When things go wrong, the adventure begins. That’s why you carry seemingly mundane items like a Trailer Aid ramp. Yes, it’s a bright yellow chunk of Made in China plastic. You don’t buy a Trailer Aid because it’s a fun sexy purchase. But every time you need it, you’ll be happy you have it.
When we embarked on our 14,000-mile road trip to Alaska, our “adventure” began almost immediately. It felt like an exercise in Murphy’s Law. Everything was going wrong. It was undoubtedly the worst start we’d ever experienced on any Airstream trip.
We departed our Deep South home in the midst of a punishing summer heat wave. Outside temperatures were exceeding 110 degrees. Naturally, the air-conditioning unit in our Airstream failed. At night the outside temperatures dipped all the way down into the mid-90s, and it wasn’t much different inside our aluminum shelter. Ever tried sleeping inside a steam sauna? As the poet Snoop Dogg once wrote (presumably in reference to air-conditioning), “it ain’t no fun… if the homies can’t get none.”
Then we discovered a massive dent in the rear end cap of our Airstream. Dents are the bane of the Airstream owner’s existence. Over the years we’ve suffered two, and this was the worst of the pair. It’s in a somewhat noticeable spot, and it contains a crease, damage that requires a major repair job to completely eradicate. The origin of our dent remains a mystery, but I am 99% certain it’s the result of a falling pine tree limb. When not traveling, we park our Airstream near some tall pine trees. The dent was angled away from our usual field of view, so we only discovered it once we were on the road. Oh well. Dents happen. (That could be a great Airstream bumper sticker.)
Then we experienced a proper tire blowout on the Airstream. The blowout caused some damage to the undercarriage of our trailer. In addition to the destroyed tire, we got a new hole in the wheel well. It was bad, but it could have been much worse. Fortunately we stopped our rig before the tire completely ripped up the side of our Airstream. We are members of a roadside assistance club, and they did send a tire guy to help. But the entire experience was a giant pain in the buttocks area (as Forrest Gump might say).
A Trailer Aid ramp makes tire changes safer and easier. When you need to use it, you’ll be thrilled you have it. Available in black or “electric banana” yellow.
Which brings me back to the Trailer Aid. This little device is a “must have” for owners of twin axle trailers.
Trailer Aid is simply a ramp that effectively jacks up your trailer. You use Trailer Aid instead of a jack. By pulling one wheel onto the ramp, you lift the other wheel off the ground. It makes trailer tire changes much easier. As a bonus, Airstream owners have no worries about tire guys damaging torsion axles by improperly jacking trailers. Whenever we change a tire on our Airstream, we insist that the tire guy use our Trailer Aid. Once they realize the benefit, they are always happy to oblige.
In theory you can replicate the Trailer Aid by carrying around blocks of wood. But this seems like carrying around a big rock instead of a hammer. I’d rather have the proper tool that’s been designed for the purpose.
GOT A TWIN AXLE TRAILER? YOU NEED THIS: