Should trailer be level when towing or not necessarily?
While it may seem like a simple task to hook up a trailer to your vehicle, it is much more complex than what meets the eye.
In fact, there are a number of safety concerns to keep in mind prior to heading out on the road.
Keep in mind that you are not only dealing with your own vehicle. Instead, you need to think about the other motorists on the road, which may be impacted by your towed trailer when done incorrectly.
With all these things in mind, let us look into towing trailers and whether they need to be level or not. Here are some things you need to know that should be able to answer this question. Let’s dive right into it.
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Why Should Trailer Be Level When Towing
For the most part, when you keep your trailer level, this will eliminate any risks caused by poor towing.
This means that you can mitigate common issues with unbalanced trailers being towed including wear and tear on the tire, swaying, and rocking.
Hence, you will certainly need to keep the trailer level to avoid these concerns. If you cannot level it well, then you can put the nose down ever slightly. This should help to ensure safety while on the road.
Additionally, unlevel trailers can result in dangerous situations or risks with other motorists. When the trailer swings or rocks, it can jeopardize the safety of other vehicles on the street.
Moveover, wear and tear is bound to happen. Expensive repairs can occur, which is a big headache for many trailer owners.
On the other hand, a level trailer can enhance towing performance. The ground clearance is perfect and there is no issue to worry about when it comes to using the brakes. This is why keeping the trailer level when towing is always a good idea.
Key Reasons on Why Should Trailer Be Level When Towing
Let us look into the following reasons and benefits that can result in a level trailer being towed.
1. Ensure Stability
When your trailer is stable, this can eliminate any risk of swaying or rocking.
Each time the vehicle sways, this leaves an impression of the trailer being out of control. And practically speaking, you will see the trailer swinging from one side to another. As this movement continues, the truck or vehicle towing it will be subject to a similar motion.
Swinging happens because of a poor distribution of weight. When the rear has so much weight, then the front becomes lighter – and vice-versa.
Thus, you want to make sure the trailer is level to eliminate this pendulum effect as the vehicle moves.
2. Improved Towing Performance
Just think about how inefficient it is when the trailer does nothing but sway the whole way through,
This makes towing quite ineffective and even uncomfortable. After all, that 7000-pound item being towed can become more difficult to pull when there is nothing but instability. So, you need to have a combination of proper aerodynamics and stability for enhanced safety and towing characteristics.
3. Fuel Economy
Who wouldn’t want this practical benefit of keeping your trailer level when towing?
With better aerodynamics, your movement will also become more efficient and much faster.
This is why by keeping the trailer level, you can achieve better aerodynamics. You can optimize this important aspect by simply leveling the towing position.
As a result, this impeccable aerodynamics help with an improved gas mileage.When the front portion of the trailer is a bit higher than it should, this creates a lift as the air is caught underneath. Hence, the vehicle slows down and requires more gas usage during the trip.
Naturally, you want to make the trip more efficient. This means that the less fuel is consumed, the better. So, the best way to make this happen when towing with your trailer is to keep it leveled. Better aerodynamics means better fuel economy.
4. Prevent Premature Wear and Tear on Tires
When there is far greater weight on a particular axle, this causes certain issues to your tires.
For instance, the weight distribution becomes uneven, causing one tire to wear faster than the other.
Eventually, you will have to replace this tire, which is an unnecessary expense that could have been alleviated by keeping your trailer level.
In the same way, when the trailer is just too high, the rear axle tires are flattened. Hence, this results in the overloading of the tires and rear axle.
Either way, the imbalance on the weight heats up the tire. The more heat occurs, the greater the risk of a tire blowing out. When this occurs, it can be a great inconvenience while at the same time risking your life when the tire gets damaged.
5. Better Ground Clearance
When it comes to towing your trailer, you want to make sure ground clearance is always optimal.
Just think about all the dips and bumps on the road, which can be very difficult to work with when you are towing a heavy thing on your trailer.
Poor ground clearance leads to a risk of causing damages to the trailer’s bumper. Or if the nose is just too high, this causes problems to the jacks.
Drive with the nose too low and the tongue jack is in jeopardy. Overall, these are all expensive parts that will result in costly repairs.
But of course, you can avoid these situations when your trailer is leveled when towing.
Aside from all of these, braking performance is very much improved when your trailer is level when you tow. The tires reach the ground at similar pressures, which can make braking more efficient to do.
This is a safety pointer to ensure since you need to make sure that your brakes are working perfectly fine. With the uncertainties on the road, the last thing you want is to worry about safety hazards while driving.
Read More: How To Keep Travel Trailer From Rocking With Quick & Simple Tips!
Making Sure That The Trailer Is Level
Now that you know the importance of a level trailer when towing, the question is – how do you know if your trailer is indeed level?
A quick thing you can do is by simply eyeballing the area where your trailer is on. You should be able to check if there is no uneven ground clearance the whole way through.
But to really make sure that it is level in addition to eyeballing, you can use a 4-foot level and check the bubble and notice if it is pointing at a level position. It should be found to be a little past the line.
Flipping the level over is also a good thing to do to determine whether your trailer is really level. This helps you make sure that both sides are accurate, and that you have really gotten a correct reading.
Besides, if you own a Toyota Tacoma, you may want to give this article a read, which will give you more information about Toyota Tacoma’s capabilites.
Conclusion
Should trailer be level when towing? Definitely!
This is something to keep in mind when towing anything with your trailer, for safety purposes.
Always remember that when you are out on the road, you are responsible not only for your life but also for the lives of everyone you share the road with.
Hence, you need to make sure that you apply these safety practices to reap the great benefits of towing with a level trailer.
