Lance 1130 - Trailer Towing Guide; Safe Trailer Towing Guidelines

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Trailer Towing Guide
Driving a vehicle with a trailer in tow is vastly differ-
ent from driving the same vehicle without a trailer in
tow. Acceleration, maneuverability and braking are all
diminished with a trailer in tow. It takes longer to get
up to speed; you need more room to turn and pass,
and more distance to stop when towing a trailer. You
will need to spend time adjusting to the different feel
and maneuverability of the tow vehicle with a loaded
trailer. Because of the significant differences in all
aspects of maneuverability when towing a trailer, the
hazards and risks of injury are also much greater than
when driving without a trailer. You are responsible for
keeping your vehicle and trailer in control, and for all
the damage that is caused if you lose control of your
vehicle and trailer.
As you did when learning to drive an automobile, find
an open area with little or no traffic for your first
practice trailering. Of course, before you start towing
the trailer, you must follow all of the instructions for
inspection, testing, loading and coupling. Also,
before you start towing, adjust the mirrors so you can
see the trailer as well as the area to the rear of it.
Drive slowly at first, 5 m.p.h. or so, and turn the wheel
to get the feel of how the tow vehicle and trailer
combination responds. Next, make some right and
left hand turns. Watch in your side mirrors to see how
the trailer follows the tow vehicle. Turning with a trailer
attached requires more room.
Stop the rig a few times from speeds no greater than
10 m.p.h. If your trailer is equipped with brakes, try
using different combinations of trailer/electric brake
and tow vehicle brake. Note the effect that the trailer
brakes have when they are the only brakes used.
When properly adjusted, the trailer brakes will come
on just before the tow vehicle brakes.
It will take practice to learn how to back up a tow ve-
hicle with a trailer attached. Take it slow. Before back-
ing up, get out of the tow vehicle and look behind the
trailer to make sure that there are no obstacles. Some
drivers place their hands at the bottom of the steering
wheel, and while the tow vehicle is in reverse, “think”
of the hands as being on the top of the wheel. When
the hands move to the right (counter-clockwise, as
you would do to turn the tow vehicle to the left when
moving forward), the rear of the trailer moves to the
right. Conversely, rotating the steering wheel clock-
wise with your hands at the bottom of the wheel will
move the rear of the trailer to the left, while backing
up. If you are towing a bumper hitch rig, be careful
not to allow the trailer to turn too much, because it
will hit the rear of the tow vehicle. To straighten the
rig, either pull forward, or turn the steering wheel in
the opposite direction.
Safe Trailer Towing Guidelines
• Rechecktheloadtiedownstomakesurethe
load will not shift during towing.
• Beforetowing,checkcoupling,safetychain,
safety brake, tires, wheels and lights.
• Checkthelugnutsorboltsfortightness.
• Checkcouplertightnessaftertowing50miles.
• Adjustthebrakecontrollertoengagethetrailer
brakes before the tow vehicle brakes. Your deal-
er can assist you by making this adjustment.
• Useyourmirrorstoverifythatyouhaveroomto
change lanes or pull into traffic.
• Useyourturnsignalswellinadvance.
• Allowplentyofstoppingspaceforyourtrailer
and tow vehicle.
• Donotdrivesofastthatthetrailerbeginsto
sway due to speed. Never drive faster than 60
m.p.h.
• Allowplentyofroomforpassing.Aruleof
thumb is that the passing distance with a trailer
is 4 times the passing distance without a trailer.
• Shiftyourautomatictransmissionintoalower
gear for city driving.
• Uselowergearsforclimbinganddescending
grades.
• Donotridethebrakeswhiledescending
grades; they may get so hot that they stop work-
ing. Then you will potentially have a runaway
tow vehicle and trailer.
• Toconservefuel,don’tusefullthrottletoclimba
hill. Instead, build speed on the approach.
• Slowdownforbumpsintheroad.Takeyour
foot off the brake when crossing the bump.
• Donotbrakewhileinacurveunlessabsolutely
necessary. Instead, slow down before you enter
the curve and power through the curve. This
way, the towing vehicle remains “in charge.”
• Donotapplythebrakestocorrectextreme
trailer swaying. The application of the trailer
brakes alone will tend to straighten out the
combination, especially when going downhill.
• Makeregularstops,aboutonceeachhour.
Confirm that
• thecouplerissecuretothehitchandis
locked,
• electricalconnectorsaremade,
• thereisappropriateslackinthesafety
chains,
• thereisappropriateslackinthebreakaway
switch pull pin lanyard,
• thetiresarenotvisiblylowonpressure,
and
• thecargoissecureandingoodcondition.