Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

This afternoon while greasing wheel bearings and checking tires and brakes
in preparation for my first ride of the year, I was thinking about the
recent thread about which type or brand or trailer is safer.  It occurred to
me that in my experience, the important safety issues are NOT WHAT BRAND OR
TYPE OF TRAILER,    but how the rig is set up, driven, and  most importantly
how it is maintained.

I am going to try to list set up issues, maintenance issues and driving .
If anyone sees some I have missed, please chime in.  While I was an
industrial chemist, mostly doing mechanical engineering, I am not an expert
on trailers.

Set up issues

1. Does the tow vehicle have the proper towing capacity as listed by the
manufacturer of the vehicle?  This is definitely a case of bigger is better.
If you tow a 4000 lb trailer with a vehicle that can tow 8000 lbs, it will
be safer and easier to drive.
2. Does the tow vehicle have a proper hitch.  I do not like any hitch that
is also a bumper, even if it is stamped with the appropriate weight.
3. If a tag along trailer, does it need a weight distribution hitch? Those
torsion bars transfer some trailer weight to the front wheels and improve
handling.
4. Has the brake controller and lights been properly installed.  Most horse
trailers have electric brakes, if the controller is missing, or not properly
installed the brakes do not work.
5. Is the break away battery charged and properly maintained?  These are
required by federal law, but it is not required that they be automatically
charged as you go down the road.   They require either special wiring and an
electronic charger unit to recharge as you drive, or they must be
periodically recharged with a special 120v plug in charger.  I'd be willing
to bet that a majority of non factory LQ trailers have a breakaway battery
that would not apply the brakes if it were needed.
6. Are the safety chains properly installed and used?  2 chains, crossed,
and not hooked to the hitch ball are required by law.

Maintenance issues:

1. Tire pressure.  If a tire is underinflated, it has a much increased
chance of blowing out.  Tire pressures should be checked every trip or every
month whatever comes first.  If in doubt, inflate to the max listed on the
sidewalls.  Any handling issues are minor compared to a blow out.  Same with
truck tires.  It is no fun to have a truck tire blow at 75 mph in ND on the
freeway, trust me.
      If a tire does blow, the proper response is crucial.  a. Keep a firm
death grip on the wheel.  It will try to whip around, especially if a front
tire blows. b. Resist the temptation to apply the brakes.  If you jam on the
brakes you will go into the ditch. c.  When you have basic steering control,
slowly let off on the gas.  Let the vehicle slow.  As it slows you may
cautiously apply brakes, but do it carefully.  d. When the speed is very
slow (say 5-15 mph) carefully pull off onto the shoulder and stop as far
from traffic as possible.  e. If you are on a bridge or other area where it
is not safe to stop, you probably can slowly drive to a safe area.
Remember, the tire and rim are most likely ruined any way by now.
2. Wheel bearings.  Wheel bearings must be greased periodically.  I do it
every second spring.  At the same time the brakes can be inspected.  Note:
It is not the miles, it is the time.  If a trailer is only used one time a
year, the wheel bearings must be inspected each year!
3. Brakes:  Brakes wear out.  This is mostly a matter of miles and the type
of driving.  I have found that every 2 years when the bearings are greased
is often enough for my usage.  Note if the linings are quite worn, but
serviceable you may have to inspect them more frequently if you want to get
the most use.  At least every year you should verify that all the brakes
work.  It is hard to feel if one wheel just stops working.  A quick test,
but no substitute for detailed inspection, is to jack up the wheel, give it
a good spin.  It should spin freely with no grinding noises.  While it is
spinning, have a helper actuate the controller.  The wheel should stop.  If
there is a loud clunk sound, the brakes need adjusting as a minimum.  It is
not unusual to find that one electric brake, due to an electrical problem,
has packed it in.
4. Lights.  Every time you go verify that the running lights, turn signals
and brake lights work.  If the lights don't work you run a very increased
risk of being hit from behind.  The Missoulian has had 2 photos this year of
horse trailers hit from behind.  It is not pretty.  The hitting vehicle goes
up and into the trailer, crushing the horses against the front.
5. Floor.  Trailer floors are usually covered by mats and ignored until a
problem develops.  We have all heard of people who have had a horse grind
its leg off when a floor gave way.  Remove and clean under mats.  If the
floor is wood, do the screw driver test for rot.  Water repelling wood
preservatives also help.  If the floor is Aluminum, consider spray on bed
liner to protect from horse piss.  At the minimum remove mats, rinse and dry
after each use.
6. Springs If your trailer has metal springs, they may have grease fittings.
If the grease fittings are not greased often enough (say 2 or 3 times a
year), they will "freeze" and you will not be able to get grease into them.
Then you will not grease them.  Eventually, they will no longer move, and a
spring will break.  Not good.  If you are lucky, the trailer will list to
one side.  If you are not lucky the axle will come off while you are on the
freeway.  If your trailer has this type of axle, and you get the springs
fixed so the grease goes in easily, it only takes 5-10 minutes to grease
them.  Any mechanic can show you how.  It is easy.

Driving issues:

1. No horse rig stops as fast as a car or truck.  Drive accordingly.
2. No horse rig corners as well as a car or truck.  Drive accordingly.
3. Ice and snow are special problems.  Stay home, or put chains on all four
trailer tires.  I have a friend who almost lost his trailer and horses over
the edge of a MT mountain road after a hunting season snow storm.  He had
chains for the truck, but the trailer did not and it just slowly slipped off
of the road.

What did I miss??
Note that none of these issues are unique to any brand or design of trailer.
Mechanical things that are not properly maintained become dangerous, no
matter how sound the basic design or how expensive.

Ed
Ed & Wendy Hauser
2994 Mittower Road
Victor, MT 59875

ranch@xxxxxxxxxxx
406.642.6490

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Arabians were bred for years primarily as a war horse and those
requirements are similar to what we do today with endurance riding. 
~  Homer Saferwiffle

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