Trailer Safety Week Highlights Dealers’ Role in Educating End-Users

Trailer Safety Week (TSW) may be just one week a year in June, but to dealerships who engage with customers year-round, safety is an everyday commitment. From educating first-time trailer owners to reinforcing safe practices among experienced users, dealers across the country use TSW as an opportunity to remind customers that proper preparation can make all the difference on the road. 

TSW is an annual, federally recognized, nation-wide awareness campaign created by the National Association of Trailer Manufacturers (NATM) aimed at increasing awareness of the importance of trailer safety, educating end-users about proper trailer maintenance and usage. Manufacturers are continuously making trailer safety improvements, but without continuous end-user education, they can still be used in unsafe ways.  

Dealer Affiliates play a critical role in bringing Trailer Safety Week’s message directly to the people who use trailers every day. As a primary connection point between the industry and end-users, dealers have the opportunity to turn safety awareness into action through education, conversations, and resources. Across the country, Dealer Affiliates supported TSW by sharing safety information with their customers and communities. 

Why do you participate in TSW? 

“At Maine Trailer, safety has always been a core part of what we do. We work with customers who rely on their trailers every day, whether that be for work, recreation, or a quick home project, and we know that proper maintenance and education help prevent accidents before they happen. Trailer Safety Week provides an excellent opportunity to remind people of the importance of inspecting and maintaining their trailers before they hit the road,” said Maine Trailer Marketing Manager Chris Brady. 

“We are renting out equipment trailers, goosenecks, tilt deck trailers, you name it, to utility contractors and construction companies across the nation. We are proud to take part in Trailer Safety Week because trailer safety is crucial. We want to make sure that our customers and their crews get home safely. We want to make sure that our customers know important safety trailer tips: how to load a trailer safely, understanding the specifications with payload capacity, etc., to ensure that there are no issues that occur as they're towing their equipment to and from jobsites,” said PTR Digital Marketing Manager Kylie Phillips.   

“We care about our customers, and we want our customers to be safe. A lot of folks who are buying trailers are first-time trailer owners, and they don't really know what all is involved in trailer safety, so we feel like it's really important to promote that and make sure that we're providing them with educational opportunities so that they're safe,” said All American Trailer Connection Chief Revenue Officer Johnathan Bradley. 

“My husband and I, we've been hauling trailers for ages and ages. My son is in off-road race caring, so we see wrecks and disasters all the time because people do not have their setup for their trailers properly put together, whether it's what is inside the trailer or how they hook it up or even the size vehicle that they're pulling the trailer with. It's scary knowing and understanding that those trailers and those vehicles are on the highway with loved ones traveling next to them. It's pretty important that we teach and preach as much trailer safety as possible because it is our loved ones out there on the road,” said Owner and Marketing Leader of North DFW Trailers Kelly Fuhlman. 

Using Social Media as a Tool 

“It's just the best way to get your message out to a large amount of people all at one time. We feel like video content gets way better engagement on social media channels. That's what we chose to do this year, was a video series. That gets more eyeballs on it, more impressions, so we feel like that's the best way to reach the most amount of people,” Bradley said.  

“Social media is a huge leverage for us, just as a company and our company size. That's really where we've found a lot of opportunity for us,” said Phillips. “There are even additional options with blogs, emails, press releases, things like that, of ways that you can still create awareness. But we've found social's been pretty strong for us in reaching the masses.” 

Fuhlman says they use social media to share information as well as open a dialogue with customers. It can help them to ask the right kinds of questions.  

“A lot of people have a lot of questions on how to hook up a trailer properly. What size axle do they need? What should their setup look like? How to load things properly? We get a lot of those questions coming in, especially for our rental customers,” Fuhlman said. They'll ask, ‘What about this? And what if I have this size vehicle? Can I tow this size trailer?’ And they'll start digging. We can give them the right answer so they're not hauling a 24-foot enclosed, fully loaded with a Toyota Tacoma. They try.” 

Customers Weigh In 

“Many customers view Maine Trailer as a trusted resource, so when we share safety tips, they know they're coming from people who work with trailers every day. The positive engagement reinforces that safety education is something our customers value,” Brady said.  

“For the most part, folks in the comments, even on YouTube, were thankful or asking extra questions. It allows us to dig deeper, have that conversation, and answer their questions,” Fuhlman said.  

What does Preparation for TSW Look Like? 

Joining a nationwide safety campaign can sound intimidating, especially to dealerships without a marketing team. NATM provides the TSW Ally Communications Kit so that anyone can show their support without spending time creating content on their own. From pre-created social media content to website marketing materials and a sample blog post, all of your Trailer Safety Week marketing needs are covered.   

“You guys provide us with that media kit, and there's all those assets that are already created, that we use every year, so I believe we got the first one, I think, around 2022, but it's logos, it's got verbiage, everything, and so I know a lot of that of what you guys put together takes a lot of the load off of our team, of even trying to figure out how should we position this to make sure that we're communicating things clearly and effectively. So I would say it's really manageable,” said Phillips. 

“We make Trailer Safety Week a coordinated effort across our marketing channels. Your provided educational social media posts, blog content, and email promotional materials make scheduling this across our marketing channels incredibly easy. Our goal isn't simply to participate, it's to provide useful, accurate information that encourages trailer owners to take a few extra minutes to inspect their equipment. TSW is a campaign we look forward to each year because it aligns with our commitment to customer service and safety, and gives us a chance to remind our customers to be safe every time they take their trailer out. We often recycle some of the posts later on in the year as another simple reminder outside of TSW,” Brady said. 

While the Communication Kit makes it possible  to put TSW content together quickly, All American Trailer Connection put in the extra work and filmed original video content. Bradley says shooting the video doesn’t take long, but it’s the planning beforehand and editing after that does. They routinely plan their socials six weeks out, so that’s how long they had to get content ready for TSW.  

As the one-woman marketing team for North DFW Trailers, Fuhlman says the hardest part of videos is getting the technicians and other employees on board with being on camera. Once they get started, they end up having fun, and when the content is well received, they get addicted, she says. 

Safety Doesn’t Stop After One Week 

Dealerships aren’t thinking about safety one week a year. North DFW Trailers manages commercial fleets as well as selling and renting trailers. They utilize videos for training new hires and review for the rest of the team. Their blog Tow Talk hosts trailer tips and buying guides.   

PTR Marketing Coordinator Chloe Parker says their blog and social content integrates safety messaging outside of TSW as well.  

“We try to drive people to really engage with that kind of content, so we are pretty proactive in just making sure that people understand the safety of everything. Our website has payload capacities just to make sure that they fully understand the capability of their trailer. I'd say it's everywhere for us,” Parker said. “Within our own shops, we have monthly safety updates, and we have a great manager of safety within the building that is just focused on making sure that our employees understand what they're doing. We actually just had a really major increase in our driver safety score, so our own personal drivers, as they're loading and unloading their haulers, got a lot more education. Safety is really, really important for us at PTR, regardless of whether we're talking about trucks, trailers, or anything in between.” 

“Whenever we sell a trailer, we do a safety walk around with the trailer, just making sure that the customer realizes what size ball that that trailer needs, how to do their brakes, and adjust their brake controller in their truck. Just kind of general safety information that we do as a last check before we have a customer go out,” Bradley said. “We've also added the video series, as well as links to the Trailer Safety Week website onto our website. We have a QR code that we give to our salespeople, so whenever they do their follow-up with a customer, they share that QR code and they can access more trailer safety resources going forward.  

“We're leaning heavily on the content that NATM's creating. We're not trying to recreate all that content. We'll just use stuff that's already there. It’s a great resource that NATM's provided on the Trailer Safety Week website. It has all the educational resources and content that's great for us as a dealership to be able to utilize that versus trying to create our own stuff.” 

“Beyond Trailer Safety Week, safety is part of our everyday operations. We offer trailer inspections for the life of the trailer when purchased here, we help hook up our customers, and educate them on proper towing practices, checking the lights, and take time during the sales process to ensure customers understand how to safely operate and maintain their trailers,” Brady said. “Our service team helps customers keep their equipment road-ready, and our registration staff works to ensure trailers are properly registered and compliant before they're on the road. We believe that promoting safe trailering isn't just a one-week initiative, it's something we strive to support year-round.” 

The Impact of Dealer Education 

While Trailer Safety Week provides a dedicated time for the industry to focus on safe trailering practices, participating dealers know that safety education cannot stop when the week ends. Through customer conversations, inspections, training, digital content, and everyday service, dealers continue to help trailer owners make informed decisions before they hit the road. 

To get involved as a Trailer Safety Ally or to share trailer safety content, visit www.TrailerSafetyWeek.com.  

By working together to share consistent safety messages, Dealer Affiliates help ensure that trailer users across the country have the knowledge and resources they need to tow safely—during Trailer Safety Week and throughout the year. 

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