Month: September 2018

Driving a truck is dangerous in itself, but towing a heavy trailer can amplify those dangers significantly.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that there are over 50,000 accidents every year due to towing.

Due to the dangerous aspects of truck driving and towing, it’s essential to focus on safety at all times. When you’re behind the wheel, whether you’re driving down the road or across the country, you need to make sure that the trailer you’re towing remains secure throughout the entirety of the trip.

Here are some excellent tips for safely driving a truck while towing a heavy trailer:

• Check everything beforehand — From inspecting your truck and trailer’s tire pressure to taking a look at the trailer brake wiring, you should thoroughly inspect every inch of your truck or trailer before getting behind the wheel. Check the safety chains, lights, license plate, hitch, wiring, and everything else. If the brake controller wiring has become jeopardized, you need to address it right away and have quality trailer brake wiring put in — don’t just neglect even the smallest issue because that could end up putting everyone on the road in danger.
• Don’t exceed the towing limit — Check your truck’s owner’s manual and go over all the information about towing to ensure that you’re not putting yourself and everyone else at risk as you tow heavy loads. Find out how much weight your truck can successfully haul. Although larger trucks and SUVs can tow considerably more weight nowadays, you should still check the manual in order to not overload your truck.
• Take wider turns — Since your vehicle is nearly double its length with a trailer attached, you will need to take much wider turns. Wide turns will help you avoid hitting curbs, other vehicles, or losing control of the trailer.

Don’t put yourself and other drivers in danger because you are unaware of how to properly and safely drive a truck with a trailer attached. If you want to learn more about safely towing a trailer or trailer brake wiring and sway control hitches, give Hayes Towing Electronics a call today!

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When it comes to driving a truck with a trailer attached, you need to drive even more carefully than normal. You can’t just attach a trailer to your truck’s towing hitch and start driving across the country — you need to make sure that you’re ready to safely tow any sized freight behind your truck.

For instance, weight distribution systems are recommended if your trailer’s weight is more than 50% of your vehicle’s weight. Preventing and correcting sway is a must for any truck driver towing a trailer, but so is having functioning braking systems on both vehicles.

Trailer brake controller wiring must be secure and connected correctly in order to ensure safe towing out on the roads. Here is everything you need to know about handling and installing electric brake controllers for trailers:

• Understanding the controller wires — There are numerous wires involved with a trailer’s brake controller. Some of the wires need to be connected individually, and a few others lead to the electronic adapter, which plugs into the trailer connector, allowing for basic writing functions without the hassle of cutting or splicing into your truck’s system. The three basic wiring functions for the connection involve tail lights, turn signals, and stop lights. One wire runs directly into the truck’s battery in order to supply power to the trailer connector, one runs to the brake controller to actually supply the braking power, one gets grounded to the truck’s frame, and another hardwires to the truck’s reverse lights.
• Utilize a wiring kit — Since brake controller wiring can be quite complicated, especially if you have little-to-know experience with towing a trailer or connecting the hitch to the tow, it’s essential that you are using trailer wiring kit. In many cases, since the wiring connected directly to the truck’s battery, you’ll need to find a wiring kit that is specific to your vehicle’s make and model. Unfortunately, there is not a one-size-fits-all kit and using the wrong one could damage your truck and jeopardize your tow.

If you want to learn more about brake controller wiring or find high-quality trailer switch control hitches to safely tow any trailer any distance — give Hayes Towing Electronics a call today!