Westford Horse Trailer Hire     Hitching and Unhitching

 

 

If you’re happy that you’re road worthy, then you’re ready to go. Hitching up takes a bit of practice, but there are ways you can make

it easier for yourself. It sounds obvious, but never load a horse into your trailer before you hitch up.

 

 

 

 1.

Make sure that the trailer’s handbrake is on, and the tow bar is higher than the tow ball. Line your vehicle up so you can go back in a straight line towards the trailer, and then reverse slowly. You will find it easier to judge your distance if you have a helper.

      

 

 2.

Once you have the tow ball lined up under the tow hitch, start to lower the hitch onto the ball by turning the jockey wheel (in the right direction). Some tow hitches will automatically hitch up, but most need the handle to be held up You’ll hear it click into place as the two become connected.

 

 

3.

Undo the jockey wheel by turning the lever at the side, and raise it up as high as it will go. Then tighten it securely so there is no chance of it coming down when you’re driving.

 

4.

You’ll see your trailer has a piece of wire with a hook on the end. This is the breakaway cable, and it must be attached to an eye or looped through a main brace of the tow bar, not over the tow ball. The idea of the breakaway cable is that, if the trailer and vehicle become separated, the wire actually takes up the tension and applies the trailer’s handbrake.

 

 

5.

To connect the electrics, line up the gap of the car’s electrical socket with the gap in the tow hitch socket.

 

 

6.

Release the trailer handbrake and check everything is working (lights, indicators and brakes). For the brake lights, ask someone to stand behind and check for you. Do a last check to ensure everything is safe before you load your horse, and never travel with the hitch lock on, because if the trailer should flip over, it is likely to turn the car over, too!

 

 

A. Park your trailer on as flat a surface as possible and then apply the car’s and the trailer’s handbrake.

 

B. Disconnect the electrical and breakaway cables.

 

C. Undo the jockey wheel until it is touching the ground, and tighten it.

 

D. Hold up the tow hitch handle and wind the jockey wheel higher until the vehicle and trailer disconnect.

 

E. Lock your trailer so it’s secure. To avoid the brake shoes sticking to the drums, leave your trailer parked with the handbrake off, but wedge

    the wheels to prevent it rolling.

 

 

 

 

Reversing a trailer well will impress anyone who’s watching, whereas doing it badly will attract attention for the wrong reasons! Don’t forget that plenty of practice makes perfect, so find a nice big area and do just that. The first thing to remember is to take it very slowly – you’ll have a lot more chance of getting it right than if you try

to do things in a hurry.

 

Before reversing, you need to find out what your trailer’s jack-knife point is. The jack-knife point is the point at which the trailer reaches a certain angle and

you are no longer able to get your vehicle out of this angle by reversing. Do this by driving your vehicle forwards in a tight circle on full lock that’s your

jack-knife point!

 

 

1.

First, make sure there is nothing behind you, and preferably have a helper to see you back. Where you start from will have a big influence on where

you end up, so if you want to reverse around a corner, start straight and about a vehicle’s length from the area you are reversing into.

 

 

2.

The main thing to remember when reversing is that whichever way you turn the steering wheel will send your trailer will go in the opposite direction. So, if you steer the wheel left, your trailer will go right. To straighten the trailer up, simply turn the wheel back the other way. Often if you get the angle wrong, you are better to go forwards again rather than trying to correct it.

 

 

 

 Westford Horse Trailer Hire     Hitching and Unhitching