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Your Driving and the Road
Making Turns
When you're turning with a trailer, make wider turns than normal.
Do this so
your trailer wheels won't strike soft shoulders, curbs, road signs, trees,
or
other objects. Avoid jerky or sudden maneuvers. Signal well
in advance.
Turn Signals When Towing
a
Trailer
When you tow a trailer, your vehicle has
to have a different turn signal
flasher and extra wiring. The green arrows on your instrument panel
wi l l flash
whenever you signal
a
turn or lane change. Properly hooked up, the trailer
lights will also flash, telling other drivers you're about
to turn, change lanes,
or stop.
When towing a trailer, the green arrows on your instrument panel
will flash
for turns even
if
the bulbs on the trailer are burned out. Thus, you may think
drivers behind you are seeing your signal when they are not. it's important
to
check occasionally to be sure the trailer bulbs are
still working.
Driving on Grades
Reduce speed and shift
to a lower gear
before you start down a long
or'
steep downgrade. I f you don't shift down, you might have
to use your brakes
so much that they would get hot and
no longer work well,
On a long uphill grade, shift down and reduce your speed
to around 45 mph
(70 kmlh) to reduce the possibility of engine and transmission overheating.
If you have an automatic transmission, use
D (or, as you need
to,
a lower
gear) when towing a trailer. Operating your vehicle
in D when towing a trailer
will minimize heat buildup and extend the life
of your transmission. Or
if you
have a manual transmission with fifth gear, it's better not
to use fifth gear,
just drive in fourth gear (or, as you need
to,
a lower gear).
Parking on Hills
You really should
not
park your vehicle, with a trailer attached, on a hill.
If
something goes wrong, your
rig could start to move. People can be injured,
and both your vehicle and the trailer can be damaged.
But if you ever have
to park your rig on a hill, here's how
to do it:
1. Apply your regular brakes, but don't shift into
P (Park) yet, or into gear
for a manual transmission.
2.
Have someone place chocks under the trailer wheels.
3.
When the wheel chocks are
in place, release the regular brakes until the
chocks absorb the load.
4.
Reapply the regular brakes. Then apply your parking brake, and then
shift
to P
(Park), or R (Reverse) for
a
manual transmission.
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