A car hauler also known as auto transport trailer is a kind of trailer that's designed to transport the passenger vehicles efficiently via truck. It may either be open or enclosed. It has built-in ramps to load and off-load cars and power hydraulics for lifting and lowering the ramps for stand-alone accessibility. It can usually tow cars easily but still, there are a few things that need to be kept in mind.
1 - Refer to the car owner's manual or consult a reliable mechanic to understand what process of towing is best suited for the vehicle.
2 - The car in tow needs to be loaded forward on the car-carrying trailer. Towing the car backwards can result in whipping & lead to a complete loss of control.
3 - Never load cargo into a towed vehicle. The cargo may add a lot of weight or change the weight distribution, which may cause the towing vehicle to whip or sway.
You can find many car hauler trailers for sale.
How to load a car safely onto an auto transport trailer – a step by step guide
Park the car being towed as well as the car hauler in line with one another on a levelled surface
- Ensure that the towing vehicle is parked with parking brake set.
- Check the trailer's couple & safety chains twice to make sure that they're attached securely to the towing vehicle. Don't try to load any vehicle onto a car-carrying trailer, which is detached.
Arrange the car hauler trailer
- At the front of car hauler, free the tire straps from ratchets. For doing this, pull up the ratchet handle and latch towards you for releasing the strap. Pull strap out of ratchet & towards the rear of car hauler, laying them flat on the deck.
- Move the side fender of the driver to a low position by releasing two latches & rotating it right down.
- Arrange the loading ramps releasing all the latches, which are holding those ramps and pulling them all out.
Load the car safely on the car carrying trailer
- Centre the car behind the car hauler
- Don't allow anybody to stand in between the towing vehicle & car carrying trailer during loading.
- Drive up the ramps slowly and onto the car hauler until the car's tires come to rest against stops in front of the auto transport trailer.
- Ensure to position the car in the park & engage the parking brake before exiting it.
Secure the car properly on the car carrier trailer
- Move the strap ratchets right or left to align them with centre of the tire.
- Place the straps up & over the tires at front ensuring they are positioned in the centre.
- Look for tie-downs to secure the car to the auto transport trailer properly.
- The ratchet needs to be tightened folding the handle down once done.
- Fasten the security chains to frame. Leave slack in chain, looping them all around & securing them through open link using s hooks. This needs to be done at the vehicle's front & back side.
- Stow the ramps by raising them & sliding the back into the car hauler trailer.
- Lift side fender of the driver and secure it properly with the latches.
Follow this step by step guide if you really want to load a car safely onto a car hauler trailer. For more information about car carrying trailers, stay tuned to our blog.