The perfect all-weather transport option, furniture trailers keep your belongings covered and secure during transit and are an easy way of increasing the carrying capacity of your vehicle. Furniture trailers are useful for moving all kinds of things – beds, drawers, tables and chairs, sofas, mountain bikes, office furniture and much more.
Furniture trailers are also great for portable onsite storage options, providing temporary lockable, weather proof storage anywhere anytime. This can be ideal for camping situations and pre-packing when moving house.
Furniture Trailer Hire In NZ
Unless you have a friend who owns one, hiring a furniture trailer is the best way to get your hands on one for very little outlay. Furniture trailers are available in various sizes; there are smaller luggage-size trailers and larger furniture sized trailers – your choice will depend on what you are transporting.
Luggage Trailers are designed for suitcases, camping gear, sports equipment and other smaller objects. They are quite light and robust and can be pulled easily by a car. Luggage trailers are often popular with people wishing to transport mountain bikes and the associated equipment. A luggage sized trailer costs around $30 per day to rent.
Furniture Trailers are somewhat bigger and taller, ideal for furniture moving, transporting bulky items and carrying bigger loads. When fully loaded these trailers can be quite heavy and require a suitable rear wheel drive vehicle or 4WD vehicle to tow them. Furniture trailers can include single axle and double axle options. Enclosed single axle trailers at roughly six cubic metres cost around $60 per day and double axle trailers at a size of 10 cubic metres come in at around $70 per day.
Top 5 Driving Tips When Towing A Trailer
While pretty much any vehicle of reasonable size can pull a trailer, it will affect the handling ability of the vehicle and it won’t necessarily feel the same to drive. It is important to know how to drive safely, and understand how to manoeuvre them in tight spaces. Here are a few things to keep in mind when towing trailers.
1. Hitch Securely
Ensuring your trailer is safely and securely secured to the vehicle is probably the number one safety tip. All trailers will have a locking mechanism that keeps them fastened to the towbar while in transit, as well as a cable to connect up the indicator and stop lights. If you aren’t sure how to do this always ask for assistance.
2. Distribute Weight Evenly
When filling the trailer it is important to spread the weight out as evenly as possible. Consider the loading sequence and stack heavy items and boxes towards the front of the trailer, making sure to distribute the weight evenly across the width of the trailer. Otherwise it is possible the trailer might favour one side or be unbalanced, causing it to sway or become unpredictable at speed.
3. Allow Extra Room For Braking
Extra weight equals extra momentum, this means stopping distances will increase, give yourself plenty of extra room when travelling behind other vehicles and when braking for traffic lights and intersections. The best strategy is to come to a slow and gentle halt, reducing speed naturally rather than relying on sharp stops which can be dangerous when towing a trailer.
4. Reduce Your Speed
Towing a trailer will mean travelling at slightly reduced speeds on the open road. The legal limit when towing a trailer in a 100 km per hour zone is 90 km per hour.
5. Drive To The Conditions
Bumps and uneven road surface conditions will cause the trailer to bounce around somewhat due to the lack of suspension. Loads can shift about and contents can be damaged. High winds and extreme weather conditions can also affect the trailer in transit, always take care and drive to the conditions.
6 Tips For Parking And Reversing A Trailer
If you aren’t experienced at handling a trailer, reversing or parking can be a little frustrating. It takes a little bit of practice to get it right, but in the meantime here are a few pointers to get you going.
Keep A Lookout. It’s wise to have someone stand alongside the vehicle and provide helpful instruction when reversing, this can aid in avoiding unnecessary collisions.
Safe Steering. A useful hint when backing a trailer is to place your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel and move it in the direction you want the trailer to go.
Use Your Mirrors. While sometimes turning to look out the back window might be tempting, this can limit your awareness of the surroundings and create blind spots. It takes a bit of getting used to, so go slow.
Keep Calm. Reversing a trailer is tricky, keep calm and don’t be afraid to drive forward and reset as many times as you need. If in doubt, jump out and take a quick look.
Plan Ahead. Familiarise yourself with the area from outside the vehicle before attempting to reverse, take note of or remove any items that may be a potential hazard – this includes any height restrictions.
Stay Alert. Don’t forget about the vehicle, often when concentrating on where the trailer is going people forget about the nose of the vehicle is.
Furniture trailer hire is a great way to increase your load capacity without over stuffing your vehicle and having to make more trips than needed. Take on board our handy tips for reversing and hiring a trailer and you will be on the road in no time.
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