Towing a truck can be a little tricky if you don’t know what you’re doing. Reading and studying the right skills and knowledge of proper towing can help you a ton. Traffic is sometimes very busy and if your towing in Jacksonville, then things might get tough. It’s a lot easier if you are just towing a small load, but towing a truck requires expertise.
Now, if you are new in towing, then it will be a good idea to be aware and know more about the basics of towing a truck. So, we have a few guidelines to follow that may help you towing in Jacksonville.
Weight
Check your towing vehicle or truck’s rating. It is usually found in the manual. You can find figures that contain information about your GCWR or the Gross Combined Weight Rating. The GCWR is actually the overall weight of your towing vehicle, the people on it and the loaded trailer or truck. You must also check your GVWR or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating. This refers to the weight that your towing vehicle can hold less the weight of the curb. So, look at the sticker on the vehicle’s door. Consider your Tongue Weight, which determines the weight of the trailer that the hitch can handle. Right tongue weight is needed to avoid swaying of the trailer and for the towing vehicle’s ease in steering.
Hitch
Use the correct size of the ball for your trailer hitch. Do not use force in latching the trailer. Just do it smoothly. This will help to avoid the trailer from popping off. Hook a safety chain making an X pattern. This will help you keep the towing vehicle and the trailer not to separate just in case the hitch breaks.
Brake
When towing a truck, the brake is very important. It could have been better if you are using an electronic brake, so that you can easily control the trailer brake.
Driving
Towing a truck is not the same with simply driving a car without anything to pull. Here, you have to be more cautious. Make sure that you have ample space for any type of transportation in front your way because you need to exert more time and effort when braking. Especially when you are making a turn or passing through curves, distance is needed.
Reverse
Be very careful backing up. It is not easy to back up any kind of trailer. So, if possible, avoid situations, where you need to back up. Learn to spot places that you can park at that are ether on the side of the road where you can just pull over and stop, and then when you’re ready to go again you can just pull away without backing up with a trailer, or places or parking lots will have long parking spaces that you can pull through, meaning you won’t have to back up when you leave. If you absolutely have to back up just go very slow and watch where your trailer is going. And GOAL meaning “Get Out And Look” every 2 feet or so walk behind the trailer to make sure you’re not hitting anything.