4 Smart Maintenance Tips for Off Road Utility Trailers
Whether you’re a hobbyist sawyer hauling logs to your bandsaw sawmill or a landowner managing forested acreage, your ATV trailer is a particularly valuable piece of forestry equipment.
UTV Dump Trailer |
Like all the gear you use to keep your property healthy and looking its best, your offroad ATV trailer sees its share of wear and tear. It’s vital that you perform regular maintenance to maximize its lifespan.
After all, your ATV trailer saves you considerable time and toil when it comes to relocating landscaping materials, hauling large game from your hunting camp, or collecting chips from your PTO wood chipper.
With that in mind, use these four tips to keep your utility trailer in good working order so you can depend on it for years to come.
Inspect Your Trailer Regularly and Before Long Trips
Most catastrophic trailer breakdowns that end up costing you time and money begin as minor issues, then worsen and grow over time as they’re overlooked. But by thoroughly inspecting your UTV dump trailer at regular intervals, you can catch these problems before they spiral out of control.
An adequate inspection consists of more than just a cursory walkaround. You need to get down and look at your wheels, underframe, and chassis. Are there rub marks where they shouldn’t be? Is the L-rail bent or punctured? These are all things you should note and evaluate for seriousness.
Grease Zerks Judiciously
If you don’t have a ton of experience maintaining machinery or heavy equipment, this is an easy one to overlook. Grease is like motor oil: You can’t go without it, but adding too much can be just as bad as adding too little.
Hopefully, your offroad ATV trailer features zerk fittings inside each powder-coated rim for ease of maintenance. On a standard grease gun, two pumps will usually do it. Much more and you’ll risk busting the seal, which will ultimately reduce the lifespan of these crucial components.
Keep Your UTV Dump Trailer Clean
If you’re accustomed to keeping your workspace and tools clean, then this should be an easy one for you. Remember, the buildup of dirt and grime will not only lead to maintenance issues over time but also hide them from view.
No, you don’t need to sweep out the dump box after every load if you’re going to be moving material all day. Just be sure to give it a thorough sweep or rinse at the end of the day before you put it away, which leads us to the fourth and final ATV trailer maintenance tip.
Store Your Trailer with Care
If this is your first ATV trailer, or you’re considering purchasing one, you might be surprised to learn that off road utility trailers are just as susceptible to dirt and damage when in storage as they are out on the trail.
All too often, folks treat stationary trailers as though they’re bulletproof. Sometimes, trailers are stored outside without a rain cover, or they’re left covered with snow all winter long. You don’t have to do any calculus to figure out that these aren’t conducive to a long lifespan.
In a perfect world, all ATV trailers would be stored indoors and never treated as a bin for automotive chemicals, livestock feed, or tools. But at a minimum, make sure your trailer is at least covered and protected from moisture as best you can. This will help prevent oxidation and other issues that can lead to your trailer’s untimely demise.
About Woodland Mills
After hiring a local sawyer to mill fallen trees on his property, Josh Malcolm decided he needed his own sawmill. But in searching for the right portable bandsaw mill, he found that the new models were too expensive, while used mills didn’t offer the performance he needed. So, Malcolm called his childhood friend Neil Bramley and asked, “We can just build our own, can’t we?” That was the beginning of Woodland Mills. Now, Woodland Mills is globally recognized as the go-to for independent sawyers, hobbyist woodworkers, and landowners looking for the industry’s best-valued forestry products. From the flagship HM126 sawmill bandsaw to the new HM136MAX, the new TF810 PRO PTO Wood Chipper, the Pathlander ATV log trailer, and much more, Woodland Mills delivers the capability you need at an attainable price point with world-class customer service.
Discover the Pathlander and Multilander trailers from Woodland Mills at https://woodlandmills.com/
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