Driving Characteristics, Towing Tips - Vauxhall Astra Owner's Manual

Driving characteristics, towing tips

In the case of carav ans / trailers with
brakes, attach breakaway stopp ing cable
to eye.
Before attaching the ca ra van / trailer,
lubricate the ball of the caravan / trailer
towing device. However, do not lub rica te
the b all if a stabiliser, which acts on the
coupling ball, is being used to da mp
hunting.
Handling is greatly influenced by the
loading of the caravan / trailer. Loads
should therefore be secured so that they
cannot slip and be placed in the c entre of
the c aravan / trailer if possib le, i. e. above
the a xle.
Do not drive above 50 mph (80 km /h) when
using trailers with poor driving stability,
and the use of a friction-ty pe roll dam per is
urgently rec om mended.
Check caravan / trailer lighting b efore
starting to drive. The fog tail lights on the
vehicle are deactiv ated w hen towing a
caravan or trailer.
Do not d riv e faster than 50 mph (80 k m/h)
if possible, ev en in countries where hig her
speeds are permitted.
Make sure that you have enough room
when cornering and a void sud den
manoeuvres.
If the carav an / trailer starts to swa y, driv e
more slowly, d o not a ttempt to correct the
steering and b ra ke sharply if necessary.
The cooling fan is electrically operated. Its
cooling p ow er is therefore independent of
the engine speed.
Since a considerable amount of heat is
genera ted at high engine speeds and less
at slower speeds, do not shift d ow n when
climbing hills whilst the v ehicle is still coping
with the gradient in the higher g ear.
Diesel engine: On gradients of 10 % or
more, do not drive faster than 20 mph
(30 km/h) in first gear or 30 mph (50 km /h)
in second g ear; with automa tic
transmission, do not ex ceed 25 mph
(40 km/h) in driv e range 1.
When coupled to a ca ra van / trailer the
vehicle requires more braking effort when
driving d ow n long gradients, so select the
same gear as you would driving uphill and
drive at roughly the sa me speed. With
automatic transmission engag e driv e
range 3, 2 or ev en 1.
S elec t D again as soon as driv ing
conditions permit.
If it is necessary to app ly the b ra kes fully, in
particular to ensure short braking
distances when towing a carava n / trailer,
depress the brak e pedal a s hard as
possible.
Remem ber that the braking d istance for
vehicles towing carava ns / trailers w ith and
without brake is always greater than that
for vehic les not tow ing a carav an / trailer.
193