Motorcycle Trailer Buyers’ Guide
A trailer is more than just an advertisement for a certain product. A trailer is also a promotional item, originally only for a special movie that will be shown eventually in a movie theatre/cinema. It’s a valuable merchandise of artistic and technical effort. The word “trailer” also dates from the earlier distribution of silent movies on revolving reels.
For those who are still not familiar with it, here’s how trailers work: a DVD disc (or sometimes Blu-Ray disc) is loaded into the video slot of a video projector. The projector emits light onto the disc, making it rotate. Due to the nature of the projection process, a lot of light goes beyond the edges of the screen, illuminating the whole room. When the driver of the projector gets the signal from the projector to switch on the lights, it reads the data from the disc and converts it to actual light. The light emitted is then sent to a TV monitor. By the time the viewer gets the signal, the film begins to play!
Over the years, Hollywood has produced a variety of types of trailers. There are long haul truck trailers, box trailers, travel trailers and many others. Trailer names are often based on their function – the Long Hauler is used for a long distance trip, the Box trailer is used to transport goods, the Travel Trailer is meant to be carried by the owner, and the Semi-trailer is used for commercial purposes. The most commonly used trailer types today are the Box, Long Hauler and the Semi-trailer. The name “Box” comes from the fact that trailers are typically constructed in a large box shape, resembling a small house.
A Box trailer is considered to be the largest trailer by mass. As such, there’s no need to list the trailer’s gross weight. Generally, the gross trailer weight is calculated with the empty vehicle and the loaded vehicle in order to determine the actual total weight of the trailer.
On the other hand, a semi-trailer is the lighter of the three trailer types. It is defined as the trailer that allows the axle to be drawn behind the vehicle as the fifth wheel. The semi-trailer is defined as the one with the fifth wheel attached to the tractor or the car; this makes the semi-trailer a car-truck combination. As such, the semi-trailer is usually shorter than the full-trailer and wider than the box.
Tongue weight refers to the weight of the trailer tongue, which must be attached to the bottom of the pickup truck bed. The tongue weight is what holds the truck up as it moves through the pickup truck’s bed. On the other hand, the box and roof rakes are the only parts of the vehicle that are actually mounted above the ground. You’ll find both of these types of trailer types used in different applications.