Maintenance; Trailer Towing Tips - Toyota Tacoma 1996 Instruction Manual

MAINTENANCE

S If you tow a trailer, your vehicle will re-
quire more frequent maintenance due
to the additional load. For this informa-
tion, please refer to the scheduled
maintenance information in the "Own-
er's Manual Supplement/Maintenance
Schedule".
S Retighten all fixing bolts of the towing
ball and bracket after approximately
1000 km (600 miles) of trailer driving.
PRE-T OWING SAFETY CHECK
S Check that your vehicle remains level
when a loaded or unloaded trailer is
hitched. Do not drive if the vehicle has
an abnormal nose-up or nose-down
condition, and check for improper
tongue load, overload, worn suspen-
sion or other possible causes.
S Make sure the trailer cargo is securely
loaded so that it cannot shift.
S Check that your rear view mirrors con-
form to any applicable federal, state/
provincial or local regulation. If not,
install the rear view mirrors required
for towing purpose.
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TRAILER TOWING TIPS

When towing a trailer, your vehicle will
handle differently than when not tow-
ing. The three main causes of vehicle
trailer accidents are driver error, exces-
sive speed and improper trailer loading.
Keep these in mind when towing:
S Before starting out, check operation of
the lights and all vehicle-trailer con-
nections. After driving a short dis-
tance, stop and recheck the lights and
connections. Before actually towing a
trailer, practice turning, stopping and
backing with a trailer in an area away
from traffic until you learn the feel.
S Backing with a trailer is difficult and re-
quires practice. Grip the bottom of the
steering wheel and move your hand to
the left to move the trailer to the left.
Move your hand to the right to move
the trailer to the right. (This procedure
is generally opposite to that when
backing without a trailer). Also, just
turn the steering wheel a little at a time,
avoiding sharp or prolonged turning.
Have someone guide you when back-
ing to reduce the risk of an accident.
S Because stopping distance may be in-
creased, vehicle-to-vehicle distance
should be increased when towing a
trailer. For each 16 km/h (10 mph) of
speed, allow at least one vehicle and
trailer length between you and the ve-
hicle ahead. Avoid sudden braking as
you may skid, resulting in jackknifing
and loss of control. This is especially
true on wet or slippery surfaces.
S Avoid jerky starts or sudden accelera-
tion. If your vehicle has manual trans-
mission, prevent excessive clutch slip-
page by keeping engine rpm low and
not racing the engine. Always start out
in first gear.
S Avoid jerky steering and sharp turns.
The trailer could hit your vehicle in a
tight turn. Slow down before making a
turn to avoid the necessity of sudden
braking.
S Remember that when making a turn,
the trailer wheels will be closer than
the vehicle wheels to the inside of the
turn. Therefore, compensate for this
by making a larger than normal turning
radius with your vehicle.