Driving your vehicle
485
Trailer towing
ing and inform the vehicle systems.
When the trailer is disconnected, the
brake pedal shall be pushed again or
turn signal lamps activated for the con
-
trol unit to be able to detect that there is
no power consumption anymore by
trailer lighting; the assistance systems
that were turned off will automatically
turn on again.
It is the driver's responsibility to ensure
that all electrical connections are work
-
ing and all trailer lights are operating
before and during towing. You must per
-
form manual checks.
Use only genuine electrical connections.
Do not attempt to arbitrarily splice or
directly connect the trailer wiring using
any other methods. Doing so may dam
-
age the vehicle's electrical system,
resulting in malfunctions.
Driving on grades
Reduce the 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 operate efficiently.
On a long uphill grade, shift down and
reduce your speed to around 70 km/h
(45 mph) to reduce the possibility of
engine and transmission overheating.
僅 When towing a trailer on steep grades
(in excess of 6 %) pay close attention
to the engine coolant temperature
gauge to ensure the engine does not
overheat. If the needle of the coolant
temperature gauge moves across the
dial towards "H (HOT) (or 260 °F/130
°C)", pull over and stop as soon as it is
safe to do so, and allow the engine to
idle until it cools down. You may pro
-
ceed once the engine has cooled suf
-
ficiently.
僅 You must decide the driving speed
depending on trailer weight and uphill
grade to reduce the possibility of
engine and transmission overheating.
Parking on hills
Generally, if you have a trailer attached
to your vehicle, you should not park your
vehicle on a hill. People can be seriously
or fatally injured, and both your vehicle
and the trailer can be damaged if unex
-
pectedly roll down hill.
Parking on a hill
Parking your vehicle on a hill with a
trailer attached could cause serious
injury or death, should the trailer break
loose.
However, if you ever have to park your
trailer on a hill, here's how to do it:
1. Pull the vehicle into the parking space.
Turn the steering wheel in the direc
-
tion of the curb (right if headed down
hill, left if headed up hill).
2. Set the parking brake and shut off the
vehicle.
3. Place chocks under the trailer wheels
on the down hill side of the wheels.
4. Start the vehicle, hold the brakes, shift
to neutral, release the parking brake
and slowly release the brakes until the
trailer chocks absorb the load.
5. Reapply the brakes, reapply the park
-
ing brake.
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