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Our guide to Revering and Towing
Reversing while towing a trailer can be a daunting task but like most things in
life practice makes perfect. Remember that to make a trailer turn in a particular
direction you have to make the back of the car turn in the opposite direction.
Lets say we want the trailer to turn in a particular direction. If you had hold
of the tow hook and where walking with the trailer pushing it backwards you would
push the back of the trailer in the opposite direction so that the front would
going the direction you desired. If you now think of the back of the towing car
you need to make the back of your car push the back of the trailer in the same.
You would turn the wheels of the car to the opposite direction that you wished
the trailer to take. When you reversed this would make the back of the car move
away from the direction you wished to reverse to but that in turn would turn the
trailer in the desired direction.
However as you continue to reverse the car would continue to increase its direction
away from the corner and therefore your trailer would continue in the opposite
direction until the side of your car would touch the side of your trailer. This
is called jackknifing and needs to be avoided. We need to take off the lock to
reduce this and then follow the trailer in reverse.
Max Towing Weights
When towing a trailer great care should be taken and more responsibility accepted.
Remember Safety first! Accidents involving trailers are much worse with greater
consequences than without a trailer. You vehicle is longer and heavier and all
your load is anchored to your vehicle at one small point. Like an airline pilot
you must regularly check the condition of your trailer and linkage to make sure
that you arrive safely and with everything that you had at the start of your journey.
Loading your trailer or caravan is critical to safe driving as is the knowledge
of your towing weights and capacity for your vehicle. Getting this wrong can cost
you dearly.
You can buy towing scales which measure the total weight of your towed load to
make sure that it doesn't exceed the capacity of your vehicle but equally important
is to make sure that your load is spread evenly.
The following was submitted to CLIC by Ian Willis in answer to an inquiry about
the 85% beginners towing rule. It was generally thought within CLIC, that Ian's
words helped to clarify the situation as regards to towing in Great Britain.
85% (or even 100%) rules are not "rules" but guidelines which have no substance
in law. They are designed to ensure that the outfit will be stable (all other
factors being equal). Exceeding this figure, whilst not illegal in itself, COULD
lead to prosecution if the driver was stopped because of (say) instability or
after an accident as there is a requirement on the driver to ensure the safety
of his vehicle in the Construction and Use Regulations.
Usually a manufacturer will quote a tow weight which is far greater than the mass
of the vehicle. Generally this is based on the
total train weight (car + caravan) which can be started on a 12% gradient. Where
this weight (or any other e.g. nose weight) is given as lower by the manufacturer
the user ignores it at his peril. Insurance could well be void after an accident
- worse, the illegal combination could cause the accident if the vehicle is unable
to handle it.
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