How to Set Up Trailer Support Through vehicles.meta

This guide explains how to make a trailer work with a vehicle through the vehicles.meta file in GTA V and FiveM.

This is useful when you want to make sure a vehicle with a working tow hitch can tow one or more trailers in-game.

This guide covers:

• how trailer support works in vehicles.meta
• how to add extra trailers
• how to set it up when no trailers have been configured yet

📘 Important Requirement #

Before editing anything, the towing vehicle must have a working tow hitch.

A visible tow hitch alone is not enough. The vehicle must actually support trailer attachment properly. If the tow hitch is not functional, the trailer may not attach correctly, may clip, or may not work at all.

Important: Always test whether the vehicle already has a functional tow hitch before changing the vehicles.meta file.

📂 What Does vehicles.meta Control? #

The vehicles.meta file contains configuration settings for a vehicle, including trailer compatibility.

Inside the vehicle entry, you can define which trailers the vehicle can tow by using:

<trailers>
  <Item>boattrailer</Item>
  <Item>trailersmall</Item>
</trailers>
<additionalTrailers>
  <Item>trailersmall2</Item>
</additionalTrailers>

What is the difference? #

• <trailers> contains the main trailer models the vehicle can tow
• <additionalTrailers> contains extra allowed trailer models

In practice, both are used to define compatible trailers for the vehicle.

🛠️ Basic Example #

A basic setup in vehicles.meta can look like this:

<trailers>
  <Item>boattrailer</Item>
  <Item>trailersmall</Item>
</trailers>
<additionalTrailers>
  <Item>trailersmall2</Item>
</additionalTrailers>

In this example, the vehicle can tow:

• boattrailer
• trailersmall
• trailersmall2

Make sure these are the correct spawn names of the trailers you want to use.

➕ How to Add Extra Trailers #

If the vehicle already has trailers configured, you can simply add more <Item> lines.

Example with extra trailers added #

<trailers>
  <Item>boattrailer</Item>
  <Item>trailersmall</Item>
  <Item>mycustomtrailer</Item>
  <Item>myflatbedtrailer</Item>
</trailers>
<additionalTrailers>
  <Item>trailersmall2</Item>
  <Item>myboxtrailer</Item>
</additionalTrailers>

What to do #

• find the correct vehicle entry in vehicles.meta
• locate the <trailers> and <additionalTrailers> sections
• add a new <Item> line with the spawn name of your trailer
• save the file
• restart the resource or server

Tip: Always use the exact trailer model name. A typo will prevent the trailer from working.

🆕 How to Set It Up If No Trailers Are Configured Yet #

If the vehicle has no trailer configuration yet, you can add the trailer sections manually inside the correct vehicle entry.

Example when no trailers are set yet #

<trailers>
  <Item>boattrailer</Item>
</trailers>
<additionalTrailers>
  <Item>trailersmall</Item>
</additionalTrailers>

This gives the vehicle its first trailer setup.

Example with multiple trailers from the start #

<trailers>
  <Item>boattrailer</Item>
  <Item>trailersmall</Item>
</trailers>
<additionalTrailers>
  <Item>trailersmall2</Item>
  <Item>mycustomtrailer</Item>
</additionalTrailers>

This is useful if one towing vehicle should support multiple trailer types immediately.

🧩 Example Setup #

Here is an example for a custom towing vehicle:

<Item>
  <modelName>mytowvan</modelName>
  <txdName>mytowvan</txdName>
  <handlingId>mytowvan</handlingId>
  <gameName>mytowvan</gameName>
  <vehicleMakeName>MYBRAND</vehicleMakeName>
  <trailers>
    <Item>boattrailer</Item>
    <Item>trailersmall</Item>
  </trailers>
  <additionalTrailers>
    <Item>trailersmall2</Item>
    <Item>myutilitytrailer</Item>
  </additionalTrailers>
</Item>

In this setup, mytowvan can tow:

• boattrailer
• trailersmall
• trailersmall2
• myutilitytrailer

⚠️ Important Notes #

• the towing vehicle must have a working tow hitch
• the trailer spawn names must be correct
• the XML structure must stay valid
• every <Item> must be placed correctly
• if the file structure breaks, the vehicle may stop working correctly
• not every trailer will work perfectly if the tow hitch position is incorrect

Important: If the tow hitch is only visual and not functional, editing vehicles.meta alone will not solve the issue.

🧯 Troubleshooting #

The trailer does not attach #

Make sure that:

• the vehicle has a working tow hitch
• the trailer model name is correct
• the trailer is listed in vehicles.meta
• the edited vehicles.meta file is loaded by the server
• the resource was restarted after editing

The game or resource gives errors after editing #

Make sure that:

• all XML tags are closed properly
• every <Item> line is inside the correct section
• no tags were removed by accident
• the vehicles.meta structure is still valid

The trailer still does not work even though it is listed #

Make sure that:

• the tow hitch is actually functional
• the trailer model is compatible
• the trailer spawn name is correct
• the file you edited is the one actually used by the vehicle resource

There are no trailer lines in my file #

That is not a problem. You can add both sections manually:

<trailers>
  <Item>boattrailer</Item>
</trailers>
<additionalTrailers>
  <Item>trailersmall</Item>
</additionalTrailers>

💡 Best Practice Tips #

• always make a backup before editing vehicles.meta
• add one trailer at a time and test it
• use exact spawn names
• keep the XML formatting clean
• restart the resource after every change
• test first with known default trailers before adding custom ones

❓ FAQ #

Does editing vehicles.meta make every vehicle able to tow trailers? #

No. The vehicle must still have a working tow hitch.

Can I add multiple trailers? #

Yes. You can add multiple trailer model names under both <trailers> and <additionalTrailers>.

Can I add trailer support if there are no trailer sections yet? #

Yes. You can manually add the <trailers> and <additionalTrailers> sections inside the correct vehicle entry.

What should I put inside <Item>? #

You should put the spawn name of the trailer.

Example:

<Item>boattrailer</Item>

Why does my trailer still not work? #

Usually because of one of these reasons:

• the tow hitch is not functional
• the trailer name is incorrect
• the XML structure is broken
• the wrong vehicles.meta file was edited

🎧 Support Information #

If you wish to connect a FiveM Supply trailer and vehicle, we provide free support!