User Guide

If
You
Do
Decide
To
Pull
A
Trailer
If
you
do, here are some important points:
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There are many different laws, including speed limit
restrictions, having to
do
with trailering. Make sure
your rig will be legal, not only where you live but
also where you’ll be driving.
A
good source for this
information
can
be state or provincial police.
Consider using
a
sway control if your trailer will
weigh less than
the
capacity stamped on your step
bumper. You should always use a sway control
if
your trailer will weigh more than
the
capacity
stamped
on
your step bumper. You can
ask
a
hitch
dealer about sway controls.
Don’t tow a trailer at all during the first
500
miles
(800
km)
your new vehicle is driven. Your engine,
axle or other parts could be damaged.
Then, during the first
500
miles
(800
km) that you
tow
a
trailer, don’t drive over
50
mph
(80
kdh) and
don’t make starts at
full
throttle. This helps your
engine and other parts
of
your vehicle wear in at the
heavier loads.
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If
you have
an
automatic transmission, you can tow
in OVERDRIVE
(a).
You
may want to
shift
the
transmission to
THIRD
(3)
or, if necessary,
a
lower
gear selection if the transmission shifts too often
(e.g., under heavy loads and/or
hilly
conditions). If
you have
a
manual transmission and you are towing
a trailer, it’s better not to use
FIFTH
(5)
gear. Just
drive
in
FOURTH
(4)
gear (or, as you need to,
a
lower gear).
Three important considerations have
to
do with weight:
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the weight
of
the trailer,
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the weight of the trailer tongue
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and the weight
on
your
vehicle’s tires.
Weigl-
-
3e
Trailer
How heavy can
a
trailer safely be?
It depends
on how you plan
to
use your rig. For
example, speed, altitude, road grades, outside
temperature and how much your vehicle is used to
pull
a
trailer are all important. And,
it
can
also depend
on
any
special equipment that you have
on
your vehicle.
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