Check the Tires First: A Pressure Routine Before Moving a Utility Trailer by Hand

Before you hook a utility trailer to a dolly and start pushing, spend two minutes on its tires. A trailer that has sat in a driveway or side yard for weeks can lose air without looking flat, and a soft tire sits wider and flatter on the ground. That can make the trailer harder to get rolling and harder to steer by hand, and it is a problem you would want to fix before your next tow anyway. The short answer: check the tires cold, inflate them to the trailer's recommended pressure, then move it.

Where to find the right number

Start with the trailer's tire and loading information label (often on the tongue or the front of the frame) or its owner's manual. NHTSA explains that a tire placard lists the manufacturer's recommended cold tire inflation pressure, and that this figure cannot be higher than the maximum pressure molded on the tire sidewall. If the label is missing or unreadable, check with the trailer or tire manufacturer rather than guessing. The sidewall number is a maximum, not a target.

A quick routine before a hand move

1. Check while the tires are cold. A trailer that has been sitting overnight or in the shade is ideal. Tires that were just towed on warm pavement will read higher.
2. Use a gauge on every tire. On a tandem-axle trailer that means four tires. One low tire on a tandem can make the trailer want to pull to one side when you turn.
3. Top up to the recommended pressure. A small portable inflator or a compressor in the garage is enough for most utility trailer tires.
4. Look before you push. Check for cracks, bulges or flat spots from sitting. If anything looks off, deal with it before moving the trailer.
5. Chock the wheels while you work. Keep chocks in place until the dolly is connected and you are ready to roll.

Tires are one piece of the effort

Good tire pressure helps, but it does not make every trailer an easy one-person job. How hard a move feels still depends on the trailer's tongue weight, whether it is single or tandem axle, and the surface. Keep hand moves on level ground; manual dollies are not for inclines or declines. For heavier or tandem-axle trailers, bring a helper.

Which Trailer Tug fits the job

For a utility trailer parked on concrete or asphalt, the Trailer-Tug 3.0 is built for hard surfaces and is rated for up to 3,500 lbs of tongue weight. If your trailer lives on gravel, dirt or grass, the Monster-Tug is rated for up to 1,200 lbs of tongue weight and uses 13x6.50-6" polyurethane flat-free wheels, so there is no dolly tire pressure to check. Its listing advises helpers for trailers over 6,000 lbs.

Both dollies have hold brakes. They keep a stopped trailer in place, but they are not designed to stop a trailer that is already rolling, so chock the wheels once it is parked. Not sure about tongue weight? Our explainer on tongue weight vs. trailer weight walks through it.

Questions about your setup? Contact us and tell us about your trailer and where it parks.