Had this emailed to me by our Safety Officer here on base, thought it might be useful for some newbies...... General Handling Use the driving gear that the manufacturer recommends for towing.* Drive at moderate speeds. This will place less strain on your tow vehicle and trailer. Trailer instability (sway) is more likely to occur as speed increases.* Avoid sudden stops and starts that can cause skidding, sliding, or jackknifing.* Avoid sudden steering maneuvers that might create sway or undue side force on the trailer. Slow down when traveling over bumpy roads, railroad crossings, and ditches.* Make wider turns at curves and corners. Because your trailer’s wheels are closer to the inside of a turn than the wheels of your tow vehicle, they are more likely to hit or ride up over curbs.* To control swaying caused by air pressure changes and wind buffeting when larger vehicles pass from either direction, release the accelerator pedal to slow down and keep a firm grip on the steering wheel. Braking Allow considerably more distance for stopping.* If you have an electric trailer brake controller and excessive sway occurs, activate the trailer brake controller by hand. Do not attempt to control trailer sway by applying the tow vehicle brakes; this will generally make the sway worse.* Always anticipate the need to slow down. To reduce speed, shift to a lower gear and press the brakes lightly. Acceleration and Passing When passing a slower vehicle or changing lanes, signal well in advance and make sure you allow extra distance to clear the vehicle before you pull back into the lane.* Pass on level terrain with plenty of clearance. Avoid passing on steep upgrades or downgrades.* If necessary, downshift for improved acceleration or speed maintenance.* When passing on narrow roads, be careful not to go onto a soft shoulder. This could cause your trailer to jackknife or go out of control. Downgrades and Upgrades Downshift to assist with braking on downgrades and to add power for climbing hills.* On long downgrades, apply brakes at intervals to keep speed in check. Never leave brakes on for extended periods of time or they may overheat.* Some tow vehicles have specifically calibrated transmission tow-modes. Be sure to use the tow-mode recommended by the manufacturer. Backing Up Put your hand at the bottom of the steering wheel. To turn left, move your hand left. To turn right, move your hand right. Back up slowly. Because mirrors cannot provide all of the visibility you may need when backing up, have someone outside at the rear of the trailer to guide you, whenever possible.* Use slight movements of the steering wheel to adjust direction. Exaggerated movements will cause greater movement of the trailer. If you have difficulty, pull forward and realign the tow vehicle and trailer and start again. Parking Try to avoid parking on grades. If possible, have someone outside to guide you as you park. Once stopped, but before shifting into Park, have someone place blocks on the downhill side of the trailer wheels. Apply the parking brake, shift into Park, and then remove your foot from the brake pedal. Following this parking sequence is important to make sure your vehicle does not become locked in Park because of extra load on the transmission. For manual transmissions, apply the parking brake and then turn the vehicle off in either first or reverse gear.* When uncoupling a trailer, place blocks at the front and rear of the trailer tires to ensure that the trailer does not roll away when the coupling is released.* An unbalanced load may cause the tongue to suddenly rotate upward; therefore, before un-coupling, place jack stands under the rear of the trailer to prevent injury. opcorn:
Good info that cover most of the basics that a newbie would need to know. Mabye add increase folowing distance at all times which might be the same as always anticipate the need to slow down. Also make sure to balance the load on the trailer.
a few more towing tips Tounge weight: You MUST have some. Most trailer sway is caused by a rear weight bias. If you have too much weight behind the axles, it will be like a dog wagging its tail. If you dont have enough tounge weight, your trailer WILL sway. Tires: The number 1 failure of trailers is tires. They overheat. They overheat because of side wall flex. If your trailers tires are "mashing down" under the weight, they WILL blow out. Check for proper inflation. Then either remove some of the weight, or (not recommend) over inflate the tires to eliminte the tire bulge. Check for hot tires at every stop. Lug Nuts: NEW trailers WILL have loose lug nuts. Stop and tighten them.
Here's a few more. When backing, steer towards trouble. This will help keep you straight. You can go down a hill to fast once, you can go dow a hill to slow a whole bunch of times. When in Texas it is legal to pull over on the shoulder to let someone pass.
