You have a lot of options available when buying a trailer. There are closed trailers, open trailers, various hitch options, and much more. The first step in picking the right trailer is determining what you would like to do with your trailer. If you need your trailer to move livestock, you’re going to have much different considerations than someone who wants to use it to transport a vehicle. Some features of a trailer are universal and some are very specific. Here are some typical considerations.
Mud Guards
When you are driving, your tyres can pick up mud and spray it backwards. This gets on the underside and side of your car if you don’t have mudguards. If you’re trying to transport livestock especially, you need to make sure that they’re not getting covered in the mud that flies up as you drive. Mudguards, the flaps that stick down behind tyres and catch the mud, can prevent that. When you are looking for a livestock cattle trailer, look for one that has aluminium mudguards.
Aluminium is a lightweight, diverse material that can be used for many different projects. Also, unlike plastic, it won’t break or degrade over time. The amount of moisture and physical damage your mudguards will be faced with can be hard on plastic – aluminium is much better suited to the task.
Brakes
Not every trailer has brakes because not every trailer needs them. For lightweight trailers and small hauling jobs, the brakes on your own vehicle are typically sufficient to stop the trailer. However, a trailer does add a lot of weight to your vehicle. Furthermore, adding the cargo to the trailer increases the weight immensely. That can cause problems stopping the trailer. The best solution is to choose a trailer that has brakes.
Brakes that adjust automatically are optimal. Automatically adjusting brakes will provide real-time adjustments to your braking performance to ensure that you can always stop your trailer safely.
Ramps and Low Decks
A trailer that has a ramp and/or a low deck is much easier to load than one that is up high. You want your trailer to be high enough that you can clear bumps and obstacles in the road, however, you don’t want it to be so high that you have a difficult time loading items onto your trailer. That’s especially important for those who are loading livestock or vehicles that no longer run properly onto a trailer. Many different types of livestock, especially cattle and sheep, are not fond of climbing up high ramps. A trailer with a low deck and a solid ramp are very important for getting animals safely into the trailer.
Hitch
Finally, you need a trailer that has several hitch options. The hitch is where you attach many of the electronics, so you need to make sure you choose a hitch that’s right for your vehicle. That will control the lights and other electronics on the trailer.
These are a few of the considerations you should take into account when buying a trailer.