog page and see if you can fix it yourself.

When trailers are left to stand you still need to service the trailer as brake parts, bearings and couplings can all corrode or seize through lack of use, tyres can perish and electrical s can corrode and stop working.

Regular maintenance can stop the following problems:

Customers that leave servicing/maintenance too long regularly have the following problems.

Trailer brake cables

Brake cables seize and due to the lack of movement the expander seizes leaving the brakes in an open position. As a result the brake shoes rub the brake drum that wears the shoes. Brake shoes rubbing on a drum may also result in damage to the drum. This can also effects the brake efficiency and the amount of fuel used to tow. When you really need the brakes they do not work. This can cause an accident for the cost of a brake cable.

Wheel bearings

With wheel bearings you usually will get a bit of warning (play) before a bearing fails. When a wheel bearing fails the whole wheel usually comes off this can damage the shaft as it comes off or if the shaft hits the floor. This means a new axle / suspension unit at an high cost also a trailer wheel can cause a lot of damage/ injury if it hits something or a person.

Please Note – If you have any questions or if you would like any further information regarding this product. Then please feel free to call us on 01909 473749. We are more then happy to help and look forward to your call.

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