Trailer Loading and Tie-Downs: Keeping a Machine Where You Put It

Most machines in this class spend more hours on a trailer than on a trail, and the trailer is where the expensive damage happens. A quad that walks sideways on a bumpy highway, a side-by-side that rocks forward under braking, a dirt bike that drops when a strap slips. None of these require bad luck. They require a machine that was not loaded and secured as though the trailer was going to be thrown around, which on a real road it will be. This piece covers the loading, the position, the tie-down method and the checks.

Start with the trailer itself. The tires, the lights, the hitch and the safety chains are on the inspection list every time, and the bearings are on it every season. The ramp is the piece that fails most often. A ramp rated for a quad is not necessarily rated for a full-size side-by-side, and the rating is printed on the ramp or in its documentation rather than guessed. Ramp angle matters as much as rating. A steep ramp puts the machine's belly or its rear skid on the trailer edge, and a long ramp on a level surface avoids that.

Loading a side-by-side is a low-speed job with a spotter. Drive on in low range at walking pace with the spotter standing to the side, never in front or behind. The machine's position on the trailer sets the tongue weight on the tow vehicle's hitch, and the target is a modest share of the total weight pressing down on the ball rather than lifting it. Too far back lifts the tow vehicle's rear axle and produces trailer sway; too far forward overloads the hitch. The right position is usually just ahead of the trailer's axle centerline, and the tow vehicle's manual gives its own limits.

A quad or dirt bike loads the same way with more attention to balance across the trailer. One machine goes on the centerline. Two go side by side with the heavier one nearer the axle. A dirt bike in a truck bed or on a trailer wants a wheel chock at the front, because a chock does more to keep the bike upright than any strap. Without one the front wheel can turn under braking and the whole bike pivots around the strap anchor. With one, the straps only have to hold the bike down rather than hold it in place.

Tie-down method comes down to four points, opposing angles and the right anchor on the machine. Four straps, one at each corner, each pulling forward or backward as well as down, so that the machine is held against movement in every direction. Anchor to the frame, a designated tie-down loop, an a-arm or an axle housing, never to a bumper, a rack, a plastic panel or a handlebar. On a side-by-side the lower a-arms near the wheel are the usual choice. On a quad the frame rails under the footwells. On a bike the triple clamp or the frame at the footpegs.

The strap's rating is on its label and it must exceed what it might see, which is more than the machine's weight because of the angles and the dynamic loads under braking. The value on the label is the working load limit and it is not a number to guess at or to round up from a strap that looks about right. Ratchet straps give more tension than cam buckles and are the usual choice for a heavy machine. Cam buckles are fine for a bike where over-tightening compresses the forks. Either way, the hook must be closed or the strap looped, never hooked to itself on a bend.

Suspension is the part of the method most people get wrong. Compressing the suspension with the straps keeps the machine from bouncing, which is right, but it also loads the straps as the suspension tries to extend. Strap the machine so the suspension is compressed a little and then re-check tension after the first few miles, because the machine settles and the straps loosen. Some owners fit suspension blocks or lock the shocks on a long haul; if you do, remember to remove them before the ride. Do not compress a bike's forks all the way to the stop.

A loaded machine wants a few extra checks. The parking brake set, the transmission in park or in gear, the key out. Loose items in the bed or the cab of a side-by-side removed or secured, because a cooler that leaves the trailer at highway speed is a hazard to everyone behind you. Fuel cap tight. On a dirt bike the fuel tap off if it has one. A cover on a machine that is going to sit in rain or on a long interstate haul saves the seat and the dash. A cover that is not tied down becomes a sail.

The checks continue after you leave. Stop after the first few miles and walk around. Straps stretch, ratchets settle, and a strap that was tight in the driveway is slack after the first bumpy section. Check again at every fuel stop. Look at the trailer tires and the hubs for heat. Look at the hitch pin and the chains. It takes two minutes, and the cost of not doing it is a machine on the shoulder of the interstate. Loading well takes fifteen minutes. Driving a trailer well is a separate skill, but it starts with a load that cannot move.