General Safety Information
! WARNING
To protect you and others against death or serious injury, all of
the labels shown must be on the trailer and must be legible.
If any of these labels are missing or cannot be read, contact your
dealer for replacement labels.
You will need to provide us with the number shown at the bottom
of the label(s) in order for us to send the correct one(s).
Trailer Towing Guide
Driving a vehicle with a trailer in tow is vastly different from driving the same
vehicle without a trailer in tow. Acceleration, maneuverability and braking are all
diminished with a trailer in tow. It takes longer to get up to speed; you need more
room to turn and pass, and more distance to stop when towing a trailer. You will
need to spend time adjusting to the different feel and maneuverability of the tow
vehicle with a loaded trailer. Because of the significant differences in all aspects of
maneuverability when towing a trailer, the hazards and risks of injury are also
much greater than when driving without a trailer. You are responsible for keeping
your vehicle and trailer in control, and for all the damage that is caused if you lose
control of your vehicle and trailer.
Find an open area with little or no traffic for your first practice. Of course, before
you start towing the trailer, you must follow all of the instructions for inspection,
testing, loading and coupling. Also, before you start towing, adjust the mirrors so
you can see the trailer as well as the area to the rear of it.
Drive slowly at first, 5 mph or so, and turn the wheel to get the feel of how the tow
vehicle and trailer combination responds. Next, make some right and left hand
turns. Watch in your side mirrors to see how the trailer follows the tow vehicle.
Turning with a trailer attached requires more room.
Stop the rig a few times from speeds no greater than 10 mph. If your trailer is
equipped with brakes, try using different combinations of trailer/electric brake and
tow vehicle brake. Note the effect that the trailer brakes have when they are the
only brakes used. When properly adjusted, the trailer brakes will come on just
before the tow vehicle brakes.
It will take practice to learn how to back up a tow vehicle with a trailer attached.
Take it slow. Before backing up, get out of the tow vehicle and look behind the
trailer to make sure that there are no obstacles. Some drivers place their hands at
the bottom of the steering wheel, and while the tow vehicle is in reverse, “think” of
the hands as being on the top of the wheel. When the hands move to the right
(counter-clockwise, as you would do to turn the tow vehicle to the left when moving
forward), the rear of the trailer moves to the right. Conversely, rotating the steering
wheel clockwise with your hands at the bottom of the wheel will move the rear of
the trailer to the left, while backing up. If you are towing a bumper hitch rig, be
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