Moving house becomes easy when you have a furniture trailer. Whether it’s a fridge, lounge suite or your granny’s standard lamp, here are some ways to ensure everything arrives intact.
Which trailer’s best?
Hiring a trailer makes transporting furniture easy, because you can choose the right one for the job: large, small, enclosed or cage.
Nevertheless, if you have access to even an ordinary box trailer there are ways to secure your load so it doesn’t come to harm.
Pack it in
- To get the best out of your move, plan ahead how you will stack the furniture in the trailer. It’s important to balance the weight and height of the items, to avoid losing the lot on the first corner.
- Place heavier, taller items, such as fridges, towards the front and secure them to the headboard if possible. As a guide, around 60 per cent of the load should be to the front of the axle and 40 per cent behind it.
- Load boxes and furniture next, making sure everything is wedged in solidly. Use rugs, mats, blankets, old linen and even bags of clothes as padding around and between large, breakable or bulky items to reduce damage and prevent them from moving in transit.
Secure it
Braking and cornering will increase force on your load, so you must carefully secure tall furniture or whitegoods, in particular, to ensure that they don’t tip over.
- Tightly restrain all furniture using rope or tie down straps. Webbing straps are easy to use and highly effective, as they hold the tension and don’t tend to slip. If you’re buying straps, check that they’re marked with a rating appropriate for the load.
- Unless you’re using a cage or covered trailer, throw a cargo net over the top of the load and tie it down well so nothing moves in transit.
Rules of the road
No matter what the cargo, there are regulations that apply when you’re on the road towing a laden trailer.
- The load must be covered.
- No part of the load should be overhanging; if it is, tie a warning flag on the end.
- Do not overload; the trailer must be rated for the weight it will carry.
- Check the tow bar rating to ensure it’s compliant.
- For your safety and others’, make sure the trailer is in good condition and roadworthy before driving off with your worldly goods in it.
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