Gettin' Hitched: A Beginner's Guide to Towing Basics
Moving to a new home? Buying a boat/jetski? Starting a contracting business? Kids starting/finishing college? These are all real-world examples of the advantages of having a vehicle with towing capabilities. The truth is most people will encounter the need to tow some form of trailer in their lifetime. It's a lot more convenient when you can do this on your own instead of paying someone else to do it. While setting up and operating a trailer seems like a daunting task in reality anyone can safely and effectively do it, and using almost any production vehicle on the market today! In this article I will discuss the basics of trailer towing including equipment needed, proper loading and hauling practices, and safe operation techniques.
1. Equipment Basics
In today's fast paced industrial world the need for efficient cargo hauling solutions has brought a vast number of different solutions to the automotive aftermarket. There are many variations on the basic concept of towing but for the purposes of this basic guide we will focus only on those designs employed most commonly in the world of light trucks and passenger vehicles. This will provide the majority of people with information relevant to their own needs. To begin with I will briefly define some important terms relating to towing and hauling in general.
Trailer - A vehicle lacking any form of self-propulsion that is designed to be pulled behind a self-propelled vehicle in order to transport cargo that is too large for a conventional vehicle.
Trailer Tongue - An assembly mounted to and extended from the front of a trailer that provides the attachment point for the vehicle and trailer hitch. Most commonly, the tongue of a trailer will exist in a ball and socket type design.
Tongue Jack - A lifting device attached to the trailer tongue that allows the tongue to be lifted from and lowered onto the ball and mount assembly. Some trailers can be manipulated by hand when empty but a tongue jack is highly recommended for ease of use and safety, especially when a trailer is loaded with cargo.
Trailer/Receiver Hitch - An assembly mounted to the chassis in the rear of a vehicle to provide an attachment point for and support and load distribution of a trailer. Depending on the weight rating of the hitch it will have a receiver tube that is either 1 1/4" or 2" in diameter.
Ball/Mount - The adapter that is mounted in the receiver tube of a trailer hitch to provide the correct size ball for a specific trailer. Mounts come in a wide variety of dimensions to accomodate different tow vehicle applications. Not only is the size of the tube important, the vertical drop height from the receiver to the actual ball location will allow vehicles of different ride heightsBall sizes include 1 7/8", 2", and 2 5/16". Each ball size corresponds to only one tongue size.
Gross Trailer Weight Rating (GTWR) - The total weight of a trailer that is fully loaded including the trailer itself and the cargo. Different vehicles are capable of towing different loads and trailer hitches are manufactured accordingly with varying weight ratings. It is important that the capacities represented by these ratings are followed closely to avoid property damage and/or injury. In the United States the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has defined four main classes of trailer hitches based on the load they are capable of handling.
Class I - 2000 lbs. GTWR
Class II - 3500 lbs. GTWR
Class III - 5000 lbs. GTWR
Class IV - 10,000 lbs. GTWR
Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) - The total weight of a towing vehicle including fuel, cargo, passengers, and the trailer tongue weight. This rating is usually located on the driver's door jamb. If only the vehicles 'curb weight' is listed the GVWR can be found by adding to it the weight of any fuel, passengers, cargo and the trailer's tongue weight.
Trailer Tongue Weight - The static weight of the trailer at the tongue. Because part of the cargo weight on the trailer is supported by the axle(s) the weight present at the tongue is significantly less. Usually if a trailer is loaded properly and evenly the tongue weight will be 10-15% of the Gross Trailer Weight Rating (GTWR).
Trailer Wiring - Almost all trailers on the road today are equipped with a minimal array of lighting for safe operation day and night. Four basic lighting functions are required on all trailers, and some trailers require wiring for additional functions. These are brake lights, parking/running lights, left turn signals, and right turn signals. Most trailers use lights that combine the functions of the brake lights and turn signals to be more efficient. When the brakes are applied the lights illuminate with a steady glow. When one of the turn signals is activated with the brake still applied the corresponding light on the trailer will begin to flash while the other stays on steady.
Trailer Brakes - Due to the extra work a towing vehicle has to do to make a trailer accelerate and in turn decelerate and stop many larger trailers are equipped with their own independent braking system. This braking system supplements the brakes of the towing vehicle and reduces the amount of stress it undergoes during deceleration. While these brakes can be activated by the brake light signal from the trailer wiring it can also be controlled using a stand-alone controller mounted in the vehicle, giving the driver the opportunity to apply the trailer brakes at varying force independently of the towing vehicles brakes.
Trailer Brake Controller - An electronic module used to control the functions of a supplemental trailer brake system. Usually fairly small in size and mounted within reach of the driver of a tow vehicle, this module allows the driver to activate the trailer brakes independently of the vehicles braking system.
2. Getting Started
The first step in preparing to tow a trailer or camper is to outfit your vehicle with a receiver hitch. It is beneficial to you to do some research on your trailer, especially if you have not yet purchased it. While trailer hitches for some vehicles such as trucks and SUVs will have a range of different classes and weight ratings (GTWR), most cars and CUVs cannot be equipped with hitches that are capable of attaching to large or heavy trailers to avoid overstressing the tow vehicle.
When given an option between trailer hitches of different classes it is best to choose a hitch that meets and exceeds the weight ratings of your trailer.
Once you have selected the proper hitch for your application and needs have a professional perform the installation to ensure safety and proper funcionality. In addition to the receiver portion of your hitch you will also need a mount and ball. These two items come in a variety of sizes to accomodate different trailer sizes and different tow vehicle applications. Once the mount and ball are assembled as one this assembly is inserted into the receiver portion of the hitch and secured with a heavy duty deadbolt and locking cotterpin. This is the main point of attachment for your trailer. It is also the pivot point that allows the trailer to turn corners. It is very important that these parts be carefully selected and installed to ensure safe towing operation. The experts here at Film At Eleven, Inc. can assist you in every step of the process from ordering parts to installation as well as answering any questions you have along the way!