Having to tow anything with your auto – whether it’s a boat, a camper, a trailer, or just about anything else – can be a tricky process, even for those with practice. Novices to the process have to proceed with caution, because there is a world of difference between just driving your vehicle normally and pulling something (potentially very) heavy behind you. There are a lot of different issues to keep in mind as well. Any mistakes made or details overlooked could come back to bite you, causing problems ranging from a bumpy and uncomfortable ride to damage to your vehicle, all the way to major dangers like jackknifing or flipping your rig – accidents that could hurt you and/or other drivers on the road.
I myself have never driven while towing anything, but I have family members with boats and campers, so I have an appreciation for how much work goes into pulling something behind you. It’s not at all the same type of driving as we do when it’s just us in one vehicle. A car or truck plus a trailer or towed vehicle is longer, heavier, less agile, and more fraught with potential complications than a single vehicle.
Towing might seem pretty complicated, but there are just some simple steps to keep in mind to ensure that you have a safe trip. You may need to checkup on some equipment and look into your vehicle’s specifications – how much can you safely tow, anyway? You may need to purchase some gear, even if you think that you have everything that you need. Furthermore, you might need to make some tweaks to the way you drive so that you can tow more safely. I read a great article on HowStuffWorks that laid out the ten tips you should know before towing, and I felt that they were worthwhile to pass on.
The first step to safe towing is to figure out your towing capacity. Not every vehicle is up to the task of hitching up a boat trailer, for instance – it may not even be up to pulling a small trailer if that trailer is chock-a-block full of stuff. Make sure that you look into the towing capacity of your car, truck, SUV, or RV, and don’t just guestimate. Regardless of the size or power of your engine, there is always such a thing as too much weight. Too much weight, for one, can do major damage to your vehicle. That’s why it’s important to get the facts right… your owner’s manual is a great way to start on this one.
There’s a few definitions to keep in mind when you look into towing capacity. The first is “base curb weight,” which refers to the basic weight of your entire vehicle all by itself, inclusive of all fluids when topped off – a full tank of gas plus engine oil, coolant, transmission fluid, and everything else all topped off – plus all applicable additional equipment. Then there is “cargo weight,” which includes the combined weight of all passengers, cargo, and any optional equipment added to the car, like a sunroof or custom rims. Thirdly there is “allowable payload,” which is the maximum cargo weight (cargo plus passengers) allowed for your vehicle. Your vehicle’s owners manual should spell all these things out so that you can ensure a safe tow ride and load in the best way possible. Of course, knowing how much cargo you can safely load is only the first step… distributing it properly is the next step, and equally important.
Proper weight distribution will help you ensure the safest ride possible for your towing experience. To put this in perspective, think about the last time that you had to move into a new home or apartment, and had to load a moving truck with all the household items you’d packed. My guess would be that you positioned the biggest items – your couch, your bed, and your TV – first, using ropes and cords to fasten them in place. After that, logic dictates that you bring in the smaller stuff like all those boxes you packed, so that you can fit them in around the bigger items. Most smart people aren’t going to try to build towers of boxes, knowing that a sharp turn could send them falling like a game of Jenga. You have to apply these same principles when you are prepping a towing load. One way to ensure a safe and smooth ride is to carefully distribute the weight of the load, because the same ideas of weight and balance apply.
You will want to always start with the heaviest cargo first, making sure to strap or tie it down with ropes or bungee cords so that it doesn’t shift in transit. After that, smaller cargo should be used to fill in any gaps. For the best results, your cargo’s center of gravity should be as low as possible, and about sixty percent of the weight should be balanced towards the front. Furthermore, you should preferably balance the weight on either side of the trailer to prevent flipping.
Once you have your cargo safely and securely loaded, checking your mirrors is a crucial next step. Have you ever had to drive WITHOUT your side mirrors? If so, then you can appreciate how dangerous it is to drive without proper visibility – not being able to see cars behind you with a single glance makes for unnecessary risk-taking. Proper mirror use is a must when towing. There are two types of side-mirrors, regular side-view and extended side-view. You will find regular side-view mirrors in almost any car or truck on the road. These are mirrors that let you see traffic next to yours. As the name implies, extended side-view mirrors give you a greater view of the road, allowing you to see both rear- and side-approaching traffic. These mirrors rend to be bigger and taller than regular side-view mirrors, and are a necessity if you are towing cargo such that your rear-view sight is obstructed completely.
Another crucial component of safe towing is having the proper lights for your rig, and making sure that they are all in working order. Not only could a broken headlight or brake light endanger other drivers or pedestrians who either can’t see you coming or can’t tell that you are slowing down/braking, but you could also face an expensive ticket if you are caught by a police officer. Not only do your lights need to work when you are towing, but you also need to double up on your lights as well. Most state laws demand that you have operable brake, tail, and turn lights on a towed vehicle, either it’s a car trailer, boat trailer, or camper. All these lights must synch up with the lights on the vehicle you are driving, so that as soon as you hit the brakes both sets of brake lights illuminate at exactly the same moment.
Let’s talk about tires for a moment, since all the brake lights in the world won’t help out if your tires and bald and skid out when you have to stop. Routine tire inspection and maintenance is a must under any conditions when you are driving a vehicle.
Checking your tires is a smart thing to do in any situation. Tires, like other part of your car, wear down – in fact, they wear down much faster than some other components of your vehicle. As such, they need near-constant maintenance and replacement. Paying too little attention to your tires is folly, since a flat can leave you stranded in the best case scenario, or blow out and cause an accident in the worst. If you are towing, it’s twice as important to keep an eye on your tires. I’m not just talking about the tires on the vehicle doing the towing – you also want to check on the tires belonging to the towed vehicle, if you are pulling one. Tires should be inflated to the proper degree of pressure, as per manufacturer’s instructions. Tires that have either too much or too little air are prone to make your trailer sway and cost you gas mileage. While you are checking your tires, be sure to check on the lug nuts to ensure that they are secure as well.
Next up on your pre-tow checklist? That would be synchronizing your brakes. Just as is the case with your lights on both your towing vehicle and trailer, your braking systems also need to operate in perfect unison. Most state laws require that towed vehicles have separate braking systems, which is a safety measure that prevents the tow vehicle from having to take all the impact when it’s time to brake. Testing the functionality of your brakes before you take off to prevent disaster on the road. After all, If your brakes ever failed while driving, the added weight from the cargo would only make a collision that much more dangerous. Towards the end of preventing that – even with perfectly-working, newer brakes – give yourself plenty of extra room for braking. Avoiding heavy braking will reduce most wear and tear over time and save you money, so applying your foot gently to the brake is the best method.
Another way to both slow down vehicular wear and tear and save money at the same time is to watch your speed. This is a good rule while driving in general, and it becomes even more important when you are towing something. Look, I know how it feels to want to speed. It’s a natural rush to feel a car accelerate in response to us pushing the gas pedal, but driving a tow vehicle is NOT the same as cruising in a sports car. Speed is actually just about the last thing you should be worried about when towing! Excess speed is dangerous under normal circumstances, and it only gets more so when you factor in the additional weight and length of a towed vehicle. The faster you travel, the higher the hazards. When you drive faster, the trailer behind you has more sway. This decreases the amount of control the driver has and makes it much tougher for him or her to stop quickly if necessary without the danger of fishtailing – or even flipping – the rig. This is to say nothing of the fact that speeding also makes it tougher to maneuver in traffic. Caution and awareness are the number one things while towing, so, for the love of everything, SLOW DOWN!
Another major component of safe towing is choosing the correct hitch for the job. While some vehicles come factory-equipped with a mounted hitch that the manufacturer has attached, most others leave it up to the driver to choose which hitch is right for their needs and their vehicle. Keep in mind that there are two types of hitches: weight-carrying ones and weight-distributing ones. The former type is recommended for lighter loads, those when the combined weight of the trailer and cargo is less than thirty-five hundred pounds. On the other hand, weight-distributing hitches are meant for those heavier loads. The right choice makes all the difference, since too much weight in a trailer can cause the tongue weight (the downward pressure that the tongue exerts on the hitch hall) to get too high, causing sag in both the tow vehicle and trailer and the tendency for the whole rig to look like one giant “V.” A weight-distributing hitch redistributes the tongue weight to the axles of the tow vehicle and trailer, which keeps both vehicles level, or parallel to the ground. The right choice here depends on what you intend to haul, of course.
In terms of taking care of your equipment, know that what’s under the hood is critically important, even if you can’t see it. Towing something behind your vehicle puts a LOT of extra strain on your drivetrain. There is no way to avoid this reality when you add so much extra weight to your vehicle. Extra weight leads to extra heat under the hood, which can add strain to your transmission and wear it out too quickly. You have a few options here. One is adding a transmission cooler – especially if you drive an automatic – which can greatly cut back on the temperature of the oil circulating through your vehicle’s transmission. Another option is to add on a higher-capacity radiator or installing an additional cooling fan, which will help save you money in the long run on expensive repairs to worn-out systems.
What is the top tip for a safe towing trip? Not surprisingly, it’s practice. After all, as the saying goes, it makes perfect! Before you expose yourself and your load to the whims of cranky drivers, impatient truckers, and massive sixteen-wheelers competing for road space, you might want to practice driving your vehicle plus cargo in a lower-pressure environment. A good place to start your practice is an empty parking lot – think the mall on a Sunday evening after the stores have closed. You want an area that’s far from traffic, ideally. Once you have found the right place to practice, go ahead and try to execute simple driving tasks with all your gear hooked up. Things to practice include backing up and using your mirrors, and paying careful attention to the vehicle’s turning radius. Learn to accelerate and brake slowly on longer stretches of road. After all, remember that the more weight you’re carrying, the longer it’s going to take to slow down. Once you have nailed this final – but all important – step, you should hopefully have a peaceful and safe tow ride!
Trackback this post & | & Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed