Had 4 x 7 trailer. Trailer axle was just ahead of rear wheels of ATV when up against front bar. Maybe tried once to center between bar and ramp but was just simpler to put wheels up to the front. Plus, only needed straps on rear that way.

 

I've always tied down the front and back even if the front tires are against the rail. One day I was cruising down the highway and a car pulled out in front of going really slow. They were barely moving and I had to slam on my brakes as hard as I could to avoid hitting them. The trailer doesn't have any brakes and swung around like it was trying to pass me. If I didn't have all 4 corners strapped down I don't think my quad would have stayed on the trailer.

 

Loading to far forward or to far backwards change the handling of your trailer. Going around turns, passing, or emergency situation if not loaded properly the trailer could swing uncontrollably causing a accident or serious injury. Also check your insurance as most people just buy the cheapest possible and usually this does not cover your if the trailer be comes disconnected. Cost me a extra $40 a year to have better coverage than my truck and atv combined. Also most areas require 4 points of contact when tying down. Some people cheat this by looping their straps but 4 points of contact mean 4 individual straps.
Just remember when towing our units around we are taking countless lives around us in our hands. Only takes a few min to make sure its done right and a few extra $ in equipment

 

Zrock....well said, I have seen horror stories waiting to happen from people towing unsafe trailers!

 

A big reason towing is many times unsafe is that the vehicle towing can't really handle the weight. People overload their tow vehicle and/or trailer. Under normal conditions they might be ok. Having to do emergency braking or swerving to avoid an accident and that's when the extra weight becomes a problem. I see it a lot on the interstate. It happens a lot with campers and horse trailers especially. Its visually obvious the truck can't handle the massive weight of some of these huge 5th wheel trailers. You can see the suspension really straining to handle the tongue weight. They are swaying noticeably as well because of the weight and the aero drag. Most will at least slow down but that's not really a solution. If I see someone like this, I don't want to be near them. I pass them if they're going slowly or it they want to drive like an idiot and exceed the speed limit while overloaded, I let them go and hope I don't see their truck and trailer overturned a few miles up the road.

 

Speaking of overloaded, one time I was on the freeway behind a trailer with a huge boat on it. It was so big I couldn't see the tow vehicle at all, not even the mirrors. When I passed them I was stunned to see it wasn't a full-size vehicle but a GMC Safari van IIRC. Maybe an Astro van but there's not much difference between them. I wouldn't be surprised if the boat weighed twice as much as the van or even more. A lot more. It must have been overloaded by thousands of pounds. Also I'm 99.99% sure they didn't have towing mirrors. If they did they would have to stick out maybe 3 feet to be useful. So they were severely overloaded and couldn't see anything except what was right in front of them. If the van wasn't set up for trailer brakes, and it probably wasn't, there's no way they could stop in a reasonable distance.

 

I have learned a lot from your posts. Thanks.

 

Yes definitely agree i see way to many people locally towing their quad and trailer with a little car that was never designed to tow at all. Iv questioned several of them why they have not bought a little beater truck that they could have bought for less than what they paid for a trailer. I just get a shrug.
Worst i have seen so far is a car with a 1" receiver adapted up to a 2" receiver pulling a 24 foot trailer. 7 pin trailer connector cut off and a 4 pin put on so it had no trailer brakes as well..

 

Have some friends that work for the highway patrol, if you were to be involved in an accident, you would probably be cited for an unsecure load having straps in the back only. Just a heads up for you, most states are very picky about securing a load and would require straps at both ends.

 

I do straps front and rear. Its unlikely both straps would ever break but if you only have one set and if that set fails or comes loose, then you have nothing. I did see a small car towing their atv last weekend. It was a Chevy Cobalt, a tiny car never designed to tow anything. Not to mention the Cobalt was the car that had the ignition problem of shutting off while driving that caused a lot of accidents.