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If you get a camper trailer tent, it’s only a matter of time before you start looking into the equipment and accessories that go with it. Occasionally you’ll want to add an item to your camper gear, or you’ll need to replace something on occasion. So I decided to write some articles that cover some of those common accessories that people pick up from time to time.
Trailer Hitches
Well, let’s start with the humble (and infinitely exciting) trailer hitch. It doesn’t matter if you’re driving a lifted diesel 4×4 truck or a small car, the trailer hitch is extremely important for towing any load, and needs a little consideration. If you don’t have the correct tow-setup you could face some problems, so it’s worth looking at towing basics and various types of hitch setups so you know what is the best hitch for you.
What’s Your Towing Capacity
To start with you need to find out what the towing capacity of your vehicle is. Obviously, if you’re driving a car, you’ll have a lower towing capacity that you would if you were driving a truck. Luckily all this information is easy to find in the vehicle owner manual. Generally, cars can tow about 3k pounds safely. Some powerful trucks can actually pull loads of around 30k pounds.
Now that you know your towing limits, you’ll need to gauge how much weight you need to tow. This can be a bit more tricky and you may need to get your calculator out and tot up some ‘guestimates’ for the weight of your gear. Camper trailer tents will come with details of their weight, so that’s a good place to start. Then you need to add to that the weight you’re packing on top. This could be bikes, kayaks, surfboards, quad-bikes and luggage. Where you can, get the exact weight for each item. If you need to guess, try to over estimate the weight a little, as it’s better to assume you have more weight, rather than actually having more weight that your vehicle can handle.
This is an important task for safety reasons, so do spend some time getting it as accurate as possible, and double check your estimates.
Safe Towing
There are two main elements to safe towing. To start with your vehicle needs to be able to control the weight, the second is your vehicle will need to be able to get the load up to a safe speed. Your brakes are vitally important for safe towing of a trailer and to safely stop your vehicle. If you’re brakes are not 100% spot on, then don’t hitch your trailer. Ensure your brakes are maintained correctly. Keep track of the last time your brake fluid was replaced and the brake pads are up to the task. If in doubt bring your car or truck to a garage and have the brakes properly serviced.
Also, for safe towing you need to know what the terrain will be like, what weather conditions you can expect and how much traffic you’ll have to navigate to get to your final destination. For example, will there be lots of steep up hill climbs, or wind, or wet roads? Knowing this may influence the amount of gear you pack on your trailer and how you pack it!
Car Trailer Hitches
Because cars can’t tow much weight, the towing setup is pretty straight forward. You’ll need the following:
- Trailer hitch receiver
- Trailer ball mount
- Trailer hitch ball – these come in sizes: 1-7/8″, 2″, and 2-5/16″
A 2″ ball with a 1″ diameter shank is the common size used for towing small to medium sized trailers. Make sure you double-check the size of trailer hitch ball you need to ensure the ball shank fits snugly into your ball mount. You will also want the trailer hitch connection to be almost level, but with a slight downward angle toward the car. This will help to reduce trailer sway by evenly distributing the weight. Trailer ball mounts do come in range of sizes, so make sure you get one that will work well for your situation.
Trailer Hitches For Trucks
There is a wide range of trailer towing accessories for trucks, and we’ll look at the most commonly used today.
Surprisingly some trucks don’t actually have a trailer-hitch at all, but most have either an installed trailer hitch or or a hitch built into the rear bumper. Some trucks that are designed to tow a heavy load have a pindle hitch which is a thick ring shape made of steal that can handle extreme torsional stress. Some trucks have a 5th wheel which has a stronger hitch connection and helps to balance the load and prevents the truck from tipping backwards when it’s load is attached.
Remember, no matter what vehicle you’re hitching your camper trailer to, safety should always be to the front of your mind.
Check A Range Of Trailer Hitches, Reviews And Prices
