Dodge Dakota 2006 Owner's Manual page 264

W ARNING!
Improper towing can lead to an injury accident.
Follow these guidelines to make yourtrailertowing
as safe as possible:
Make certain that the load is secured in the trailer
and will not shift during travel. When trailering
cargo that is not fully secured,dynamic load shifts
can occur that may be dif ficult for the driver to
control.You could lose control of your vehicle and
have an accident.
• When hauling car go or towing a trailer ,do notover -
load your vehicle or trailer .Overloading can cause a
lossofcontr ol,poorperformance ordamage to brakes,
axle,engine,transmission,steering,suspension,chas-
sis str uctur e or tir es.
STARTING AND OPERATING
• Safety chains must always be used between your
vehicle and trailer .Always connect the chains to the
frame orhook r etainers ofthe vehicle hitch.Cr oss the
chains under the trailer tongue and allow enough
slack for turning corners.
• Vehicleswith trailersshould notbe parked on a grade
When parking,apply the parking brake on the tow
vehicle.Putthe tow vehicle automatic transmission i
P for Park. W ith a manual transmission, shift the
transmission into r everse.And with four -wheel-driv
vehicles,make sur e the transfer case is notin neutral
Always,block or chock the trailer wheels.
• GCWR mustnotbe exceeded.
• Total weight must be distributed between the tow
vehicle and the trailer such that the following four
ratings are notexceeded:
1. GVWR
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