ca_avan_towing_safety_advice

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Aussies love caravanning. The weight of a loaded trailer will inevitably affect a vehicle's performance and you will notice that moving off needs more effort, slowing down and stopping takes a lot longer and bends need to be approached slowly and carefully. To steer the trailer, remember that you need to move the wheel in the opposite direction to that if you were reversing the car with no trailer.

Overtaking Overtaking other vehicles, particularly long trucks or other caravans, must be done with extreme caution. Also check the hitch receiver, trailer hitch and hitch ball to ensure they all meet or exceed the weight that is going to be towed. Gross Combined Weight Rating, or GCWR, represents the total maximum weight that a loaded [[https://eduardokwkt302.hatenablog.com/entry/2019/12/24/121715|towing]] vehicle can operate with its loaded trailer.

Application of the trailer brake usually tends to help keep the vehicles aligned, while heavy braking with the tow vehicle may reduce trailer stability. Trailer sway is one of the special dangers of towing a travel trailer. Small camper trailer owners recommend pushing most of the cargo weight to the front.

Refer to your tow car manufacturer's manual for the kerb weight. Be careful when overtaking - remember that the overall length of your vehicle is substantially longer with a trailer on behind, and your acceleration will be reduced, especially if towing a large tandem axled trailer.

When turning a corner, the caravan will take a shorter path around the corner than the vehicle, therefore ‘cutting in'. When starting out with a new load on a trailer, make sure it will not sway by gradually increasing your speed in intervals until highway speed is reached.

It assumes a towing vehicle with mandatory options, no cargo and the driver only (150 lbs.). The weight of additional optional equipment, passengers, cargo and hitch must be deducted from this weight. Make sure you connect your trailer brakes, as many states now require them.

If your camper or trailer is equipped with equalizer and stabilizer hitching, hook it up. By centering the bulk of your cargo over the front axle, you're ensuring the hitch stays connected and that driving is easier to accomplish without weight sliding around.
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