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DANGER
It is dangerous to transport people in
a trailer and it may also be illegal.
WARNING
Improper use of the towing bracket can
lead to a loss of vehicle control, accidents
and serious injuries.
·
Only use the towing bracket if it is fitted
properly and is not damaged.
·
Do not carry out any alterations or re-
pairs to the towing bracket.
·
Wherever possible, swivel in or remove
the ball coupling when a trailer is not
being used in order to reduce the risk of
injury in rear-end collisions, and the risk
of injury to pedestrians and cyclists
when the vehicle is parked.
·
Never install a "weight-distributing" or
"load-balancing" towing bracket to the
vehicle. The vehicle was not constructed
for these kinds of towing brackets. The
towing bracket can fail, causing the
trailer to tear loose from the vehicle.
WARNING
Towing a trailer and transporting heavy or
bulky items can change the vehicle han-
dling, increase the braking distance and
lead to accidents.
·
Always secure loads properly using suit-
able and undamaged lashing, retaining
or securing straps.
·
Always adapt your speed and driving
style to suit visibility, weather, road and
traffic conditions. Reduce your speed,
particularly when going downhill.
·
Trailers with a high centre of gravity are
more likely to tip over than trailers with
a low centre of gravity.
·
Always drive carefully and think ahead.
Accelerate carefully and gently. Avoid
abrupt and sudden driving and braking
manoeuvres.
·
Take special care when overtaking. Re-
duce your speed immediately if the trail-
er shows even the slightest sign of snak-
ing.
·
Never drive faster than 80 km/h
(50 mph) when towing a trailer; also
100 km/h (60 mph) in exceptional cases.
This also applies to countries where
higher speeds are permitted. Keep to
country-specific speed limits which may
be lower for vehicles with trailers than
for vehicles without trailers.
·
Never try to stop a trailer from snaking
by increasing your speed.
·
Never install a "weight-distributing" or
"load-balancing" towing bracket on the
vehicle.
NOTICE
Please observe the notes and information for
vehicles with N1 approval → page 373, Infor-
mation about vehicles with N1 approval (light
commercial vehicle).
The anti-theft alarm system can be
triggered if the connection to a trailer
that is integrated into the anti-theft alarm
system is interrupted. → page 83
Some retrofitted towing brackets may
cover the opening for fitting the tow-
ing eye. If so, the towing eye cannot be used
for towing or tow-starting other vehicles. For
this reason, the removed ball coupling of
a retrofitted towing bracket should be stored
in the vehicle at all times.
Technical prerequisites
Please refer to
,
and
of the chapter on page 264.
Cooling system
There is an increased load on the engine and
the cooling system when towing a trailer. The
cooling system must contain sufficient cool-
Towing a trailer
at the start
265
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