Preparing to Tow Your ATV

Getting out to the best trails with your ATV means you'll have to tow it, and for that, you'll need a good trailer. You might be able to fit a four wheeler into your truck, but using a trailer is safer, easier, and won't scratch up the bed of your pickup. But to load a trailer safely, you'll need to be careful so that it's loaded properly, secured effectively, and easy to take out again once you get where you're going. At Interstate Cycles, we put together this brief guide to explain this entire preparation process. However, it's pretty hard to tow an ATV if you don't have one in the first place, so if you're still in the market, feel free to come check out our selection at our dealership in Lake City, FL. We serve the areas of Gainesville, Tallahassee, Alachua, Valdosta, Jacksonville, and Sanderson, Florida.

Know Your Trailer

Once you decide to load up your trailer, you need to figure out how you need to distribute the weight. It needs to be a little heavier in the front, because that extra weight will hold the hitch tighter onto your tow vehicle. Generally, you want 10% of the weight on the front, and the rest evenly distributed throughout. This is pretty tricky when loading one or more ATVs, because you can't exactly control how much weight is placed in particular parts of the trailer. That means that you'll have to do the best you can by parking the front tire in such a way that a good chunk of the weight rests on the front, with less weight being supported on the tail.

Levelling

Before actually driving the ATV into your trailer, you'll want to get it as level as possible. This will make the entry a lot safer, and it will also help you figure out the proper load distribution. To do this, you just need to find ground that's as flat as possible to park on. You might want to pull out a level for this project, unless you have a big patch of flat pavement where it's obvious that you'll be level. Once this is done, check the tongue's height to make sure it's higher than the trailer hitch.

Hooking it Up

To hook your tow vehicle up to the trailer, simply back up until the hitch lines up under the tongue. Then you can lower the hitch down until it clicks into place. We recommend connecting your safety chains in an X pattern under the tongue, as this will ensure better stability in case the tongue slips off the hitch.

Loading Practices

Now that everything's set up, you can finally get on your ATV and load it into the trailer. To do this, you want to align the ramps so that you can distribute the weight over the axles. Once you start driving into the trailer, make sure you're far enough back so you can pick up enough speed to get up the ramp. You'll want to find a happy medium between too fast and too slow, because if you drive in with too much throttle, you'll wind up running your four wheeler into the back of the trailer. It might take a few practice attempts, but it's better to start out slow and go a little faster on subsequent tries until you find the appropriate speed.

Once this is all done, you'll have your trailer loaded and ready to tow! The ATV loading process is actually very simple, so as long as you're careful, precise, and well prepared, you should have no problem setting up a safe ATV towing experience. If you have any questions, need service, or you're still looking for a new four wheeler, come visit us at Interstate Cycles. We're in Lake City, FL, serving the areas of Gainesville, Tallahassee, Alachua, Valdosta, Jacksonville, and Sanderson, Florida.