Towing A Trailer - Honda Prelude 2003 Owner's Manual

The combined weight of the car,
all passengers and their luggage,
and tongue load must not exceed
the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating.
The GVWR is printed on the
Certification label attached to
the driver's door jamb (see page
204).
The combined weight of the car,
all passengers and their luggage,
and tongue load also must not
exceed the Gross Axle Weight
Rating. The GAWR is also
shown on the Certification label.
It tells you the maximum load for
the front and rear axles. It is
possible that your towing pack-
age does not exceed the GVWR
but does exceed the GAWR.
Improper trailer loading, and/or
too much luggage in the trunk
can overload the rear axle. Redis-
tribute the load and check the
axle weights again.
Improperly loading your car
and trailer can seriously affect
its steering and braking per-
formance, causing a crash in
which you can be seriously
injured.
Check the loading of your car
and trailer carefully before
starting to drive.
The best way to confirm that your
total towing package is within
these specifications is to get it
weighed. Load the car and trailer
as you normally would while tow-
ing, and take them to a public scale.
Have them check the total weight
and the weight at each axle, then
compare them to the specifications.

Towing a Trailer

Trailer Hitches
Your Honda dealer, or the Honda
Customer Relations Zone Office,
can give you advice on the proper
hitch for your car. Never use a
hitch that mounts only to the rear
bumper. The bumper is not
designed to handle that type of load.
The hitch should bolt to the
underbody of the car and distribute
the load over a wide area. Always
have a trailer hitch installed by a
qualified technician.
NOTICE
A trailer hitch that is not adequate
for the size of the trailer, or a hitch
that is improperly installed, can
cause damage to the underside of
your car.
Driving