The Big Rentals Guide to Towing a Utility Trailer in and around Salt Lake City, UT

Salt Lake City is a staging point. The mountains are 30 minutes up the canyons and the desert is an hour the other way, and a huge share of what a utility trailer hauls here is gear headed to one or the other — a side-by-side to the trails, a couple of sleds up to the snow, bikes and camping gear for the weekend. The load is usually recreation, and the drive is usually a grade.

Get the trailer wrong for a side-by-side and it won't fit or won't load. Get the securement wrong and your machine shifts on a canyon descent. Haul an OHV without the right registration and the trip can end at a trailhead check. This guide covers the utility sizes that fit real Salt Lake loads, the Utah rules that apply the second you couple up — including the OHV rules — and the canyons, the weather and the desert that make a utility trailer rental in Salt Lake City its own particular job.

Why Salt Lake City Renters Choose Utility Trailers

Salt Lake City is the gateway to some of the best outdoor recreation in the country, and the utility trailer is how the gear gets there. Side-by-sides and ATVs head out to the desert and the OHV trails, snowmobiles go up to the Wasatch, and dirt bikes, mountain bikes, kayaks and camping gear move to the canyons, the reservoirs and the backcountry all season. An open utility trailer hauls all of it, and it's the cheapest tool that does. Read more about choosing a trailer to haul an ATV.

There's a Utah rule to sort out before you load, though. If you're hauling an OHV, Utah requires it to be registered — any ATV, side-by-side, off-highway motorcycle or snowmobile has to display a current Utah OHV registration sticker, and non-residents need a non-resident OHV permit for each machine. Utah also requires OHV operators, including people renting a machine, to complete a free online education course before riding on public land. Handle that before the trailhead, not at it.

The rest is the usual utility work. The Wasatch Front is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, and all that new construction and all those new households mean yard projects, moves, and material and debris runs year-round. Add the small moves — an apartment, a first house, a single room too big for a car — and the trailer stays busy in every season. You'll find trailer rentals across the Salt Lake City area from local owners near you.

Utah Towing Laws Every Utility Trailer Renter Should Know

When your trailer needs its own brakes

Under Utah's vehicle code (Title 41), a trailer needs brakes once its gross weight reaches 3,000 lb, along with a breakaway system that stops the trailer if it separates from the tow vehicle, and the whole combination has to be able to stop within 40 ft from 20 mph. A single-axle utility trailer with light gear often stays under 3,000 lb, but load a tandem-axle trailer with a side-by-side plus fuel, ramps and gear and you can cross it, so know where your loaded weight lands.

Then there's the Salt Lake reason it matters more here. Either way, you're going to be on canyon grades, and a loaded trailer with no brakes puts all the stopping on your tow vehicle going downhill. Take the brake-equipped trailer for a heavy load headed up a canyon, and check the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) and the brake setup before you book. Read more about what GVWR means and how to read it.

Securing the load, and tying down a machine

Utah law requires the load to be secured so nothing can drop, shift or escape. On an open utility trailer that means real tie-downs, and for an OHV it means strapping the machine to the deck at four points, to the frame or the designated points, with the parking brake set and the machine in gear. Loose gear — fuel cans, coolers, tools — gets strapped or boxed, because a canyon descent will find anything that can slide. Read more about how to secure a load on a utility trailer.

Safety chains, size and license

Utah is specific about safety chains: the trailer has to be coupled with a chain or cable connected to the chassis of both vehicles, strong enough to hold the trailer if the hitch fails. Utah allows trailers up to 102 in wide and a generous 14 ft tall, well above anything a utility trailer needs, and a standard Utah license covers personal utility towing.

The OHV rules, before you leave

Worth repeating as a compliance check, because it's easy to overlook: the machine needs a current OHV registration or a non-resident permit, and the operator needs the free Utah OHV education certificate. Neither is expensive, and both get checked at popular trailheads.

Matching a Utility Trailer to Your Vehicle and Load

Sizing, and the side-by-side problem

Utility trailers run from 4x6 and 5x8 for a single ATV, a dirt bike or a small load, up through the versatile 6x12 and a 7x14 tandem for bigger loads. The Salt Lake-specific catch is width: a modern side-by-side is wide, often 60 in or more, so measure the machine against the usable deck width, not just the length. A trailer that fits an ATV can be too narrow for a UTV. Read more about what a 6x12 utility trailer can hold and when to size up.

Ramp gate or tilt deck

A ramp gate or tilt deck is what gets a machine on the deck, so match it to what's loading — an ATV, a side-by-side, a sled. Read more about how a ramp gate and a tilt deck compare for loading.

Hitch, wiring and tongue weight

Match the trailer's coupler to your ball size, usually 1-7/8 in or 2 in on smaller trailers, confirm the wiring connector and test the lights before you leave. Keep 10% to 15% of the load on the tongue, because a light open trailer with a machine loaded too far back will sway, and sway on a canyon road is exactly what you don't want.

The Canyons, the Desert and Utah Weather

The canyons and the grades

The recreation is up the canyons — Little and Big Cottonwood, Parley's toward Park City, the rest of the Wasatch — and every one of them is a real grade. Going up, a loaded trailer works the engine and the cooling system hard; going down, it works the brakes. Downshift and let the engine hold your speed on the descent rather than riding the brake pedal, because a loaded trailer fades brakes on a long canyon grade. This is the reason the brakes-and-breakaway question from the law section matters more here than in a flat metro.

Winter, traction and canyon closures

In winter the canyon roads are snow and ice, and Utah posts traction requirements on the canyon routes when conditions call for them, so check UDOT's current canyon conditions before you head up with a trailer. The Cottonwood Canyons also close for avalanche control, sometimes with little notice, and a rental on a schedule doesn't change that. Build in flexibility, and don't tow a trailer up a canyon in a storm.

The desert direction: heat, wind and tires

Out the other way, toward the desert OHV areas, the story is heat and distance. Summer desert heat is hard on trailer tires, so check pressure cold, watch the sidewalls and the date code, and carry water. I-80 west of the city runs through open, exposed country where crosswinds pick up, and a light open trailer catches the wind, so ease off in a strong crosswind and keep both hands on the wheel.

Book around the seasons

The gear moves on a calendar here — sleds and skis in winter, side-by-sides and bikes in the warm months — and the trailers to haul them get booked in those windows. Reserve ahead of a holiday weekend rather than into it.

Insurance and Damage Protection

What about insurance and damage protection?

Before towing a rented trailer, contact your auto insurance provider to ask whether your policy covers liability and towing-related damage claims.

Eligible rentals booked through Big Rentals also include Basic Rental Protection at checkout. This added protection can help limit your financial responsibility for certain damage or theft events during the rental period.

For full details on how Basic Rental Protection works, including deductibles, exclusions, and renter responsibilities, review our FAQ and platform terms.

Ready To Book?

Get the right size for the machine, take brakes for a heavy canyon haul, strap the machine and the gear down, sort the OHV registration, and check the canyon conditions before you head up. Do that and a utility trailer is the cheapest, most useful way to get your gear from the valley to wherever you're going. When you're ready, browse utility trailer rentals in Salt Lake City from local owners near you.

The Short Version

• Utility trailers are Salt Lake City's tool for recreation — OHVs and side-by-sides to the desert and trails, snowmobiles up the canyons, bikes and camping gear everywhere — plus the usual yard, home and moving hauls.
• Utah requires trailer brakes at 3,000 lb gross, with a breakaway, and the combination must stop within 40 ft from 20 mph (Utah Code Title 41). A single-axle trailer with light gear may stay under; a machine plus gear can cross it.
• Every recreation haul here is a canyon grade. Take the brake-equipped trailer for a heavy load, and downshift on the descents.
• Any OHV needs a current Utah registration or non-resident permit, and the operator needs the free Utah OHV education certificate. Sort it before the trailhead.
• Measure a side-by-side against the deck width, not just the length. A UTV is wider than an ATV.
• Check UDOT canyon conditions in winter. Traction requirements and avalanche closures are real.
• Keep 10% to 15% of the load on the tongue, and strap a machine down at four points.