Safety Tips for Trailering Behind Your RV
Posted on: 28 April 2016
As long as you can practise trailering safety, towing a trailer behind your RV should not be difficult. Read through the following tips to acquaint yourself with how you can safely drag a trailer behind your RV.
Towing capacity
If you check on your vehicle owner's manual, you will find that your RV has a specified towing weight, meaning that it should not pull any load that exceeds that weight. Before hooking up a trailer to your RV, you should first check its weight on a weigh bridge. If you intend to load the trailer, you can check the weight of the load carried on the trailer separately and add it to that of the trailer itself to know the total weight of the loaded trailer.
It is advisable to ensure that the combined weight of the trailer and the load it is carrying is slightly less than the maximum towing weight limit of the tow vehicle. This way, your RV's engine won't be constantly running at near maximum level, thus reducing the risk of vehicle breakdown.
Securing
How firmly you secure the trailer to your RV counts a great deal when it comes to ensuring safety of the tow. This is a task that you can never afford to rush over because the implications can be disastrous. There are several types of tow hitches available on the market now to match the towing requirements of different vehicles, including your RV.
For your RV-trailer tow, you should use a load distribution tow hitch, which can ensure that both your RV and the trailer being towed are set up to a level position. As for the trailer latch, it should engage without any problems and you should use a pin to keep it latched.
On the road
Practising an extra level care, patience and alertness when towing a trailer behind your RV can go a long way in improving the safety of the tow. When negotiating a sharp corner, start turning the corner later than you might consider appropriate when you are not towing the trailer due to the additional length of the rig. Be patient with those driving at low speeds, especially when you are driving on two-lane roads. And, for drivers who seem to be in a rush, allow them enough space to overtake you.
More importantly, always maintain a safe distance behind other vehicles, so that you can easily respond to an emergency situation, e.g. when you have to suddenly step on the brake pedal to prevent an accident.
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