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If you do decide to pull a trailer
Here are some important points if you
decide to pull a trailer:
• State, provincial, county and municipal
government have varying trailering
laws. Make sure your hitch, mirrors,
lights and wiring arrangements are
legal, not only where you live, but also
where you'll be driving. A good source
for this information is provincial or local
law enforcement agencies.
• Consider using a sway control. You can
ask a hitch dealer about sway control.
• After your odometer indicates 800 km
(500 miles) or more, you can tow a
trailer. For the first 800 km (500 miles)
that you tow a trailer, don't drive over
80 km/h (50 mph) and don't make
starts at full throttle. This helps your
engine and other parts of your vehicle
"wear" in at the heavier loads.
• Always drive your vehicle at a moder-
ate speed (less than 100 km/h (60
mph)).
• On a long uphill grade, do not exceed
70 km/h (45 mph) or the posted towing
speed limit, whichever is lower.
• The important considerations have to
do with weight:
Weight of the trailer
How heavy can a trailer safely be? It
should never weigh more than the maxi-
mum trailer weight with trailer brakes. But
even that can be too heavy.
It depends on how you plan to use your
trailer. For example, speed, altitude, road
grades, outside temperature and how
much your vehicle is used to pull a trailer
are all important. The ideal trailer weight
can also depend on any special equip-
ment that you have on your vehicle.
Weight of the trailer tongue
The tongue load of any trailer is an
important weight to measure because it
affects the total gross vehicle weight
(GVW) of your vehicle. This weight
includes the curb weight of the vehicle,
any cargo you may carry in it, and the
people who will be riding in the vehicle.
And if you will tow a trailer, you must add
the tongue load to the GVW because
your vehicle will also be carrying that
weight.
Driving your vehicle
The trailer tongue should weigh a maxi-
mum of 10% of the total loaded trailer
weight. After you've loaded your trailer,
weigh the trailer and then the tongue,
separately, to see if the weights are prop-
er. If they aren't, you may be able to cor-
rect them simply by moving some items
around in the trailer.
WARNING -
Trailer
• Never load a trailer with more
weight in the rear than in the
front. The front should be loaded
with approximately 60% of the
total trailer load; the rear should
be loaded with approximately
40% of the total trailer load.
• Never
exceed
the
maximum
weight limits of the trailer or trail-
er towing equipment. Improper
loading can result in damage to
your vehicle and/or personal
injury. Check weights and loading
at a commercial scale or highway
patrol
office
equipped
scales.
• An improperly loaded trailer can
cause loss of vehicle control.
with
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