Besides working here at Elm City Trailer, I also barrel race and have a few horses of my own. During barrel racing season I usually travel with a couple other girls to help split costs and because it is more fun! A few years ago I remember coming home from a rodeo in New York, it was late and we had a tire blow out. So we pulled over, when we went to get the spare off we noticed it was really dry rotted. We also didn’t have a jack on hand. We were fortunate to have a very nice couple pull over and give us a hand with changing the tire. And then we had to make our way home very slowly and carefully. We could have avoided a lot of stress and had a much easier ride home if we had been prepared for a road side emergency.

Making sure you are prepared for a roadside emergency can save you a lot of stress and time. I put together a list of essentials to have on hand to make fixing an on the road emergency much easier!

Roadside Emergency List

• Properly inflated Spare Tire that Matches
• Tire Iron that fits Trailer & Vehicle Lug Nuts
• Bottle Jack/Other Jack for Vehicle
• Drive On Trailer Jack
• Electrical Tape
• Duct Tape
• Flash light & Batteries
• 3 Reflective Triangle Signs or Cones
• Sharp Knife
• WD40 or other Spray Lube
• Paperwork for Trailer
• Road Service #’s & Paperwork (AAA Card, Etc.)
• Tow Rope
• Jumper Cables or Jumper Pack
• Tire-Pressure Gage
• Screwdriver Set
• Allen & Socket Wrench Set
• Pliers
• Hammer
• Wire Cutters
• Epoxy Patch Kit

Feel free to add your own items based on any unique needs you might have with your trailer.

Before I hit the road I make sure to go through everything that needs to be done in order to hook up my truck and trailer properly. Here is a list of what I do before take off!

Pre-Flight Check List!

• Maintenance Schedule UTD? Y/N
• Tow Vehicle Adequate Y/N
• Hitch & Coupler
  • Lubricated Y/N
  • Worn down? Y/N
• Plug for Wire Connection Correct? Y/N
  • Proper Adapter? Y/N
• Hook Up
  • Coupler Locked onto Ball Y/N
  • Safety Chains attached and not dragging? Y/N
  • Breakaway Switch Connected? Y/N
• Breakaway battery Charged? Y/N
• Trailer loaded with 10% Tongue Weight? Y/N
  • DO NOT OVERLOAD
• Check Tires
  • Excess Wear? Y/N
  • Cuts? Y/N
  • Pressure correct? Y/N
• Lugs Torqued? Y/N
• Check Brake Function
  • Adjust Brake controller as needed
• Lights on? Y/N
  • Brake Lights? Y/N
  • Running Lights? Y/N
  • Turn Signals? Y/N
  • Reverse? Y/N
• Ramp/ Tail gate secured? Y/N
• Trailer Sitting Level? Y/N

Its better to be safe than sorry! Making a check list, and then making checking your trailer and tow vehicle a habit is a must. Breaking down on the side of the road in your vehicle is bad enough. Breaking down while pulling a loaded trailer is a much bigger problem. By planning ahead and using our check list you can save yourself from a possible roadside breakdown or worse.