As you are driving your stylish custom concession trailer through town, you may not be thinking of your trailer’s gross weight (GTW). But keeping this important number in mind will help you avoid dangerous and potentially costly situations. The last thing you want as you travel down your city’s streets is to glance in your rear view to see your trailer swaying from side to side.
The GTW is the weight of the entire vehicle, including passengers, contents and all fluids and you’ll have the GTW. For your custom concession trailer, your gross weight will also include all the meat, veggies and accoutrements inside it. Incorrect GTW can lead to incorrect trailer tongue weight. If the trailer is too light, this can cause the trailer to sway uncontrollably. If the trailer is too heavy, on the other hand, you may have difficulty steering. Losing control is terrifying, but avoidable.
Finding the GTW may seem a bit intimidating, but it’s actually easy to calculate your trailer’s weight with one quick trip. All it takes is a quick stop at the local public scales, and you’ll be able to utilize this number for both current and future travels. You can find your community’s public scales using any internet search engine, or, if you’re old school, in the trusty phone book. These local scales can help you to calculate your GTW without a high cost. One pass by over the scales will be all you need to assess the weight of your fully-loaded custom concession trailer.
Before you weigh your custom concessions trailer, make sure you have disconnected it from the towing vehicle. It is important that the vehicle is not in contact with the scale, and that the entire trailer is on the scale. Taking these precautions can ensure an accurate reading.
There are many factors to consider when calculating your gross trailer weight, including the amount of weight that can be added to your custom trailer without endangering both the trailer and towing vehicles. Being aware of your GTW will save you time and money because you’ll avoid hassle and repairs in the future. If you are unsure or have questions about your GTW, it is best to contact a professional. The experts at Custom Trailers USA are more than happy to help you work out your GTW problems. They’ve got seventeen years experience, which makes them a great choice when it comes to making your trailer safe!
A correctly calculated GTW allows you to calculate other critical numbers, like the custom trailer’s tongue weight, which is usually nine to eleven percent of the GTW. With this calculation, you can find the exact number to shoot for when trying to balance your trailer and towing vehicle. Once you know the safest tongue weights, you can make the necessary adjustments to protect your custom concession trailer.
Even before you hitch up your custom concession trailer, your first step should be to figure out your GTW. This basic step will keep you safe. As you utilize your trailer, Custom Trailers USA can help you be safe and successful.
The first order of business when towing custom kitchen trailers is safety. To ensure safe towing conditions it’s critical to understand payload and how to correctly calculate maximum payload for your kitchen trailer.
People seldom think about the important topic of payload. Precisely what is payload and what makes it so important? Payload is merely a weight rating. It is the maximum weight that the driver, passengers, and freight should never exceed. Understanding the payload your vehicle and custom kitchen trailer can haul is vitally important for the driver’s personal safety and that of the towing vehicle. Safety can be greatly compromised by overloading a vehicle. And the working parts of your kitchen trailer can also be strained by overloading. Lastly there is a great risk of damaging the vehicle or trailer if maximum payload is exceeded.
The maximum payload is calculated using curb weight and gross vehicle weight rating. Curb weight includes the vehicle and its standard equipment’s weight, the full fresh water tank, full fuel tank, full propane container, and the remaining equipment fluids weight. It excludes any personal cargo or passengers. Though curb weight doesn’t include the vehicle operator and passengers’ weight it is important to include those when calculating payload. Gross vehicle weight should never be exceeded. To calculate payload subtract curb weight and passengers from the gross vehicle weight rating. The figure you arrive at is the payload of your custom kitchen trailer.
Overloading any vehicle can create a dangerous condition and put you and others at risk. You can be cited and fined by law enforcement for an overloaded trailer. Consider upgrading to a larger Custom Trailers USA kitchen trailer. Custom Trailers USA offers kitchen trailers in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Our employees undergo rigorous training to make sure we understand how to help find the right trailer for you - the one that meets and/or exceeds your towing requirements. Custom Trailers USA provides the value and quality you deserve with high quality, efficient, stylish, and affordable custom kitchen trailers.
It’s critical to understand the basics before embarking on towing any trailer. Understanding how to calculate your trailer’s payload and the payload capacity of your towing vehicle will ensure that you safely transport your belongings. Keep in mind that when calculating payload, weight from cargo, passengers, and vehicle operator must be entered into the equation. To learn more about designing your own custom kitchen trailer or how to calculate your trailer’s payload just call, click, or visit Custom Trailers USA.
In order to carry your merchandise in the custom kitchen trailer, it’s important to understand all the parts of the trailer. Below, you will find a description of the main components.
Connecting Towing Vehicle to Towed Vehicle
The kitchen trailer is towed by another vehicle. The part that allows the two to be connected is called a hitch. Although there are several varieties of hitches, the two most common types are the receiver style hitch and the fixed tongue hitch. The receiver style hitch is able to have bike racks and ball mounts inserted into an opening that is typically 1 ¼” or 2” in size, as opposed to the fixed tongue hitch which has a flat drawbar that cannot be removed. There is a coupler that is part of the trailer tongue which juts forward from the trailer box.The tow vehicle hitch ball is secured and attached to the coupler.
Another Type of Hitch
A ball hitch can be attached onto a tongue or onto the back of a vehicle and is usually made of some kind of hard metal such as chrome. If you know what you will be towing, then when buying a truck, you may want to consider buying one with a hitch already installed, since many trucks come with a ball hitch already attached. You can have a hitch installed if the truck you want doesn’t already have one.
A ball hitch doesn’t take up much space and there are even foldable ball hitches that fold down below the towing vehicle if you want to take up even less space. When deciding on the type of ball hitch, make sure it can fit the vehicle you are attaching it to. Ball hitches are not made to haul heavy loads and cannot handle as much weight as other types of hitches. These hitches are typically made for small trailers or boat trailers. Whatever you do, in order not to lose whatever you are towing, make sure that the hitch is properly installed.
Ball hitches do not typically cost a lot of money and can be easily installed. They are simple to use and can work on any type of vehicle. Although a ball hitch is not for everyone, it is something that will work for most people and their typical towing needs.
A hitch is likely to be used for many years, so it is important to choose the best hitch for your needs and not just the least expensive one. Always follow all of the proper safety rules when installing your hitch.
Think Ahead
Using your vehicle to do any sort of towing is a big responsibility and requires smart preparation. It doesn’t matter what type of towing mechanism you choose, it’s always a good idea to carry replacement parts such as a spare hitch or tongue bolt and tool box whenever you tow your custom kitchen trailer. An essential step in towing is to properly equip your vehicle and custom kitchen trailer before you hit the road.
