Towing a twin axle trailer advice!

[lukewhiting]

Picking up a boat for a friend tommorow. Will be the longest thing & maybe the heaviest I've towed. It's about 20ft and sits on a twin axle trailer.

Is there going to be much difference towing a trailer like this compared to a single axle?

Thanks
Luke

[Poly]

Will your license cover it?

[boristhebold]

Tips

Choose a time of day not likley to be heavy with traffic.
Drive slowly and carefully.
Leave plenty of room.
Lights On.
Never think road uses will give you plenty of room, especially approaching and going across roundabouts, as most road users wont consider its difficult towing something that long.
Take a mate with you as it will help stress levels.
Check and recheck your light bar, if bulbs gone then replace before setting off.
Take it nice an easy and dont be rushed or let other road users rush you.
Make sure your legal, licensed to tow something like that and all regs covered to avoid being pulled over.

have fun, i personally hate towing a largeish rib, its a right pain, so good luck.

[jyasaki]

Don't think it's really all that different than a single axle trailer, apart from tight turns: you'll need a bit more power to drag one of the wheels sideways a bit.

One other thing to watch is on transitions from flat to steep (top of a boat ramp for example.) I've heard of trailers popping loose from the severe reduction in tongue weight as the rear wheels leave the ground (usually triple axles, but not unheard of with doubles.)

To add to Boris's post, keep an eye on the mirrors as you negotiate turns to make sure the trailer isn't cutting the corner more than anticipated. It's less embarrassing to have to back up and retry than it is to run over whatever you were trying to avoid.

jky

[cptsideways]

If its an unknown trailer, check the brakes, bearings fixings etc. A twin axle tows quite differently to a single, if you have far to go make sure its evenly balanced towards the the front & not nose up.

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by boristhebold

Tips

Choose a time of day not likley to be heavy with traffic.
Drive slowly and carefully.
Leave plenty of room.
Lights On.
Never think road uses will give you plenty of room, especially approaching and going across roundabouts, as most road users wont consider its difficult towing something that long.
Take a mate with you as it will help stress levels.
Check and recheck your light bar, if bulbs gone then replace before setting off.
Take it nice an easy and dont be rushed or let other road users rush you.
Make sure your legal, licensed to tow something like that and all regs covered to avoid being pulled over.

have fun, i personally hate towing a largeish rib, its a right pain, so good luck.

All Excellent advice!
Hopfully you have a decent Tow vehicle...is Legal and up to the Job.
I would also add...keep a keen eye on your wing mirrors,and as well as time...give yourself plenty of turning room......and (try to) Relax
Plenty of people Tow Many miles with minimal hassell..if you take it easy You will soon get the hang of things

[Nos4r2]

Make 100% sure your licence covers you and it's not illegally heavy for your car. The police won't allow it to move if you're stopped and found to be illegal.

[Nasher]

It's also more important that the height of the tow-ball on your car is set to the correct height to match the trailer.

Nasher.

[Trimix]

Make sure you read the map well before hand. Reversing will be harder.

I even used street view on google maps to actually see a few of the junctions / turnings etc on a couple of routes I did.