Turn Signals When Towing a Trailer
When you tow a trailer, your vehicle has to have a
different turn signal flasher and extra wiring. The green
arrows on your instrument panel will flash whenever
you signal a turn or lane change. Properly hooked up,
the trailer lamps will also flash, telling other drivers
you’re about to turn, change lanes or stop.
When towing a trailer, the green arrows on your
instrument panel will flash for turns even if the bulbs on
the trailer are burned out. Thus, you may
think
drivers
behind you
are
seeing your signal when they are not. It’s
important to check occasionally to be sure the trailer
bulbs are still working.
Driving On Grades
Reduce speed and shift to a lower gear
before
you start
down a long or steep downgrade. If you don’t shift
down,
you
might
have
to
use
your
brakes
so
much that
they would get hot and no longer work well.
On a long uphill grade, shift down and reduce your
speed to around
45
mph
(70
km/h)
to reduce the
possibility
of
engine and transmission overheating.
If you are towing a trailer that weighs more than
2,000
pounds
(900
kg), you should drive in
THIRD
(3)
instead
of
OVERDRIVE
(a)
or, as you need to, a lower
gear. This will help your transmission.
Parking on
Hills
You really should not park your vehicle, with a trailer
attached, on a hill. If something goes wrong, your rig
could start to move. People can be injured, and both
your vehicle and the trailer can be damaged.
But if you ever have to park your rig on a hill, here’s
how to do it:
1.
Apply your regular brakes, but don’t shift into
PARK
(P)
yet.
2.
Have someone place chocks under the trailer wheels.
3. When the wheel chocks are in place, release the
regular brakes until the chocks absorb the load.
4.
Reapply the regular brakes. Then apply your parking
brake, and then shift to PARK
(P).
5.
Release the regular brakes.
4-37
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