Vehicles that can Tow Trailers

Series Summary

A trailer is generally an un-powered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. Commonly, the term trailer refers to such vehicles used for transport of goods and materials. Enclosed toy trailers and motorcycle trailers can be towed by commonly accessible pickup trucks or cars, which generally requires no special permit beyond a regular driver's license. Specialized trailers like open-air motorcycle trailers and bicycle trailers are much smaller, and accessible to small automobiles. Some simple trailers are pulled by a draw-bar and ride on a single set of axles.

If you buy or use a trailer, you'll want to keep it in good condition so you can keep using it to tow, pull, or haul heavy loads. In this free video series, our expert will teach you how about trailer maintenance. You'll learn how to maintain your trailer's crank, tires, and lights, as well as many other tips on insurance, proper care, and use of the trailer. With these instructions, your trailer will keep on towing for years!

Video Transcript

"Hi. I'm Albert Hedgepath with Expert Village. Today we're going to talk a little bit about trailer maintenance. There are many types of trailers out on the market right now, but most of them have a few very similar components. One of the first components is going to be a tongue hitch. What that is going to do is actually going to connect your trailer to your car. This also has a wiring harness, which will deal with electronic brakes. You are also going to want to have your back- up chains, just so in case the trailer hitch gives way, it's still connected to the truck. Now most of them are going to have a crank wheel with a clip to connect whatever you are putting on the trailer. They are going to have a jack, which actually lifts the trailer up off the back of the bumper hitch on the vehicle and helps you with storage, to keep the trailer level while you're storing it. They are going to have skids, multiple levels dependent upon what is going on the trailer. This one specifically here is a boat trailer, so these are drive on skids for the pontoons of the boat itself. Trailers are also going to have tires obviously. They are going to have bearings that are actually on the axle which runs across. This one has a dual axle, so you have two bearings on each side of the vehicle. You also have your leaf springs under here which are the shocks for the trailer itself. You also have a lighting system, which you know, tells the people that are driving behind you what you are doing, whether you are stopping, turning, whether you are in a hazardous position. You have also got a license plate with your registration on it. Maintaining these components on a boat trailer and keeping them up to par, keeping your buddy bearings greased, keeping everything in working order is especially important whenever you are putting a trailer in the water. So boat trailers are, are something that you really have to stay on top of while you maintain them. As long as you do this, you know, trailers tend to last ten to fifteen years, and with proper maintenance you can increase that life span considerably."