Off-road Atlas LogoOff-road Atlas Logo
  • Behind The Wheel
  • How-To
  • News
  • Stories

How to Lift Your Trailer and Increase Your Ride Height

By Kavan Wright | How-To on April 19, 2023
4M READ
Share
0

Isn’t it funny how your toy hauler is expected to be just as capable as your toy when you head out to some backwoods trailhead? It sucks when the gravel road that leads to the staging area is pockmarked with potholes and has a few washouts across it.

You don’t want to damage your trailer before you even get to the parking lot!

If your toy hauler is too close to the ground to get where you’re going, don’t worry! We’ve gathered some ideas to help you raise your trailer so it’s (almost) as capable as your side-by-side.

UTV's and ATVs on a tall trailer
A tall trailer will handle all the rough dirt and gravel that’s between you and the trailhead. Photo by SuperATV

What Makes Your Trailer So Low?

Different trailers are built for different things. Most aren’t built with rough, crappy roads in mind. That’s why most trailers are built relatively low to the ground. After all, the lower to the ground, the easier it is to load and unload.

But the axle position determines just how low your trailer is. If your axle is mounted below your leaf springs, you’ll have more ground clearance. If it’s above your leaf springs, you’ll have less ground clearance.

Another factor that can lead to a low trailer is a drop axle. Drop axles are kind of like our portal gear lifts in that they use gears to move your axles centerline. On trailers, they’re often used upside down, so they drop the deck even farther.

Obviously, this is a problem when you try to haul your toy on a rutted-up county road.

How Can You Raise Your Trailer?

There are several different ways to raise your trailer. But the correct method for you depends on your axle type and how much trouble you want to go through. Your options are:

  • Relocate your axle
  • Replace your axle
  • Buy a new trailer

Simple enough. Let’s look at each option and see if it works for you.

A trailer axle
Sometimes, replacing a drop axle with a straight axle is the easiest and cheapest way to get a little extra lift. Just make sure the axle you buy is the right spec for your trailer. Photo by Princess Auto

Relocate Your Axle

If your axle is mounted to the top of your trailer’s leaf springs, you might be able to mount the axle to the bottom of the leaf springs instead.

If you don’t know how to do this or aren’t confident you should do it, don’t! Instead, have a professional do it for you. It should be relatively straightforward for any mechanic to get done.

It involves disassembling your axles and mounting the flats and U-bolts to the underside of the leaf springs. Doing it wrong could be disastrous, so if you’re not qualified, don’t try.

This will give you a few extra inches to work with.

Replace Your Axle

If you have a drop axle, you’ll get a ton of extra ground clearance just by replacing it with a straight axle.

If your drop axle is mounted on top of your leaf springs, you could relocate it when you replace it. That’ll make a massive difference to your ground clearance.

Again, get a professional to do this if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Also, don’t be tempted to turn a drop axle upside down to get a lift. Typically, trailer axles are attached to a slightly curved axle tube that flattens when it’s loaded. Flipping the axle over will flip the tube and really mess up your axle’s operation.

Buy a New Trailer

Buying a new axle and paying someone to replace it could be more trouble than it’s worth. If you plan on primarily using your trailer for toy hauling, sell your low-riding trailer and replace it with one that rides a little higher.

This could be the wisest option. It could be more cost-effective depending on what kind of work you need to get done, and it’s definitely better to get the right trailer for the job rather than retrofitting one to be “good enough.”

A new UTV trailer
If it’s too expensive or challenging to retrofit your low-riding trailer, you might be better off selling it and buying one better for toy hauling. Photo by Triton Trailers

Raise Your Hauler and Your Toy

So that’s about all there is ‘to it. Of course, if all of that sounds like too much of a pain, you can always make do with the low-riding trailer you’ve got, bumps and all.

But if you do decide to swap to a better trailer, check out our guide to getting the right one for you.

And when you’re done raising your trailer, don’t forget to raise your side-by-side with one of our killer lift kits. Then you can hit the backcountry trails in style.

A low-lying flat trailer with UTVs loaded
Photo by SuperATV
RELATED CONTENT: hauling6 side-by-sides69
Share
0

1 Comment

  1. Avatar for STEPHEN DETURK STEPHEN DETURK says:
    July 9, 2023 at 10:53 pm

    No mention of torque type axels?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *



Related

  • The Best UTVs for Farm Use

    Behind The Wheel | 11 MIN READ
  • Is a 2" UTV Lift Kit Worth It?

    Behind The Wheel | 6 MIN READ
  • Offset A-Arms or Lift Kit: The Best Way to Increase UTV Tire Size

    Behind The Wheel | 6 MIN READ
  • UTV Trailers: Choosing the Right One for You

    Behind The Wheel | 7 MIN READ
  • How to Secure Your Trailer from Theft in 7 Genius Ways

    How-To | 6 MIN READ
  • The Best UTV Dune Riding Spots

    Behind The Wheel | 9 MIN READ
  • Homemade UTV/ATV Lift Kits—Good Idea or Not?

    Behind The Wheel | 8 MIN READ
  • Side-by-Side or Jeep—Which One's Right For You?

    Behind The Wheel | 7 MIN READ
  • How to Adjust ATV Shocks

    How-To | 8 MIN READ
Copyright © 2021 SuperATV. All rights reserved.
SHOP NOW