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Towing Safety
Safety Tips on Towing a Trailer
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR)
This is the maximum weight your vehicle can tow without wrecking your car, truck, or SUV. There are a few places you might find this number - it might be under the hood in the engine compartment, or on a sticker in a door frame, or in the owner's manual. It's important to know this number because the foundation for safe towing is not attempting to pull something that is just too heavy for your vehicle.
The bottom line when towing is not to overdo it. When you buy a vehicle, if you know it's going to be used for towing, be realistic about the capacity of the car or truck you're buying.
The lightweight family sedan you're buying is probably not intended to pull a 20 foot boat, or a large travel trailer. If you know you're going to be doing lots of traveling, camping, RVing, and other recreation, be honest about what type of tow vehicle you're going to need.
Towing Safety Check List
Perform a towing safety inspection before each trip. Make sure that:
1. Check that the ball and trailer coupler are the same size (1 7/8inch, 2 inch, or 2 5/16inch)
2. Check that the balance of the load is not too heavy on the tongue of the trailer. (The front) If the center of gravity is too far forward onto the trailer this could cause whip lashing. This is when the trailer has put too much weight on the back of your vehicle and affects your steering and braking.
3. Attach the trailer to the vehicle
4. Make sure that the hitch lock is unlocked before lowering the trailer onto the ball.
• Once the tongue of the trailer is on the ball, lock it in place.
• Place a bolt or padlock through the ball lock mechanism to prevent it from accidentally opening.
• Attach the safety chains to the hooks near the vehicle hitch or the vehicle frame; be sure there is enough slack in the chains but not so much that they drag on the ground. Safety chains are a requirement and should be crossed under the tongue of the trailer so that the tongue will not drop to the road if it becomes separated from the hitch.
• Using the tongue jack, try to raise the tongue off of the ball. If you are able to do this, the ball and tongue sizes do not match, or the ball is not locked properly. In this case, replace the ball with the correct size and try again.
• Finish raising the tongue jack to give maximum clearance.
• Attach the lights with the wiring harness.
5. Accelerate and brake slowly. Give yourself extra space while driving as if you are driving on ice or snow. It takes a longer distance to stop with a loaded trailer.
6. Secure your load! Just because you have loaded your trailer with harmless tree clippings does not mean that you do not need to secure it. You are responsible for anything that flies out of your trailer and causes damage.
How Much Can I Safely Tow?
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