Common sense and courtesy, good trailer preparation, practice and experience are all essential factors for proficient trailers towing.
Prior to towing, you should always personally check that the trailer is secure on the vehicle and that all safety chains have been attached and secured. Check that the electrics are connected to the plug on the vehicle and that all lights on the trailer are working. Has the trailer been loaded so that approx. 60% of the load weight is over the trailers front half? Ideally about 10% of the trailers loaded weight should be on the tow vehicles towbar. And obviously, you should make sure the trailers load is tied down and secured and covered if necessary.
When towing, you should avoid sudden, abrupt lane changes and manoeuvres, leave extra space behind vehicles in front of you and always signal lane changes and turns well in advance. It is a good idea to select a lower gear while travelling down hill so you can travel slower without too much braking.
Always remember you are towing a trailer, that it will take longer to stop and that care is needed on corners to enter them at an appropriate speed and ensure you do not cross the centre line. Accelerate and decelerate smoothly to ensure the trailer does not start to sway and always brake before corners so you can drive though the corner at an appropriate speed without applying the brakes.
Safe towing is all about common sense, load the trailer properly, secure it to your vehicle safely and drive with care and you should have a happy and safe trip.
Do many people use trailer stabilisers these days?
Yes, some people do use stabilisers when towing, but they are not such a common sight. There seems to be a much higher useage of these devices in Australia and Britain. They are also called sway control devices and caravan stabilisers. Megatyre can supply and fit stabilisers for you.
I did not realise there was so much involved in safe towing!
Thanks for that Gavin. Towing is a subject that is not covered by regular driving instructions and tests. We learn from advice, theory and lots of practise.
great story thanks
Thank you!
Great information! I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now. Thanks!
Superb blog post, I have book marked this internet site so ideally I’ll see much more on this subject in the foreseeable future!
sign me up
Finally, a good article on towing. I have looked for information of this caliber for the last several hours. Your site is greatly appreciated.
Thank you it is really very nice post I really like it.
wonderful post keep posting.
Jetzt wo ich den Artikel “%BOLGTITLE” ziemlich in Ruhe
durchlese, dann sehe ich, dass hier viel an Zeit reingesteckt wurde.
Das gefällt mir. Denn man liest eine Menge halbgare Berichte in
den verschiedensten Internetseiten. Somit genau so weitermachen und nicht etwas anderes erzählen lassen.
Das ist ganz bestimmt die richtige Richtung, wie du immer wieder noch so
gute Texte wie diesen hier schreiben kannst.
Sorry! I have no idea what this is about!
Brian
Great website, great blogs.
Hi, just wanted to say, I enjoyed this post. It was helpful.
Keep on posting!
Thank you!
Great!
This article was updated by Brian on 29-03-2014.