In spring and the hot summer months, you get ideal driving conditions. If you tow trailers for your work, spring and summer offer the perfect opportunity to tow your trailer safely. As the weather gets colder and the snow starts to fall, towing takes a back seat. For many trailer owners, winter is the time to store their trailers and wait for the next towing season. Suppose you also put your trailer away for the winter. While you might think parking it in a nice spot and leaving it there until the weather improves is good enough, you should never do that. This trailer maintenance guide will discuss proper winter storage for your trailer to keep it in good condition.
For newer trailer owners, finding a good spot and detaching the trailer can make sense. After all, trailers are rugged and can last for years on end. As tough as trailers are, they have their limits. Simply leaving it parked anywhere you find space is not good for your trailer. If you do not store your trailer properly, it can develop problems. From its tires getting damaged to rust and corrosion forming on the trailer, several things can deteriorate your trailer’s condition without proper storage.
To help you ensure your trailer is in excellent condition when the towing season arrives, this trailer maintenance guide will share essential tips on storing your trailer safely in the winter.
Trailer Maintenance Guide | Important Tips to Store Your Trailer Safely in Winter
By storing it properly, you can keep your trailer in good working condition. When towing season arrives, proper storage will help you get it up and running in no time. If you store it outdoors without any protection or preparation, the cold weather can damage your trailer. This section of the trailer maintenance guide will share important winter storage tips for your trailer.
1. Before Anything Else, Clean Your Trailer Properly
While towing your trailer, you put it through all kinds of conditions. Over time, plenty of dirt, mud, and grime can accumulate all over it. Before you store it away for the winter, you must clean up your trailer. If you let it stay like that, your trailer will be much harder to clean after the winter.
Keeping your trailer clean has more to do with its maintenance than how it looks. If you leave the dirt and grime untouched, the moisture might start corroding the trailer’s frame and other metallic parts. Left unchecked, it can permanently damage your trailer. To store it away safely for the winter, you must first clean the trailer thoroughly. Once it is clean, thoroughly lubricate your trailer’s moving components.
2. Identify a Good Location to Store Your Trailer
With your trailer clean and dry, you can start preparing for its winter storage. Since your trailer will likely stay in that place for several weeks, you must park it where you can keep it there without moving it. Ideally, you should find an indoor space to park your trailer for the winter. By keeping it covered, you can prevent the moisture from snow and rain damaging your trailer. Additionally, you can keep the trailer safe from UV damage.
3. If You Cannot Store it Indoors, Properly Cover Your Trailer
Suppose storing your trailer indoors is not possible. In that case, you must find a space where it can stay stationary. Since leaving it uncovered will expose your trailer to the elements, you must give it proper cover. Once you find a good location outdoors, use tarps to cover the trailer properly. While you do not need a custom-designed trailer cover, it can be a good option to consider.
To protect your trailer, you must ensure it is properly covered from all sides. By securing good quality tarp around it, you can prevent moisture from inclement weather conditions from damaging it. Instead of letting the snow and ice seep into the metal and corroding it, you can keep it dry and safe through the winter.
4. To Keep Pressure Off its Tires & Suspension, Elevate the Trailer
Even when it is empty, your trailer has plenty of weight. Due to the space they offer, many trailer owners also use their trailers for extra storage space when keeping it parked for the winter. Since it will not be going anywhere, it is better to take the pressure off your trailer’s wheels and suspension.
Using a few concrete blocks, you should elevate your trailer. While it might seem like a lot of effort, doing this will prevent excess wear and tear on the suspension. Additionally, it will protect the tires from damage due to the trailer’s weight resting on them.
5. Cover & Protect Your Trailer’s Tires
If you are storing it indoors, you can count on your trailer’s tires to stay safe in the winter. When storing it indoors is not an option, your trailer’s tires can be exposed to the elements. To protect your tires, you should spray some rubber on them. By doing this, you can prevent them from drying out and developing cracks.
If you park your trailer outdoors, you should cover the tires to protect them from UV damage. If possible, it is better to simply remove the tires and store them indoors separately.
Trailer Maintenance Guide | Utilizing Your Trailer as a Passive Income Machine
As with any equipment with moving parts, trailers can stay in good condition if they are in regular use. If you leave it parked to collect dust through the winter, managing its maintenance is essential to keep it in good condition. If you do not have space for long-term storage for your trailer, you can find a way to keep it running through the winter. Even if you do not need to haul cargo in the winter, businesses and other individuals in your area might want a trailer.
Since trailers are expensive, not everybody buys one. When a business or individual needs extra hauling capacity, they prefer to rent a trailer for a fraction of the cost of buying one. If you let them use your trailer in the winter, you can help businesses and individuals in your community. While helping others, you also earn money through rental income.
Depending on the make, model, size, and condition, an enclosed trailer can earn between $150 and $200 per day. Some high-quality trailer rentals even fetch higher prices. If yours is in good condition, you can earn a lot by using your trailer as a rental. Instead of looking for people who will rent your trailer, you can join a platform that can bring the renters to you.
Trailer Maintenance Guide | Earn Money Using Your Trailer as a Rental
Neighbors Trailer is America’s first P2P trailer rental marketplace. The platform allows trailer owners like you to list your underutilized trailer as a rental for free. Businesses and people in your area needing trailer rentals can find yours through the marketplace and connect with you to rent directly from you. Since the platform generates more than 1,000 leads for trailer rental bookings every day, you will not have trouble getting enough bookings for it.
If you are interested, you can download the Neighbors Trailer app for Owners today. Free and available for all iOS and Android devices, the Neighbors Trailer app for Owners will let you turn your parked trailer into a passive income stream. If you have any questions, concerns, or queries, you can always reach out to Neighbors Trailer.