Driving with a Trailer - Safety Tips

[Mike 64]

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.

These Safety tips are from the DOT

[Celeste 341]

Thanks for the informative post, Mike.

Celeste

[RyanH 14]

And one that for some reason most people never think of...

If you are going to be impatient and pull out in front of someone, make damn sure you accelerate such that they don't have to apply their brakes. And go AT LEAST the posted speed limit on the road. There's nothing I hate more than when someone pulls out with a load and there is no one behind me and now I'm forced to go according to their driving comfort.

[James 625]

People on cell phone's have to go!!! I almost got killed at least twenty time's this year. People who enter the highway on the phone this year I will ram. If they cause me to crash I'm taken them out this year. Cell phone's should be outlawed while driving !!!!!!!!!

[RyanH 14]

Can't agree with you there....I've been using cell phones while driving for over 5 years now and have never had any problem paying attention. The problem is too many stupid people are using them and can't prioritize...driving first, everything else second. I do give other drivers a hard time if they don't use an earpiece, though.

[tropical wave 22]

People that cant drive, just cant drive....period The ear piece is a wonderful addition though...been using it for awhile now. I never thought Id like it, but it is wonderful......I just dont like to see the people in the grocery store talking on the phone with the ear piece...makes me think they're all talking to themselves. I did it tonight for about 30 seconds and felt like an idiot.....

many professions require its people to multi-task while driving......lets see, yesterday we were running a surveillance on a crew of smugglers. talking to other team members on the nextel, using the hard mount radio in the car, reading the map, coffee between the legs, tuning in ESPN radio, trying to eat a sanedwhich...all the while dodging semi's at 90mph or running red lights.....but in Chicago, some of that driving is normal....