Not having AAA for those in the US

 

Bottle jack that can lift a loaded trailer

Spare tire....with air in it

Check to see if your brake lights work

And my new one......get a dashcamera
I got brake checked by a moron on his phone trying to exit from the left lane who then freaked out and came to a stop after cutting me off.....luckily I was only going about 10-15 at impact with a loaded trailer
Even more lucky he admitted fault to his insurance

From then in I drive with a dash cam when towing...if he hadn't been a good guy...I woulda been paying for a bumper...or if he had been a good driver it woulda never happened

 

Finish the process of tightening the lug nuts after getting interrupted by the kids.
Having a wheel come off can really hurt your day.
Luckily it didn't hurt anyone else.

 

Never done this but I keep a spare just in case: forget your car keys!

Also... forgetting to unstrap your tie-downs at the wheels before backing it off the trailer. Potentially had this happen

 

Hilarious....quick anecdote..had a flat on the trailer coming back from a distant track...but no worries, I had an inflated spare, a lug wrench, a jack...everything....but, the lug nut holding the spare to the trailer spun when I went to take it off. So now I had a spare, but couldn't use it, and I was in the middle of nowhere. My buddy was with me...we unloaded the car***...he drove it home, and I towed a trailer with three (3) wheels.

Towing isn't for the faint of heart

***Sort of street legal with current plates.

 

This beats a bottle jack and you can make your own with 2x6 cut and stacked three high.

 

+1

no tandem axle trailer should be without one, has made my life easier many times

 

+ 993 on ^^^. It was said above, but needs to be said again. SPARE LUG NUTS. Having a spare is no good if you can't put it on. Don't ask!!!

 

Don't put the keys to the trailer on the bumper of your truck. Ever.

 

How about when….hypothetically speaking, of course……….you get so excited to be at track with your friends and everyone starts chatting while you go about unloading/loading the trailer?

Hypothetically ….this might lead to something like unhitching the trailer from your rig BEFORE backing the car off?

 

I just know someday I will arrive at the track with an empty trailer.

 

Or no trailer! Actually saw that happen at the Glen a few years ago. A big RV (bus size) was apparently towing a two car stacker, it came off pulling the hill approaching the Glen. They got all the way into the paddock before noticing it. Miricle was it just rolled off to the side of the road, a welder fixed their hitch and all was well. Think it was the same year a transport hit a low bridge and peeled the top of his trailer back..

 

But your MPG getting there, through the roof!

Let's see, dumb things I have done:

- (attempted to) load the trailer without the hitch ball being secure, don't recommend

- somehow got just the front right wheel hanging out in space, with someone helping me load. That person has since been relieved of that duty

- unhooked trailer with car still loaded. At least that was an easy fix, just lowered the trailer back onto the ball.

- unhooked empty trailer from RV, fired up RV, RV inflated the air suspension which brought the hitch back up into the coupler, dragged the trailer around for about 30 feet before I figured out the problem/what that noise was

That's about it. I'm definitely green group trailer loading, but I'm about ready for my check out load.

 

LOL. We had a similar situation. My buddy helped me hook the trailer up and told me he had the ball lock on. Well, as I sloly pull in my 911 the trailer front end starts to rise..... I slowly stopped and let her roll back down the ramp and let it come donw on the ball again and then I made sure it was locked... He has been relieved of any trailer duties!

 

That is some very good advice, most of which I can relate to:

- Keep spare trailer keys in your tow vehicle - always! (because you WILL need them some day)
- Don't get distracted by anyone when loading or unloading the trailer - you WILL screw something up
- Always lock all doors of your trailer before you are underway - they WILL otherwise hit something when they open on the freeway
- Always check twice that you have unhooked your tow straps before unloading your car - there is nothing more embarrassing....
- Always check your trailer tire pressures before you set off - you WILL have a slow leak one day and it's better to change a tire in a parking lot than on a freeway
- Always check your tongue weight when you have loaded the trailer in a new configuration or your car at a different spot on the trailer - it is amazing how little movement of your car can change the tongue weight in a massive way
- Make sure you have a tire iron to change your trailer's tires when your electric impact wrench is fully discharged on the way home because it WILL be discharged when you need it to change your trailer tire in the middle of the night
- When backing up your enclosed trailer, don't be shy to get out of the car often to make sure you don't hit anything
- when you tow a trailer on the highway, expect for all drivers around you to start behaving like total idiots