Ecustomhitch.com Announces Top Safety Towing Tips
Top Tips for Towing Your Trailer Safely
Naples, FL, November 22, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Perform a towing safety inspection before each trip. Make sure that you:
1. Check that the ball and trailer coupler are the same size (1 7/8”, 2”, or 2 5/16”)
2. Check that the balance of the load is not too heavy on the tongue of the trailer. (the front) If the center of gravity is too far forward onto the trailer this could cause whip lashing. This is when the trailer has put too much weight on the back of your vehicle and affects your steering and braking.
3. Attach the trailer to the vehicle
4. Make sure that the hitch lock is unlocked before lowering the trailer onto the ball.
• Once the tongue of the trailer is on the ball, lock it in place.
• Place a bolt or padlock through the ball lock mechanism to prevent it from accidentally opening.
• Attach the safety chains to the hooks near the vehicle hitch or the vehicle frame; be sure there is enough slack in the chains but not so much that they drag on the ground. Safety chains are a requirement and should be crossed under the tongue of the trailer so that the tongue will not drop to the road if it becomes separated from the hitch.
• Using the tongue jack, try to raise the tongue off of the ball. If you are able to do this, the ball and tongue sizes do not match, or the ball is not locked properly. In this case, replace the ball with the correct size and try again.
• Finish raising the tongue jack to give maximum clearance.
• Attach the lights with the wiring harness.
5. Accelerate and brake slowly. Give yourself extra space while driving as if you are driving on ice or snow. It takes a longer distance to stop with a loaded trailer.
6. Secure your load! Just because you have loaded your trailer with harmless tree clippings does not mean that you do not need to secure it. You are responsible for anything that flies out of your trailer and causes damage.
Equipment Guide
Receiver: Hitch platform fitted to the tow vehicle.
Ball Mount: A removable steel component that fits into the receiver. The hitch ball and spring bars (only on load distributing hitches) are attached to it.
Sway Control: A device designed to lessen the pivoting motion between tow vehicle and trailer when a ball-type hitch is used.
Coupler: The ball socket at the front of the trailer A-frame that receives the hitch ball.
Spring Bars: Load-leveling bars used to distribute hitch weight among all axles of tow vehicle and trailer in a load distributing ball-type hitch.
Ecustomhitch.com are experts in towing and have been around for over 20 years. They can be contacted through their website at www.ecustomhitch.com or call them directly on 1-800-966-5905.
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1. Check that the ball and trailer coupler are the same size (1 7/8”, 2”, or 2 5/16”)
2. Check that the balance of the load is not too heavy on the tongue of the trailer. (the front) If the center of gravity is too far forward onto the trailer this could cause whip lashing. This is when the trailer has put too much weight on the back of your vehicle and affects your steering and braking.
3. Attach the trailer to the vehicle
4. Make sure that the hitch lock is unlocked before lowering the trailer onto the ball.
• Once the tongue of the trailer is on the ball, lock it in place.
• Place a bolt or padlock through the ball lock mechanism to prevent it from accidentally opening.
• Attach the safety chains to the hooks near the vehicle hitch or the vehicle frame; be sure there is enough slack in the chains but not so much that they drag on the ground. Safety chains are a requirement and should be crossed under the tongue of the trailer so that the tongue will not drop to the road if it becomes separated from the hitch.
• Using the tongue jack, try to raise the tongue off of the ball. If you are able to do this, the ball and tongue sizes do not match, or the ball is not locked properly. In this case, replace the ball with the correct size and try again.
• Finish raising the tongue jack to give maximum clearance.
• Attach the lights with the wiring harness.
5. Accelerate and brake slowly. Give yourself extra space while driving as if you are driving on ice or snow. It takes a longer distance to stop with a loaded trailer.
6. Secure your load! Just because you have loaded your trailer with harmless tree clippings does not mean that you do not need to secure it. You are responsible for anything that flies out of your trailer and causes damage.
Equipment Guide
Receiver: Hitch platform fitted to the tow vehicle.
Ball Mount: A removable steel component that fits into the receiver. The hitch ball and spring bars (only on load distributing hitches) are attached to it.
Sway Control: A device designed to lessen the pivoting motion between tow vehicle and trailer when a ball-type hitch is used.
Coupler: The ball socket at the front of the trailer A-frame that receives the hitch ball.
Spring Bars: Load-leveling bars used to distribute hitch weight among all axles of tow vehicle and trailer in a load distributing ball-type hitch.
Ecustomhitch.com are experts in towing and have been around for over 20 years. They can be contacted through their website at www.ecustomhitch.com or call them directly on 1-800-966-5905.
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ecustomhitch.com
Dawn Rain
800-966-5905
www.ecustomhitch.com
Dawn Rain
800-966-5905
www.ecustomhitch.com
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