Driving While You Tow; Servicing After Towing; Trailer Towing Tips - Mercury Grand Marquis 2002 Owner's Manual

Driving

Driving while you tow

When towing a trailer:
Ensure that you turn off your speed control. The speed control may
shut off automatically when you are towing on long, steep grades.
Consult your local motor vehicle speed regulations for towing a trailer.
Use a lower gear when towing up or down steep hills. This will
eliminate excessive downshifting and upshifting for optimum fuel
economy and transmission cooling.
Anticipate stops and brake gradually.
Exceeding the GCWR rating may cause internal transmission
damage and void your warranty coverage.

Servicing after towing

If you tow a trailer for long distances, your vehicle will require more
frequent service intervals. Refer to your scheduled maintenance guide for
more information.

Trailer towing tips

Practice turning, stopping and backing up before starting on a trip to
get the feel of the vehicle trailer combination. When turning, make
wider turns so the trailer wheels will clear curbs and other obstacles.
Allow more distance for stopping with a trailer attached.
If you are driving down a long or steep hill, shift to a lower gear. Do
not apply the brakes continuously, as they may overheat and become
less effective.
The trailer tongue weight should be 10% of the loaded trailer weight.
After you have traveled 80 km (50 miles), thoroughly check your
hitch, electrical connections and trailer wheel lug nuts.
When stopped in traffic for long periods of time in hot weather, place
the gearshift in P (Park) and increase idle speed. This aids engine
cooling and air conditioner efficiency.
Vehicles with trailers should not be parked on a grade. If you must
park on a grade, place wheel chocks under the trailer's wheels.
Launching or retrieving a boat
When backing down a ramp during boat launching or retrieval:
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