Trailering tips for new boat owners.

[Fab1]

-HITCHING UP-

IMPORTANT:ALL VEHICLES WILL DRIVE/HANDLE DIFFERENTLY WHILST TOWING THAN WHEN DRIVEN ON THEIR OWN.AND REQUIRE MORE REGULAR CHECKS/SERVICING, ESPECIALLY OIL CHANGES,FILTER REPLACEMENTS,FLUID CHANGES AND BRAKE INSPECTIONS.FUEL CONSUMPTION WILL ALSO INCREASE.

1:Hitch trailer up to car and ENSURE COUPLER is LOCKED DOWN on ball correctly,give a few solid pulls on drawbar to make sure it is SECURE.And put a R CLIP or small PADLOCK ON latch for extra security.Attach safety chain/s with a LOAD RATED D SHACKLE with enough slack in chain to allow TURNS to be made but at the same time not DRAG on the road.TIP:IF USING 2 CHAINS CROSS THEM OVER TO FORM AN X TO PROVIDE A CRADLE TO CATCH DRAWBAR OF TRAILER IN THE EVENT OF TRAILER UNCOUPLING FROM VEHICLE.Plug in trailer lights/brakes ensuring cable will allow for turns and not drag on the road.Always have someone stand behind trailer and check that all LIGHTS ARE WORKING before you leave.

-ON THE ROAD-

1:Adjust side view MIRRORS so you can see the whole side of car/trailer and into each LANE,i like to slant mine downwards slightly so i can see some of the trailers MUDGUARDS or WHEELS.TIP:YOU CAN BUY TOWING MIRRORS IF NECESSARY, THEY GIVE YOU A BETTER FIELD OF VISION ON YOUR RIG.

IMPORTANT:ALWAYS WARM YOUR ENGINE UP FOR A FEW MINUTES BEFORE DRIVING OFF AS THIS IS WHEN THE GREATEST ENGINE WEAR OCCURS PARTICULARLY UNDER LOAD,NOT MANY PEOPLE DO THOUGH.

-DRIVING TO THE CONDITIONS-

ALWAYS-drive smoothly/steadily.

ALWAYS -look further ahead into the traffic and plan way ahead of time on your next move.

ALWAYS- allow greater distance between yourself and the car in front.(VEHICLE WILL TAKE LONGER TO BRAKE WHILST TOWING DUE TO EXTRA TOW WEIGHT TRYING TO PUSH VEHICLE.)

AlWAYS- allow for wider turns as your trailer will cut corners.

ALWAYS- allow plenty of room for overtaking.(VEHICLE WILL ACCELERATE SLOWER THAN NORMAL DUE TO EXTRA WEIGHT BEING TOWED.)

ALWAYS- allow more room when changing lanes and indicate well in advance your intensions.(VEHICLE/TRAILER COMBO NOW TAKES UP MORE ROOM.)

ALWAYS- go down to a lower gear BEFORE ascending/decending hills.(THIS GIVES THE ENGINE GREATER TORQUE GOING UP HILLS AND HELPS WITH ENGINE BRAKING GOING DOWN HILLS TO HELP PREVENT BRAKE FADE/FAILURE.

ALWAYS-Drive in the left hand lane and allow faster vehicles to pass.

ALWAYS-slow down in poor weather i:e rain,fog,strong winds etc.(WILL STRONGLY AFFECT STEERING,BRAKING,TYRE GRIP,VISABILITY,AND VEHICLE/TRAILER STABILITY AND SAFETY.)

ALWAYS-check security of trailer/boat and check tempreture of bearings during your trip whenever you stop for fuel etc.

NEVER-overload your vehicle or trailer above it,s MAXIMUM LOAD RATING.

NEVER-tow in TOP GEAR in a manual transmission or OVERDRIVE in a automatic transmission.(THIS WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD TO EXPENSIVE TRANSMISSION FAILURE.)LOCK OUT OVERDRIVE IN A AUTO AND IN A 5 SPEED OR 6 SPEED MANUAL USE 4TH OR FIFTH AS THESE GEARS ARE MORE ROBUST AND ARE A 1:1 GEAR RATIO MEANING LESS WEAR AND TEAR ON THE TRANSMISSION.

NEVER-tailgate vehicles in front regardless whether towing or not.(THIS IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF REAR END ACCIDENTS.)

NEVER-apply brakes hard especially going down a wet/icy hill around a bend.(THIS IS A SURE FIRE WAY TO JACKNIFE.)

NEVER-make sudden,erratic turns,always steer smoothly.

NEVER-take your eyes of the road and avoid all distractions.

I could go on forever but these are the main things to look out for.

TO CONCLUDE:REMEMBER TO KEEP YOUR EYES ON YOUR SURROUNDINGS AND RIG AT ALL TIMES AND BE PREPARED TO TAKE EVASIVE ACTION IF NEEDED AND IF YOU DETECT A PROBLEM WITH YOUR VEHICLE/RIG STOP AND RECTIFY THE SITUATION BEFORE CONTINUING ON YOUR WAY AND ALWAYS GET A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP AND DO NOT CONSUME ALCOHOL PRIOR TO A TRIP AS TOWING CAN BE BOTH PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY DRAINING.

[martoiscool]

Mate good advice that everyone should read but I do disagree with one thing. I tow a lot of trailers for my work of all shapes sizes and weights. Towing in top gear is fine in either an auto or manual as long as its not under heavy load. (like accelerating up hills or overtaking.) if it is flat ground and you can maintain a steady pace with little effort then it won't hurt ur gearbox. If I was to drive the 5hours down to south west rocks in 4th gear my grand vitara diesel would be revving around 4 thousand revs!! Not good for either the engine or fuel consumption.

Trying to overtake or power up hills without changing gears will wear it out alot quicker and this is where gear changes should be made. All other advice was top notch!!

[pjbink]

With an auto just use the performance mode - this will hold each gear a bit longer which is what you want for towing a heavy load.

A few points that seem to be missed:

Replace your trailer tyres every six years regardless of tread wear.

Remember that the maximum tyre load is at maximum inflation, therefore under inflation can lead to blowouts.

Have between 7 to 10% of the rig weight and dowload on the towbar, but do not exceed the maximum down force rating of your towbar/ vehicle.

Towing aids such as torsion or anti-sway bars and supsension modifications such as air bag supsension will greatly assist safe towing.