The rules of towing

[Crunch]

I was talking to a friend about towing and flippantly made the comment that the first rule of towing is never forget you are pulling a trailer. It sounded great at the time because I always see trailers with bent and damaged tongues, and tailgates that have been poned and creoled by goosenecks. Now I'm wondering if I was just being a smartass, or if that really could be the first rule of towing. I've never seen a real list of rules for towing. Anyone else have an opinion on this?

 

[B.G. Smith]

I think that is the first rule to remember. Lots of other things come to mind but that has to be #1. bg

 

[Simplysmn]

One thing that comes to mind is Don't by a 1/2 ton truck and try and pull a 35 foot travel traler with it . And second is Stay to the Right when towing and don't try to run 80 + mph just cause you think you can .

 

[Grizzly]

I believe that the rules for towing a trailer are:



1. Check the tires and proper inflation.



2. Check brakes and brake lights.



3. Secure your load. Tarp if necessary.



4. Know how to back up the trailer. Use a guide if necessary.



Anyone is free to add to this list.

 

[Pakrat]

Grizzly is right on about trailer towing pre trip inspection,(and backing up), but I have always maintained as Crunch says, Don't EVER forget the trailer is behind you.

Just my HO. Larry

 

[jelag]

Grizzly... great list.....

please add,

Understand the weight of your truck and trailer and the increased stopping distance and drive accordingly... .

 

[JimB1]

Adjust your attitude to work with;



You now have 3 times the vehicle length with 1/3 the stopping, handling, accelerating, all around vision capabilities AND every driver out there is determined to not have to "wait" for a slow poke like you.



Except for fellow Cummins drivers that is... ,

 

[Bob V]

1st thing is to make SURE it is hooked up!

 

[RAmy]

bob v, to add to yours if hooking up to a trailer with someone else around/helping you, make sure that only 1 of you take part in locking the ball, chains etc. ! a friend found out the hard way that they both thought that the other had locked the ball. luckily the chains were connected.

 

[MLee]

I have established my way of hooking and unhooking my rig. When some one wants to help, I usually send them on there way nicely, cause of my routine. But one should always use caution when maneuvering and when towing down the road.

I am a wagon master with our Travel group and I am usually told that "they have it under control". This is a indication they have a routine so that things don't get missed and they are sure of it being done right.

Stay to the right as much as possible, always leave enough room between you and the guy in front of you for emergency maneuvering.

 

[Crunch]

1st thing is to make SURE it is hooked up!

:-laf:-laf:-laf The one contraction in that is that if it ain't hooked up, you ain't towing! Though that wouldn't be as bad as having a bumper pull and forgetting to hook it up, while remembering to attach the safety chains. That could get messy.

 

[AKaiser]

I think that is the first rule to remember. Lots of other things come to mind but that has to be #1. bg

It's akin to the saying about gun-fighting. The first rule of gun-fighting: bring a gun.

 

[Crunch]

It's akin to the saying about gun-fighting. The first rule of gun-fighting: bring a gun.

Probably should be the first rule when driving a Ford diesel, too. No truck should just lay on the side of the road suffering...

 

[icman95]

How about don't get cocky/complacent? I guess this would be a subsection of don't forget you're towing a trailer. No matter how good a driver people think they are, they're not as good as they think. Even commercial drivers (I'm one and include myself in this). It's a good idea to maintain a bit of humility in order to remain a defensive rather than offensive driver. The moment a driver becomes too comfortable/cocky while pulling his trailer he becomes a danger to himself and those around him.



If you think you're the best there is then you leave no room for improvement and there isn't ONE of us out there that can truely say there is no need to improve.



Proper attitude is just as important as proper equipment.

 

[Jeepr]

I second the idea of one person hooking everything up. I too had someone help me and neither of us locked the bulldog hitch... shortly after getting moving, I thought about it and pulled over and sure enough it was open... thank god I had sufficient tounge weight and hadn't gone far!



I've also had a friend while unhooking remember everything BUT the safety chains... doh!

 

[Crunch]

How about don't get cocky/complacent? I guess this would be a subsection of don't forget you're towing a trailer.

One of the most common "forget I'm pulling a trailer" mistakes I see on a regular basis is drivers not accounting for the inside tracking of a trailer when turning. I'm always seeing trailers bouncing off of curbs, medians, etc. That's why I always try to get out as far as possible at an intersection when making a turn, before turning the steering wheel into the turn. On tight turns I will even turn into the far lane, even though one of my pet peeves is people not turning into the nearest lane at intersections.

 

[icman95]

On tight turns I will even turn into the far lane, even though one of my pet peeves is people not turning into the nearest lane at intersections.

Actually, this is exactly how it's supposed to be done according to the Commercial Driver's Manual that the DMV hands out. Instead of moving to your left too much prior to the turn, you're supposed to turn into the far lane while making the turn even if it means going over the yellow line. Nothing wrong there. This keeps idiots from squeezing between your trailer and the curb to your right and getting crushed.

 

[donnier]

For me, the first item after hooking a trailer is walk around and make sure all the trailer lights are funcitional and everything is secured.

Maybe its just a habit Iv gotten into, but whenever Im towing anything, Ill "X" the safety chains.

The reason, in my mind, is should the hitch fail for any reason, the tongue would be cradeled and wont dig itself into the ground.

Just my thoughts.

 

[JCotte]

Maybe its just a habit Iv gotten into, but whenever Im towing anything, Ill "X" the safety chains.

The reason, in my mind, is should the hitch fail for any reason, the tongue would be cradeled and wont dig itself into the ground.

Just my thoughts.

The law requires the chains to be crossed in most states for that very reason

 

[EArp]

I found this pretty funny. At our family reunion a few weeks ago my uncle pulled his fiver out for the weekend. He never took the time to relocate the electric/light hookup to the bed of his truck. Instead, he's been using the electric/light hookup on the receiver hitch on the rear bumper. He looped the umbilical cord for the fiver around his receiver hitch so it wouldn't drag the ground while in tow. In his typical fashion, he forgot to un-loop it when he unhooked so when he drove off it jerked the umbilical cord loose from the trailer along with all the internal wires. I kinda felt bad for his situation, but I have to admit it was hard not to laugh. My dad and I had to spend a couple of hours trying to reattach all the wires so he could limp it home.