It’s easy to find yourself out of your depth when it comes to towing a trailer, caravan or camper behind your vehicle.
Knowing how to do it safely and with all the correct attachments will ensure you have a smooth trip and protects your vehicles
Canberra Towbar Fitters have put together 4 towing safety tips to help you prepare for your next round of travel to make sure you get there hassle free.
4 Towing Safety Tips
1. Know your weight
When it comes to towing safely, it’s important to know the weight of your vehicle, your towing weight, your load rating and whether you are able to tow in a safe manner. Read more in our recent blog Safe Towing Tips – Do you know your weight?
2. Do a check before leaving
Before every tow you should;
- Check your lights for proper function.
- Look for signs of wear on safety chains and D-shackles.
- Check tyres and tyre pressures as well as wheel bearings.
- If brakes are fitted to your trailer, caravan or camper, have these professionally serviced at regular intervals.
- Do a general walk around to check the chassis of your trailer, caravan and camper for any signs of wear.
3. Keep a wide berth and go slowly
There’s no hurry, it’s not a race. Take it easy, keep your distance and go as slow as you need to, within reason.
4. Know how to counter sway
Sway is the start of an accident so preventing your vehicle from getting into a sway before you leave on your trip is the best solution to avoid any trouble. To prevent unnecessary sway, make sure your load is evenly distributed and is not riding poorly on your vehicle. If your vehicle looks to be sitting too low at the rear and high at the front, a Weight Distribution Kit can assist in redistributing the weight evenly over the vehicles wheels. A sway/friction bar can also further assist in a smooth ride.
If your caravan or trailer starts to sway, stay calm and avoid braking. Using the manual control, gently apply the caravans electric brakes. Where conditions safely permit, continue at slow acceleration until the sway stops.
When the sway is corrected, slow down, pull over and check your load making sure it is evenly distributed within the trailer and that heavy items are placed over the axels.
Extra Safety Tips
- Make sure you know the towing capacity of your vehicle including the ball load.
- Ensure your towbar is within the limits of the capacity you want to tow.
- Do all safety checks before setting off on your trip.
- Spend some time to understand how to avoid sway.
- Anticipate your driving conditions and leave plenty of stopping room.
Canberra Towbar Fitters do a $99 Safety Check for standard box trailers. Contact us to find out more.
Travel Safely
For all the best advice on towing and travelling safely, get in touch with the team at Canberra Towbar Fitters.
Drop in and see us at Unit 2, 36 Hoskins Street, Mitchell, contact us via phone on (02) 6113 0549 or enquire online here.
At Canberra Towbar Fitters, we do more than just towbars, we can help you with anything you need to get out on the road, doing what you love.
Whether it’s a towbar, trailer, bike rack, roof racks, a roof pod box or even brake controllers, we can provide expert advice and installation.
We’ve been servicing all of Canberra for over 25 years and offer a free mobile service for select services, so we can come to you at home, work, or anywhere else you park your car.
Using quality products from trusted brands with impressive warranties including Hayman Reese, Trailboss, Cosmopolitian Towbars and TAG, you know you’re in safe hands with Canberra Towbar Fitters.
Contact our friendly team to today to discuss your towing needs on 02 6113 0549 or enquire online.
