Trailer Pre-Tow Inspection Checklist
Run the same walk-around every time, in the same order, so nothing gets skipped because you were in a hurry.
VE-05 2 pages
Trailers and marine · TM-01
Trailer Annual Service Record
A free printable trailer service record — bearings, brakes, coupling, tyres, lights and chassis, with a dated year-by-year service history.
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3 pages. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fill it in type and save
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
What this sheet is for
Keep an annual service history for a trailer, so its condition is a record of dates and work rather than a vague sense that it was fine last year.
Who it is for
Owners of box, plant, tipping, flatbed and general-purpose trailers, and anyone buying or selling one second-hand.
How to use it
- Fill in the identity block once — plated weights come off the trailer's own plate.
- Add a line to the service history every year, even in a year when nothing needed replacing.
- Work down the checklist with the trailer jacked up, not standing on its wheels.
- Write your own torque and pressure figures in the notes column, and use them next time.
What is on the sheet
3 pages, in this order:
Page 1
Printed under the title: The once-a-year service record for a trailer — bearings, brakes, coupling, tyres, lights and chassis — kept as a dated history rather than a walk-around before one journey.
Inspection rules differ by country and by use. Whether a trailer has to be inspected or tested, how often, and by whom depends on its weight, what it is used for and the country it is used in, and trailers used for business are usually treated differently from private ones. Check what applies to yours — this sheet records the service, it does not set the interval.
Write-on lines: Trailer make & model · ID / registration · Year · Chassis / VIN · Plated MAM · Unladen weight · Axles
Service history — one line each year — the chain of dates is the record
Table, 5 rows: Date · Miles or years · Work carried out · Parts fitted · By · Cost
Bearings and hubs
- Wheels jacked clear and checked for play at the top and bottom of the tyre
- Bearings stripped, inspected and repacked, or replaced
- Grease clean — milky grease means water, gritty grease means it is too late
- Seals, dust caps and split pins renewed where they were disturbed
Page 2
Coupling, damper and brakes
- Coupling head wear checked on the ball, and the locking mechanism working
- Overrun damper tested — it should push in slowly and return on its own
- Brake shoes, drums and auto-reverse mechanism inspected
- Brake rods, cables and compensator freed off, adjusted and greased
- Handbrake holds on a slope; breakaway cable or safety chain sound
Wheels and tyres
- Tread, sidewalls and date code on every tyre including the spare
- Pressures set to your own figures for the load, not to a car's figures
- Wheel nuts tightened to your own torque figure, and re-checked after a run
- Rims checked for corrosion, cracks and buckling
Lights and electrics
- All lamps, indicators, fog and reversing lights, with a second person watching
- Plug, socket and cable clean, dry and clipped clear of the road
- Earth connection clean — most trailer light faults are an earth fault
- Number plate present, legible and matching the towing vehicle
Chassis, floor and body
- Chassis, drawbar and welds checked for cracks and corrosion
- Floor sound from above and from underneath
- Sides, ramps, doors and their hinges and catches
- Jockey wheel, prop stands, tie points and lashing rings
Page 3
Signature strip: Signed · Print name · Date
Ruled lines: Notes and anything specific to yours
Questions
How is this different from the pre-tow inspection sheet?
The pre-tow inspection is a walk-around before a journey and takes a few minutes. This is the annual service, with the wheels off and the hubs open — the jobs that cannot be done in a lay-by. Most trailers need both, and they are deliberately separate sheets.
How often does a trailer need servicing?
That depends on the trailer, its weight, how it is loaded and how far it travels, and whether inspections are required at all depends on where you are and whether the trailer is used for business. Take the interval from your own manufacturer and your own local rules — the sheet holds the dates, it does not set them.
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