Similar to your SUV or pick-up truck, your trailer also needs maintenance at regular intervals. This is true of all trailers including custom trailers, box trailers Melbourne or your 8×5 trailer/7×4 trailer. In other words, trailers of all descriptions should receive appropriate maintenance at scheduled intervals. When it comes to trailer maintenance, there are many aspects and the following tips are designed to help you ensure that all maintenance aspects for your trailer are catered to without fail.
Tyres
Tyres are obviously expensive and therefore need that extra attention. Maintain proper air pressure on all the tyres on each trip that you make will contribute to a longer life of the tyres apart from your own safety and the safety of your automobile. In modern times, you can install the automated tyre monitoring system and watch the reading on your dashboard. But, if that is cumbersome, you should adopt the old world method of physically checking the tyre pressure at regular intervals of a few hundred miles of usage. If you opt for the automated systems, on the other hand, you should also ensure that they stay connected to the tyres through respective hoses. Obviously, your effort in doing this is significantly lesser. Apart from the hose, you should pay attention to the overall system itself including the aux.battery switch and aux.power fuse.
In some instances, you may see the tyre pressure fine but yet, the tire experiencing greater wear. Unusual wear of tyres is often caused by problems with the shock absorbers or suspension or the axle alignment and that would call for a thorough examination at your garage. At your dealer’s garage or mechanic’s facility, you should focus on the following:-
Inspect the suspensions
A visual inspection may show signs of erratic wear of the suspension, heat cracks or tears on air springs, etc. You should ensure that nothing interferes with the movement of the suspension or touches it. Similarly, the air springs should have equal and adequate pressure.
Air suspensions come with a defined ride height though it can at times be tinkered with or damaged. Incorrect ride height will mean that you are not getting full benefits from the suspension. Incorrect ride height, in turn, can trigger other problems including the safety of your trailer while cruising.
Correct lubrication
At times, it may become necessary to get under your trailer for inspecting components present in the undercarriage. The trailer can operate at optimal levels with the correct lube in the right quantities. The selection of the right grease is also important you may need a short learning curve to understand the composition of the right quality of grease. Most grease comes with a lithium complex base while some can be calcium-based. Ideally, you should never mix the two qualities of grease since that can impact performance. Broadly speaking, the right grease for your trailer will have consistency equal to peanut butter. While applying the grease, care should be taken to ensure that you are pumping adequate grease so that the old grease gets purged out.
The brakes
As you know very well, the brakes are very important for your own safety as well as the safety of other road users. We cannot take the function of the brakes for granted and regular inspection is absolutely necessary. Where brake liners are employed, the liners should be replaced at regular intervals. Obviously this job is best carried out by a competent mechanic and should not be a DIY task.
Ensure that all lights are working
The lights on your trailer as well as the tow vehicle have their respective importance. You cannot afford to ignore even one of the lights. You should also know that corrosion is among the greatest enemies for electrical systems. Make doubly sure that every single light is working whenever you start your vehicle and recheck during the night once again, not because lights are less important during day time, but that they have an added duty during the darker hours.
Using chemicals for cleaning
At times, we may need to use chemicals to clean up the trailer. But, you should know that these chemicals can affect the metal parts as well as the electrical systems in your trailer. One way you can reduce the impact of the chemicals after the job is done is to thoroughly wash the undercarriage so that no residue remaining to dry up and eat away vital components. Another benefit from keeping the upper as the well lower part of the trailer clean at all times is that you can spot potential trouble points early on and take necessary action. Getting your custom trailer washed thoroughly at intervals of about 60 days and also getting it a thorough inspection is another measure that will help you use your trailer more confidently. The owner or the driver who is usually behind the wheels with the trailer should invariably be present during these routine checks. No doubt, there are standard checklists at the garage, but the one who drives the trailer will have a closer knowledge of areas that need an in-depth inspection.
Inside box trailers
When you are using box trailers, you should also pay attention to the internal area of the trailer. Occasionally, the roof can develop holes and there may be cross members that may be broken. Holes on the roof can cause damage to your cargo and allow moisture to creep in that can be potentially damaging to the trailer itself.
Security aspects
The winches, chains, tie-down straps, etc. are among the important security components for your trailer. Inspect these components closely at regular intervals to ensure that there are no holes or cracks or other infirmities developing. Washing the tie-down straps is NOT a great idea since washing can promote the accumulation of grit on the strap that can potentially grind into the fibre impacting the integrity of the strap. Therefore a dirty strap may be safer than a clean strap from a safety point of view.
