Driving With A Trailer - Volvo V50 Owner's Manual

Starting and driving

Driving with a trailer

General
The load capacity is affected by extra acces-
sories mounted on the car, such as a towbar,
the load on the towball (75 kg with trailer
hitched), load carriers and roof box, as well as
the passengers' combined weight. The load
capacity of the car is reduced by the number
of passengers and their weight.
If the towing bracket is mounted at the Volvo
factory, the car is delivered with the
necessary equipment for driving with a trailer.
• The car's towing bracket must be of an
approved type.
• If the towbar is retrofitted, check with your
Volvo dealer that the car is fully equipped
for driving with a trailer.
• Distribute the load on the trailer so that
the weight on the towing bracket follows
the specified maximum towball load.
• Increase the tyre pressure to the recom-
mended pressure for a full load. See page
139 for the location of the tyre pressure
label.
• Clean the towbar regularly and grease the
1
towball .
1. Does not apply to the towball if using
a stabiliser hitch.
124
• Do not tow a heavy trailer when the car is
brand new. Wait until it has been driven at
least 1000 km.
• The brakes are loaded much more than
usual on long and steep downhill slopes.
Downshift to a lower gear and adjust your
speed.
• The engine is loaded more heavily than
usual when driving with a trailer.
• The engine and gearbox can overheat if
the car is driven with a heavy load in hot
weather. If the temperature gauge for the
engine's cooling system goes into the red
zone, stop and let the engine idle for a
few minutes. The gearbox responds
through a built-in protection system. See
the message on the information display. If
the car overheats, the air conditioning
may be switched off temporarily.
• In the interests of safety, speed should be
restricted to 80 km/h, even if the laws of
certain countries allow for higher speeds.
• The gear selector should be in the parking
position P when a car with an automatic
gearbox and attached trailer are parked.
Always use the parking brake.
• Place chocks under the wheels to prevent
the car from rolling when parked on a hill
with trailer attached. The gear selector
should be in the parking position P when
a car with an automatic gea rbox and
attached trailer are parked. Always use
the parking brake.
Trailer weights
See page 211 for permitted trailer weights.
NOTE! The stated maximum permitted trailer
weights are those permitted by Volvo.
National vehicle regulations can further limit
trailer weights and speeds. Towbars can be
certified for higher towing weights than the
car can actually tow.
WARNING!
Follow the stated recommendations for
trailer weights. Otherwise, the rig may be
difficult to control during evasive
manoeuvres and braking.