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Driving Tips

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Trailer-Towing Tips

Your vehicle is designed to handle most trailer-towing situations, as long as you follow the correct towing safety and maintenance procedures. Towing a trailer increases demand on your driving skills. Use the tips below to prepare yourself.
Before setting out on a trip, practice turning, stopping and backing up your trailer in an area away from heavy traffic. Also, be sure to familiarize yourself with your trailer’s load limit.

Before you tow
  • Drive your new vehicle at least 500 miles before you tow a trailer
  • Have your fully loaded vehicle and trailer weighed, including all passengers and cargo, to determine your Gross Combined Weight (GCW). This weight should not exceed the vehicle’s Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR), found in your Owner Guide. This is the maximum allowable weight of the vehicle and trailer that the vehicle can handle without damage. If you’ve exceeded your GCWR, remove items from the vehicle or trailer until you're within specified limits
Distribute the weight
  • For optimum handling, the trailer must be properly loaded and balanced
  • Keep the center of gravity as low as possible for best handling
  • Approximately 60% of the cargo weight should be in the front half of the trailer and 40% in the rear
  • Trailer tongue load should be 10% –15% of the total loaded trailer weight (15% – 25% for fifth-wheel or gooseneck hitches)
  • Load should also be balanced from side to side for good handling and even tire wear
  • Load must be firmly secured to prevent shifting during cornering or braking, which could result in a sudden loss of control
Braking
  • Allow considerably more distance for stopping with trailer attached
  • If you have a manual brake controller, “lead” with trailer brakes, if possible
  • If your trailer starts to sway, gradually apply the brake pedal. If your vehicle features a trailer brake controller, the sliding lever should be used only for manual activation of the trailer brakes when adjusting the gain. Misuse such as application during trailer sway could cause instability of the trailer and tow vehicle
Towing on hills
  • Downshifting the transmission can help when braking on downgrades and provides added power for climbing hills
Parking on a slope
Whenever possible, vehicles with trailers should not be parked on a grade. If it is unavoidable, however, here’s how to place blocks or wheel chocks under the trailer’s wheels:
  1. Apply the brake pedal and hold
  2. Have another person place the wheel chocks under the trailer wheels on the downgrade side
  3. Once the wheel chocks are in place, release the brake pedal, making sure that the chocks will hold the vehicle and trailer
  4. Apply the vehicle’s parking brake
  5. Shift the vehicle itself into P (Park) and make sure it is latched there. If your vehicle has a manual transmission, put the gearshift lever in R (Reverse). 
NOTE: If your vehicle has four-wheel drive, make sure the transfer case is not in N (Neutral)
Unparking from a slope
  • Apply the brake pedal and hold
  • Start the engine in P (Park), or if your vehicle has a manual transmission, start it in N (Neutral)
  • Shift the transmission into gear and release the parking brake
  • Release the brake pedal and move the vehicle uphill to free the wheel chocks
  • Apply the brake pedal and hold while another person retrieves the chocks
Accelerating and passing
  • The added weight of the trailer can dramatically decrease the acceleration of the towing vehicle – exercise caution before attempting to merge into traffic or pass another vehicle
  • If you must pass a slower vehicle, be sure to allow extra distance for your trailer to clear it safely before pulling in front
  • Signal and pass on level terrain with plenty of clearance
  • If necessary, downshift for improved acceleration
Driving with an automatic overdrive transmission
If your vehicle has an automatic overdrive transmission, towing may cause excessive shifting between overdrive and the next lower gear – especially in hilly areas. If this occurs, we recommend locking out the overdrive gear. This helps eliminate the shifting and can provide steadier performance (see your Owner Guide for more information). If you do not notice excessive shifting, use the overdrive gear to optimize fuel economy.

Driving with speed control
When driving uphill with a heavy load, significant speed drops may occur. A drop of more than 8 mph to 14 mph will cancel the cruise control on most vehicles. If this happens, temporarily resume manual control through the vehicle’s accelerator pedal until the terrain levels off.

Tire pressure
Proper tire inflation is even more important when towing a trailer. Check the proper tire inflation for your vehicle and the trailer, and make sure they are not under- or overinflated.

High-altitude operation
Gasoline engines lose power at a rate of 3% to 4% per 1,000 feet of elevation, so keep in mind that your towing capacity will be reduced in higher elevations and plan accordingly.

Towing & Hauling

On-the-road trailer checklist

Stop every 50 miles or so in a protected location to double-check:
  • Trailer hitch attachment
  • Lights and electrical connections
  • Trailer wheel lug nuts for tightness
  • Engine oil – trailers make your engine work harder
MOTORCRAFT® TESTED TOUGH® PLUS BATTERIES $89.95 MSRP.
MOTORCRAFT® TESTED TOUGH® PLUS BATTERIES $89.95 MSRP.
With 84-month warranty.
Expires 6/30/2013
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