Safe Towing

Hitching-up

1. Attach the trailer to the car’s tow bar

2. If the trailer has a safety cable, fix this in place. It is important that the safety cable passes straight from the trailer to the tow bar.

3. Connect the electrics by inserting the plug from the trailer in the socket on the tow bar.

Before starting off

1. Check the trailer is correctly hitched to the car. You can do this by lifting the trailer’s towing beams. Certain types of ball hitches have a red/green indicator showing whether the trailer is correctly hitched.

2. Check that the trailer’s lights are working correctly

3. Check that the load is evenly distributed and secured if necessary.

Disconnection

1. Remove the plug and replace it in its holder.

2. Undo the safety cable

3. Un-hitch the trailer from the car’s tow bar. Lift the trailer free of the towing hook by lifting the handle. When lifting, give thought to the weight of the load. If the trailer is man-handled with too much weight on the jockey wheel this may damage the wheel or in the worst case cause distortion to the towing members or fittings.

Driving

Driving on main roads with a trailer will not normally cause problems as the Trojan range provide excellent stability.

! Avoid driving a horse box or trailer with high tarpaulin in a strong side winds, especially if the trailer is empty.

Reversing a trailer requires a certain amount of practice. During reversal, the trailer is steered through the ball on the tow bar. Consequently you will need to turn the car in the opposite direction to the one you want the trailer to move in. Don’t give up straight away but practice for a while, for instance in an empty car park.

 ! When driving with items which are longer than the trailer, the tail board must not be used as an extension of the trailer body. The chains are not designed to take the load. Instead move the board and place it in the trailer or car. The best solution is to mount a ladder rack on the trailer.

Tightening the Wheel Bolts     
! It is extremely important that the wheel bolts are tightened after approx 30 km and then checked regularly for the first 1000km.
The paint on the hubs and rims will gradually wear off, after which the bolts may work loose. Remember to retighten them.
Loading
When driving with a trailer it is important for driving stability to drive with the correct pressure on the tow-ball. The pressure must be at least 4 percent of the trailers weight, but 25 kg will be as sufficient. A heavier weight is usually an advantage, but do not exceed the maximum pressure on the tow-ball for the car/trailer – see details in the car documentation. The trailer is designed that the centre of the gravity is in the centre just ahead of the axle, when loading the trailer, try to distribute evenly, and preferably more to the front than the back. Negative pressure on the tow-ball-when the trailer is rear-loaded – may be disastrous and cause the car and the trailer to snake.  If this starts to happen, reduce speed immediately using the brakes and/or gears.

Ball hitch lock

A good ball hitch lock will reduce the risk of theft. Your local Trojan dealer will be pleased to demonstrate the lock types and solutions which can be used on your trailer.

Use of handbrake

On trailers with an automatic anti-reversing function, there are two different types of handbrake.

Handbrake with a gas spring

This type is activated by pulling the handbrake past the centre point, after which the gas spring tightens the brake and keeps it activated.

Handbrake without gas spring

This type of handbrake is not completely activated until the handbrake has been pulled in to a fully vertical position, at which point the spring cylinder is tightened in the brake rod. Warning – If the handbrake is not pulled into a fully vertical position, the trailer will be prevented from moving forward but not from moving backwards.