To find a suitable trailer to ship your cars or any other vehicle can be quite a difficult exercise. You need to do a good amount of research to find a trustworthy company that can safely transport your vehicle from one location to another.
Ship a Car, Inc. is a well-known company that can coordinate with many different transporters all over the country and helps you to find the transport for carrying your cars or any other vehicles. However, while availing of the services of SAC or any other suitable transporter, and you must be aware of a few trailer shipping tips.
Before calling your trailer service, you must prepare your trailer in the following way for transporting:
- Check your trailer, if it has any pre-existing damage
- Clean your trailer thoroughly
- Note if there are any marks of dings, chips, scratches, or any other cosmetic damages.
- Note down if it has any mechanical problems.
- From several angles, you must take pictures of the trailer, particularly with detailed shots of any existing damage.
- All records must be available with dates and show to your driver too.
How you must Inspect the trailer for transporting
Ensure that your trailer’s condition is in perfect working condition. Fix all mechanical issues before you move and write if any special operating instructions are needed.
- Check the tires for any wear ensure that it has sufficient tread
- Check for proper tire pressure.
- No cracks, dry rot, bubbles, or gouges must be present in the rubber.
- Any dry rotted tire or old tire must be replaced. Make sure that you also have a spare tire available that is fully ready.
- Remove any wheels and hubs.
- Inspect your hubs for wear or rough surfaces, turn drums whenever needed.
- Replace or Service the wheel bearings.
Often breakdowns occur because of neglect particularly in this area, if your bearings are not maintained as per strict schedule or for more than six months not properly checked then get this professionally done.
Travel will build up lots of heat in the bearings and hence if they are not properly maintained, then they can easily fail. If the bearings are exposed to saltwater, then they are quite vulnerable.
Inspect the bearings and races to check for wear. While replacing bearings, also you must replace seals and races. If bearings are fine, then repack and then install new seals.
Trailers having surge brakes:
Check and inspect hubs and brakes for wear, and if necessary then replace brakes. Also, check the level of brake fluid.
Check shackles, springs, and bushings for any wear and corrosion, and replace if necessary:
- Remember, salt-water can destroy trailer wheels, axles, and springs if they are not properly rinsed after using saltwater.
- Check all lights and plug.
- Ensure that brake lights and turn signals are working properly, repair or replace if necessary.
- Check your lighting systems for proper operation and ensure that wires are in proper condition.
- All repair work to be done must be done by professionals.
You must understand that you must do all this checking’s thoroughly to ensure that your trailer is truly roadworthy. It will be much more expensive to face a breakdown on the way.
