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I'm the kind of person that won't do anything until I've researched it to death. I figured I'd share the massive amount of info and advice I've picked up in all of my research on towing. Please chime in with any additional tips or better ways to do things...
Know your tow vehicle
Before you ever attempt to tow, you need to know your tow vehicle and its capabilities. Truck makers in particular love to throw towing capacity around as an advertising number, but that number alone doesn?t tell the whole truth! To really understand what you can tow safely, you need to know a few things:
1. Base Weight - This is how much your vehicle weighs before you start loading it up
2. Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) - This is the maximum amount your tow vehicle can weigh, including cargo, passengers, and trailer tongue weight, safely.
3. Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) - This is the maximum amount your tow vehicle and trailer can weigh, including fuel, cargo, and passengers, safely.
4. Hitch Class - There are 5 trailer hitch classes for bumper pull, each has its own maximum weight ratings (shown below as gross/tongue). More on Weight Carrying vs. Weight Distributing later:
1. Class I: 2,000/200
2. Class II: 3,500/300
3. Class III Weight Carrying: 6,000/600
4. Class III Weight Distributing: 10,000/1,000
5. Class IV Weight Carrying: 10,000/1,000
6. Class IV Weight Distributing: 14,000/1,400
7. Class V Weight Carrying: 12,000/1,200
8. Class V Weight Distributing: 17,000/1,700
Oh, and if you have a tow ball on your bumper, treat it as a Class I hitch. Do NOT try to trailer a Jeep with a bumper-mounted tow ball, you will regret it if you do!
Base Weight, GVWR, and GCWR on newer vehicles can be found by looking up the SAE J2807 compliant towing charts. Most manufacturers provide this information for recent model tow-capable vehicles. Older trucks will use other standards, but you should still be able to find the info with a quick Google search.
To determine how much you can safely tow with your vehicle, first determine how much it will weigh by itself. Add up the Base Weight, your passengers, and your cargo, then add a 10% safety margin, because we?re probably guessing at passenger and cargo weights. Here?s an example using a 2016 Ram 1500 Standard Cab 4x2 with the 6?4? box and a 5.7L Hemi:
Base Weight: 4762
Passengers: 2 @ 200lbs each
Camping Gear and Tools: 200 lbs
Total Weight: 5362 + 10% safety margin = 5898
Next you need to find out how much trailer weight and how much tongue weight your vehicle can handle. This is as simple as subtracting the Total Weight + 10% safety margin from the GVWR to get the maximum tongue weight and then subtracting the Total Weight + 10% safety margin from the GCWR to get the maximum trailer weight:
6350(GVWR) - 5898 = 452 - maximum tongue weight
14350(GCWR) - 5898 = 8452 - maximum trailer weight
This same truck is advertised to have a towing capacity of 9,160 pounds, but that is based on an assumption of two passengers weighing a paltry 150 pounds each and no cargo!
Once you know your maximum safe tongue and trailer weights, check out your hitch. Each hitch class has a maximum trailer and tongue weight rating. As long your hitch is rated higher than your maximum tongue and trailer weights, it?s good to go. If your hitch is rated lower, though, you will need to use the hitch?s limitations as your numbers. So with our truck above, if you?re running a Class III weight carrying hitch, your new numbers are:
Tongue Weight: 452 lbs (because this is less than the hitch can handle)
Trailer Weight: 6,000 lbs (because this is the most the hitch can handle, even though the truck can handle more)
Weight Distributing hitches in each class have a higher capacity and provide added safety, but they can?t make your tow vehicle pull more than it?s capable of!
Once you know what your tow vehicle can handle, you need to know what kind of equipment you have, or might need, to make towing safer. The two most important items for towing a Jeep are:
* Towing mirrors - You need to be able to see the trailer and the car behind it. Towing mirrors stick out further than your standard mirrors and give you more visibility. They are standard equipment on most late model 3/4 ton and larger pickups and can be added to other vehicles, either as OEM optional equipment or aftermarket items
* Trailer brake controller - You should not try to trailer a Jeep without trailer brakes on at least one axle. That means your tow vehicle needs a trailer brake controller. Again, most late model 3/4 ton and larger trucks have them, and many 1/2 ton trucks have them these days, but there are plenty of aftermarket options out there if you don?t have one
Finally, make sure the trailer wiring connector on your tow vehicle includes all of the circuits you need (usually a 7 way, RV style connector) and is compatible with your trailer.
Know your trailer
Just like your tow vehicle, you need to know what your trailer is capable of. That means you need to know three numbers:
1. Base Weight
2. GVWR
3. Hitch Capacity (should always be equal to or greater than the GVWR!)
Your trailer?s capacity is its GVWR minus its Base Weight. Using my trailer as an example, it has a 7,000 pound GVWR and weighs about 2,100 pounds empty. That means I can safely load up about 5,900 pounds on my trailer including my Jeep, anything in my Jeep, and any tools and other cargo that get loaded on the trailer.
Trailers are vehicles and just like any other vehicle they require maintenance. At least once every 2-3 years or 3,000-5,000 miles, you should inspect the brakes and re-pack the wheel bearings with high quality grease. Take this opportunity to inspect everything on the trailer, including all of the wiring, lighting, etc. and replace or repair anything that has worn out.
You?ll also need to know the hitch ball size required by your trailer?s coupler. This will be stamped on the coupler. Get a hitch ball for your tow vehicle that matches exactly. Even 1/8th of an inch off is not acceptable and will result in unsafe towing!
Know your Jeep
To safely load and balance your trailer, you need to know how much weight you?re putting on it. Load your Jeep up with all of the camping gear, tools, and spare parts that you would normally carry with you on a wheeling trip, then take it to a scale and weigh it. It?s a good idea to add a 5-10% safety margin to this number when making capacity decisions, but you want to be as accurate as you can when it comes to weight distribution
Know your gear
All of the additional stuff (tools, spares, etc.) that you load on your trailer or the in your tow rig counts as well. Make sure you?re aware of about how much that stuff weighs.
Hitching Up & Loading
Now that you know how much your tow vehicle and trailer can handle and you?ve confirmed that you?re within safe limits, you?re ready to hitch up and load your trailer.
But first, you need to be sure your trailer will be level while you?re towing. To accomplish this, you use a drawbar that either raises or lowers the level of your trailer?s tongue relative to your vehicle. Finding out the amount of drop (or lift, in really rare cases) you will need is as simple as taking two measurements:
* Distance from the bottom of your tow vehicle?s hitch receiver to the ground (when parked on flat, level ground)
* Distance from the bottom of the trailer coupler to the ground with the trailer sitting level on flat, level ground
Subtract the second number for the first and that will tell you how much drop you need.
With the correct drawbar and tow ball installed, you?re ready to hook up the trailer. Lower the trailer?s coupler onto the ball carefully and make sure it is seated down all the way before latching it. Different couplers latch different ways, so make sure you know how to latch yours securely. Use a cotter pin or lock to secure the latch so it doesn?t come loose while you?re driving!
Next, hook up the safety chains. Don?t tow without them! If they are mounted to the same point on the trailer, simply hook one up on each side of the tow vehicle?s hitch. If they are mounted to the trailer separately, it is a good idea to cross them under the coupler when you hook them up. This will create a ?cradle? to catch the trailer if it comes unhooked from the hitch. When you hook up the chains, make the open end of the hooks face towards the back of the vehicle. This will reduce the chance of them shaking loose while driving.
Finally, connect the wiring. Make sure you have a solid connection and leave enough room for the wire to move, but not so much that it drags on the ground or gets caught on something.
Now you?re ready to load your Jeep and gear onto the trailer. This is as simple as attaching the ramps in the right place and driving up onto the trailer, but observe these safety tips:
* No passengers in the Jeep or tow vehicle while you?re loading. If something goes wrong you don't want the collateral damage to involve someone getting hurt
* NEVER try to load your trailer before it?s fully hitched up to your tow vehicle
* If possible, have a spotter to help you, but make sure he or she stands a safe distance from the action
* Proceed slowly and carefully!
* Put the Jeep in gear or Park and set the e-brake once you?re in position, then turn off the ignition and remove the keys
Weight Distribution
Distributing the weight of a trailer properly is critically important for safe towing. While side-to-side balance is important, when towing a Jeep it usually happens on its own, and it has less impact than front-to-back balance.
A properly distributed load will put approximately 10-15% of the trailer?s total loaded weight on the tongue. So, if your trailer?s total weight is 6,000 pounds you should have a tongue weight of about 600-900 pounds. This can vary a little bit and isn?t a hard target, but it?s a good range to shoot for.
Keep your tow vehicle?s capabilities in mind here! In the example above we determined that the truck could handle a tongue weight of 452 pounds. That means that even though the truck technically can pull an 8,452 pound trailer you are actually limited to 4,520 pounds by the tongue weight.
Too much weight on the tongue and you?ll lose steering control in your tow vehicle. Too little weight on the tongue and the trailer will tend to sway. Getting the right balance is key to stability and control.
If you are light on tongue weight capacity at the tow vehicle, a Weight Distributing hitch can help, but only by a little bit. etrailer.com has a great article on Weight Distributing hitches here: http://www.etrailer.com/faq-weightdistribution.aspx. It?s also a good idea to consider a Weight Distributing hitch if your loaded trailer weighs more than 50% of the total weight of your tow vehicle.
There are a few ways to figure out your tongue weight. The easiest, but most expensive, that I?ve found is the WeighSafe trailer hitch. It has a scale built right into it so you can check the tongue weight each time you load up and adjust on the fly for variations in how you distribute your load. I have one of these and it?s an awesome little piece of kit, but it was almost $300! Probably not worth it if you already have a drawbar and trailer ball.
The second easiest, but still fairly pricey option is a trailer tongue weight scale. These go for about $150 and work with your existing drawbar and trailer ball or can be used on the ground with the trailer jack.
If you don?t want to spend that much you can rig up a bathroom scale to do the trick. Check out this link for instructions: http://hildstrom.com/projects/tonguescale/
Finally, you can use scales at a scrap yard or truck stop to do it, but it?s time consuming. Get your trailer loaded up and as close to balanced as you can do by sight (pull the Jeep as far forward as you can without making the back of the tow vehicle lower than the front). Drive slowly and carefully to the scales. Drive onto the scales with only the wheels of your tow vehicle and note the number. Then, back up, disconnect the trailer, and pull back onto the scales and note that number. Subtract the second from the first and that?s your tongue weight. Adjust your Jeep?s position on the trailer and repeat until you?re in that 10-15%-ish range. See? Time consuming.
Tying Down
Once you?ve got the Jeep in the right place on the trailer, you?re ready to tie it down. Rather than an essay here on the topic, I?ll refer you to this great video from Mac?s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=btRWr3OO-hs. Always make sure you leave enough slack to get two wraps around the ratchet (explained in the video) so you have a secure load. You need four tie-downs. Not two. Not three. Four, one for each corner of the vehicle. They should be connected to solidly attached parts of the Jeep (e.g. around the axles with axle straps). They should connect to tie-down points on the trailer that are similarly rated to the tie-downs themselves for working load limits and breaking strength. The last thing you want is for your Jeep to decide halfway through the drive that it wants off.
After you drive for a bit (20 miles or so), you're going to want to pull over and double-check your straps and make sure they?re still tight. They may need one or two more cranks on the ratchet once they?ve settled in a bit.
The Walkaround
Ready to go, right? NOPE! Don?t go anywhere until you?ve done a walkaround. Ideally you?ll have an assistant for this:
1. Check all lighting functions, make sure both turn signals, parking lights, and brake lights work properly and are visible in the locations required by law
2. Double-check your coupler, make sure it is latched with a cotter pin to secure it
3. Check your safety chains and make sure they are hooked up properly
4. Double-check all tie downs, make sure there are two wraps around each ratchet and that there is sufficient tension on each tie down to prevent the Jeep from moving
5. Make sure the Jeep is closed up tightly and the soft top, if installed, is properly secured. If it comes loose you won?t notice it flapping around from inside your tow vehicle like you would if you were driving the Jeep.
6. Make sure all other cargo on the trailer and your tow vehicle is properly secured
7. If applicable, extend your tow mirrors and confirm (using an assistant to stand in various places behind/next to the trailer) that you can see properly out of them
8. Check the inflation of all of the tires on the tow vehicle and trailer. Incorrect inflation can lead to various problems, including trailer sway and even tire blowouts!
Setting Your Brake Controller
The final step before you get going is to calibrate your trailer brake controller. The best way to do this is to follow the calibration instructions in the owner's manual for your controller. The procedure can vary slightly from one manufacturer to the next, but here is the most common method I've found:
1. Set the trailer gain to 5 (or 50%)
2. Find an empty, straight, dry stretch of road and accelerate to 20mph
3. Slowly, but deliberately and fully apply only the trailer brakes using the manual lever on the controller
4. If the brakes lock up (squealing tires), reduce the gain by one setting and try again. If the wheels don't lock up, increase the gain by one setting and try again. You're aiming for the sweet spot just below where the brakes lock up.
It?s a good idea to do this each time you tow. The required gain can fluctuate based on load sizes and wear and tear on the brake magnets. You should definitely do the calibration any time the characteristics of what you're towing changes significantly (different vehicle in tow, large changes to the amount of other cargo, etc.)
While you?re driving
Now you?re ready to go! If you have followed the steps above to prepare to tow, then it should be a safe, comfortable experience. Still, there are a few things to keep in mind while you?re driving:
* Your vehicle is now a lot longer than you?re used to. Leave plenty of room when you change lanes.
* Take it slow. If you?re in such a hurry that you need to speed and make quick maneuvers, then you shouldn?t be towing!
* Take turns wide and watch the inside wheels of the trailer in the mirror as you turn to be sure you don?t clip curbs or light poles
* Allow for longer stopping distance. Even with brakes on the trailer, it will take longer to stop than you?re used to
* Allow more time for acceleration if you?re passing, and don?t try to pass on an incline or decline, only on level roads.
* If your tow vehicle has it, turn on Tow/Haul mode if you are having problems maintaining highway speeds
* On long declines, downshift and use engine braking to slow down rather than riding the brakes. You might also need to manually engage the trailer brakes some.
Backing up the trailer can be challenging, but it?s not impossible! Here?s one simple trick that makes it a lot easier. When you?re driving without a trailer behind you, the direction the top of your steering wheel goes is the direction your vehicle will go. When you have a trailer, it?s the opposite? so the trailer will go in the direction that the bottom of your steering wheel goes.
One last note? trailers can develop a sway from time to time for various reasons. If your trailer starts swaying behind you, don?t panic. Slowly apply the trailer brakes using the lever on the brake controller. If the sway continues, you may have a more serious problem and will need to pull over to diagnose it, but do so extremely slowly and carefully. Slamming on the tow vehicle?s brakes during a sway can make it worse or even cause an accident. Here?s a great article on causes of sway and how to avoid it: http://rvingwithmarkpolk.blogspot.co...way-windy.html
Know your tow vehicle
Before you ever attempt to tow, you need to know your tow vehicle and its capabilities. Truck makers in particular love to throw towing capacity around as an advertising number, but that number alone doesn?t tell the whole truth! To really understand what you can tow safely, you need to know a few things:
1. Base Weight - This is how much your vehicle weighs before you start loading it up
2. Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) - This is the maximum amount your tow vehicle can weigh, including cargo, passengers, and trailer tongue weight, safely.
3. Gross Combined Weight Rating (GCWR) - This is the maximum amount your tow vehicle and trailer can weigh, including fuel, cargo, and passengers, safely.
4. Hitch Class - There are 5 trailer hitch classes for bumper pull, each has its own maximum weight ratings (shown below as gross/tongue). More on Weight Carrying vs. Weight Distributing later:
1. Class I: 2,000/200
2. Class II: 3,500/300
3. Class III Weight Carrying: 6,000/600
4. Class III Weight Distributing: 10,000/1,000
5. Class IV Weight Carrying: 10,000/1,000
6. Class IV Weight Distributing: 14,000/1,400
7. Class V Weight Carrying: 12,000/1,200
8. Class V Weight Distributing: 17,000/1,700
Oh, and if you have a tow ball on your bumper, treat it as a Class I hitch. Do NOT try to trailer a Jeep with a bumper-mounted tow ball, you will regret it if you do!
Base Weight, GVWR, and GCWR on newer vehicles can be found by looking up the SAE J2807 compliant towing charts. Most manufacturers provide this information for recent model tow-capable vehicles. Older trucks will use other standards, but you should still be able to find the info with a quick Google search.
To determine how much you can safely tow with your vehicle, first determine how much it will weigh by itself. Add up the Base Weight, your passengers, and your cargo, then add a 10% safety margin, because we?re probably guessing at passenger and cargo weights. Here?s an example using a 2016 Ram 1500 Standard Cab 4x2 with the 6?4? box and a 5.7L Hemi:
Base Weight: 4762
Passengers: 2 @ 200lbs each
Camping Gear and Tools: 200 lbs
Total Weight: 5362 + 10% safety margin = 5898
Next you need to find out how much trailer weight and how much tongue weight your vehicle can handle. This is as simple as subtracting the Total Weight + 10% safety margin from the GVWR to get the maximum tongue weight and then subtracting the Total Weight + 10% safety margin from the GCWR to get the maximum trailer weight:
6350(GVWR) - 5898 = 452 - maximum tongue weight
14350(GCWR) - 5898 = 8452 - maximum trailer weight
This same truck is advertised to have a towing capacity of 9,160 pounds, but that is based on an assumption of two passengers weighing a paltry 150 pounds each and no cargo!
Once you know your maximum safe tongue and trailer weights, check out your hitch. Each hitch class has a maximum trailer and tongue weight rating. As long your hitch is rated higher than your maximum tongue and trailer weights, it?s good to go. If your hitch is rated lower, though, you will need to use the hitch?s limitations as your numbers. So with our truck above, if you?re running a Class III weight carrying hitch, your new numbers are:
Tongue Weight: 452 lbs (because this is less than the hitch can handle)
Trailer Weight: 6,000 lbs (because this is the most the hitch can handle, even though the truck can handle more)
Weight Distributing hitches in each class have a higher capacity and provide added safety, but they can?t make your tow vehicle pull more than it?s capable of!
Once you know what your tow vehicle can handle, you need to know what kind of equipment you have, or might need, to make towing safer. The two most important items for towing a Jeep are:
* Towing mirrors - You need to be able to see the trailer and the car behind it. Towing mirrors stick out further than your standard mirrors and give you more visibility. They are standard equipment on most late model 3/4 ton and larger pickups and can be added to other vehicles, either as OEM optional equipment or aftermarket items
* Trailer brake controller - You should not try to trailer a Jeep without trailer brakes on at least one axle. That means your tow vehicle needs a trailer brake controller. Again, most late model 3/4 ton and larger trucks have them, and many 1/2 ton trucks have them these days, but there are plenty of aftermarket options out there if you don?t have one
Finally, make sure the trailer wiring connector on your tow vehicle includes all of the circuits you need (usually a 7 way, RV style connector) and is compatible with your trailer.
Know your trailer
Just like your tow vehicle, you need to know what your trailer is capable of. That means you need to know three numbers:
1. Base Weight
2. GVWR
3. Hitch Capacity (should always be equal to or greater than the GVWR!)
Your trailer?s capacity is its GVWR minus its Base Weight. Using my trailer as an example, it has a 7,000 pound GVWR and weighs about 2,100 pounds empty. That means I can safely load up about 5,900 pounds on my trailer including my Jeep, anything in my Jeep, and any tools and other cargo that get loaded on the trailer.
Trailers are vehicles and just like any other vehicle they require maintenance. At least once every 2-3 years or 3,000-5,000 miles, you should inspect the brakes and re-pack the wheel bearings with high quality grease. Take this opportunity to inspect everything on the trailer, including all of the wiring, lighting, etc. and replace or repair anything that has worn out.
You?ll also need to know the hitch ball size required by your trailer?s coupler. This will be stamped on the coupler. Get a hitch ball for your tow vehicle that matches exactly. Even 1/8th of an inch off is not acceptable and will result in unsafe towing!
Know your Jeep
To safely load and balance your trailer, you need to know how much weight you?re putting on it. Load your Jeep up with all of the camping gear, tools, and spare parts that you would normally carry with you on a wheeling trip, then take it to a scale and weigh it. It?s a good idea to add a 5-10% safety margin to this number when making capacity decisions, but you want to be as accurate as you can when it comes to weight distribution
Know your gear
All of the additional stuff (tools, spares, etc.) that you load on your trailer or the in your tow rig counts as well. Make sure you?re aware of about how much that stuff weighs.
Hitching Up & Loading
Now that you know how much your tow vehicle and trailer can handle and you?ve confirmed that you?re within safe limits, you?re ready to hitch up and load your trailer.
But first, you need to be sure your trailer will be level while you?re towing. To accomplish this, you use a drawbar that either raises or lowers the level of your trailer?s tongue relative to your vehicle. Finding out the amount of drop (or lift, in really rare cases) you will need is as simple as taking two measurements:
* Distance from the bottom of your tow vehicle?s hitch receiver to the ground (when parked on flat, level ground)
* Distance from the bottom of the trailer coupler to the ground with the trailer sitting level on flat, level ground
Subtract the second number for the first and that will tell you how much drop you need.
With the correct drawbar and tow ball installed, you?re ready to hook up the trailer. Lower the trailer?s coupler onto the ball carefully and make sure it is seated down all the way before latching it. Different couplers latch different ways, so make sure you know how to latch yours securely. Use a cotter pin or lock to secure the latch so it doesn?t come loose while you?re driving!
Next, hook up the safety chains. Don?t tow without them! If they are mounted to the same point on the trailer, simply hook one up on each side of the tow vehicle?s hitch. If they are mounted to the trailer separately, it is a good idea to cross them under the coupler when you hook them up. This will create a ?cradle? to catch the trailer if it comes unhooked from the hitch. When you hook up the chains, make the open end of the hooks face towards the back of the vehicle. This will reduce the chance of them shaking loose while driving.
Finally, connect the wiring. Make sure you have a solid connection and leave enough room for the wire to move, but not so much that it drags on the ground or gets caught on something.
Now you?re ready to load your Jeep and gear onto the trailer. This is as simple as attaching the ramps in the right place and driving up onto the trailer, but observe these safety tips:
* No passengers in the Jeep or tow vehicle while you?re loading. If something goes wrong you don't want the collateral damage to involve someone getting hurt
* NEVER try to load your trailer before it?s fully hitched up to your tow vehicle
* If possible, have a spotter to help you, but make sure he or she stands a safe distance from the action
* Proceed slowly and carefully!
* Put the Jeep in gear or Park and set the e-brake once you?re in position, then turn off the ignition and remove the keys
Weight Distribution
Distributing the weight of a trailer properly is critically important for safe towing. While side-to-side balance is important, when towing a Jeep it usually happens on its own, and it has less impact than front-to-back balance.
A properly distributed load will put approximately 10-15% of the trailer?s total loaded weight on the tongue. So, if your trailer?s total weight is 6,000 pounds you should have a tongue weight of about 600-900 pounds. This can vary a little bit and isn?t a hard target, but it?s a good range to shoot for.
Keep your tow vehicle?s capabilities in mind here! In the example above we determined that the truck could handle a tongue weight of 452 pounds. That means that even though the truck technically can pull an 8,452 pound trailer you are actually limited to 4,520 pounds by the tongue weight.
Too much weight on the tongue and you?ll lose steering control in your tow vehicle. Too little weight on the tongue and the trailer will tend to sway. Getting the right balance is key to stability and control.
If you are light on tongue weight capacity at the tow vehicle, a Weight Distributing hitch can help, but only by a little bit. etrailer.com has a great article on Weight Distributing hitches here: http://www.etrailer.com/faq-weightdistribution.aspx. It?s also a good idea to consider a Weight Distributing hitch if your loaded trailer weighs more than 50% of the total weight of your tow vehicle.
There are a few ways to figure out your tongue weight. The easiest, but most expensive, that I?ve found is the WeighSafe trailer hitch. It has a scale built right into it so you can check the tongue weight each time you load up and adjust on the fly for variations in how you distribute your load. I have one of these and it?s an awesome little piece of kit, but it was almost $300! Probably not worth it if you already have a drawbar and trailer ball.
The second easiest, but still fairly pricey option is a trailer tongue weight scale. These go for about $150 and work with your existing drawbar and trailer ball or can be used on the ground with the trailer jack.
If you don?t want to spend that much you can rig up a bathroom scale to do the trick. Check out this link for instructions: http://hildstrom.com/projects/tonguescale/
Finally, you can use scales at a scrap yard or truck stop to do it, but it?s time consuming. Get your trailer loaded up and as close to balanced as you can do by sight (pull the Jeep as far forward as you can without making the back of the tow vehicle lower than the front). Drive slowly and carefully to the scales. Drive onto the scales with only the wheels of your tow vehicle and note the number. Then, back up, disconnect the trailer, and pull back onto the scales and note that number. Subtract the second from the first and that?s your tongue weight. Adjust your Jeep?s position on the trailer and repeat until you?re in that 10-15%-ish range. See? Time consuming.
Tying Down
Once you?ve got the Jeep in the right place on the trailer, you?re ready to tie it down. Rather than an essay here on the topic, I?ll refer you to this great video from Mac?s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...&v=btRWr3OO-hs. Always make sure you leave enough slack to get two wraps around the ratchet (explained in the video) so you have a secure load. You need four tie-downs. Not two. Not three. Four, one for each corner of the vehicle. They should be connected to solidly attached parts of the Jeep (e.g. around the axles with axle straps). They should connect to tie-down points on the trailer that are similarly rated to the tie-downs themselves for working load limits and breaking strength. The last thing you want is for your Jeep to decide halfway through the drive that it wants off.
After you drive for a bit (20 miles or so), you're going to want to pull over and double-check your straps and make sure they?re still tight. They may need one or two more cranks on the ratchet once they?ve settled in a bit.
The Walkaround
Ready to go, right? NOPE! Don?t go anywhere until you?ve done a walkaround. Ideally you?ll have an assistant for this:
1. Check all lighting functions, make sure both turn signals, parking lights, and brake lights work properly and are visible in the locations required by law
2. Double-check your coupler, make sure it is latched with a cotter pin to secure it
3. Check your safety chains and make sure they are hooked up properly
4. Double-check all tie downs, make sure there are two wraps around each ratchet and that there is sufficient tension on each tie down to prevent the Jeep from moving
5. Make sure the Jeep is closed up tightly and the soft top, if installed, is properly secured. If it comes loose you won?t notice it flapping around from inside your tow vehicle like you would if you were driving the Jeep.
6. Make sure all other cargo on the trailer and your tow vehicle is properly secured
7. If applicable, extend your tow mirrors and confirm (using an assistant to stand in various places behind/next to the trailer) that you can see properly out of them
8. Check the inflation of all of the tires on the tow vehicle and trailer. Incorrect inflation can lead to various problems, including trailer sway and even tire blowouts!
Setting Your Brake Controller
The final step before you get going is to calibrate your trailer brake controller. The best way to do this is to follow the calibration instructions in the owner's manual for your controller. The procedure can vary slightly from one manufacturer to the next, but here is the most common method I've found:
1. Set the trailer gain to 5 (or 50%)
2. Find an empty, straight, dry stretch of road and accelerate to 20mph
3. Slowly, but deliberately and fully apply only the trailer brakes using the manual lever on the controller
4. If the brakes lock up (squealing tires), reduce the gain by one setting and try again. If the wheels don't lock up, increase the gain by one setting and try again. You're aiming for the sweet spot just below where the brakes lock up.
It?s a good idea to do this each time you tow. The required gain can fluctuate based on load sizes and wear and tear on the brake magnets. You should definitely do the calibration any time the characteristics of what you're towing changes significantly (different vehicle in tow, large changes to the amount of other cargo, etc.)
While you?re driving
Now you?re ready to go! If you have followed the steps above to prepare to tow, then it should be a safe, comfortable experience. Still, there are a few things to keep in mind while you?re driving:
* Your vehicle is now a lot longer than you?re used to. Leave plenty of room when you change lanes.
* Take it slow. If you?re in such a hurry that you need to speed and make quick maneuvers, then you shouldn?t be towing!
* Take turns wide and watch the inside wheels of the trailer in the mirror as you turn to be sure you don?t clip curbs or light poles
* Allow for longer stopping distance. Even with brakes on the trailer, it will take longer to stop than you?re used to
* Allow more time for acceleration if you?re passing, and don?t try to pass on an incline or decline, only on level roads.
* If your tow vehicle has it, turn on Tow/Haul mode if you are having problems maintaining highway speeds
* On long declines, downshift and use engine braking to slow down rather than riding the brakes. You might also need to manually engage the trailer brakes some.
Backing up the trailer can be challenging, but it?s not impossible! Here?s one simple trick that makes it a lot easier. When you?re driving without a trailer behind you, the direction the top of your steering wheel goes is the direction your vehicle will go. When you have a trailer, it?s the opposite? so the trailer will go in the direction that the bottom of your steering wheel goes.
One last note? trailers can develop a sway from time to time for various reasons. If your trailer starts swaying behind you, don?t panic. Slowly apply the trailer brakes using the lever on the brake controller. If the sway continues, you may have a more serious problem and will need to pull over to diagnose it, but do so extremely slowly and carefully. Slamming on the tow vehicle?s brakes during a sway can make it worse or even cause an accident. Here?s a great article on causes of sway and how to avoid it: http://rvingwithmarkpolk.blogspot.co...way-windy.html
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