Afternoon all,

i will be takin my car to powerspeed in kent on Thursday and will be towing the car on a 6' x 14' trailer. I'll be driving a VW Passat Estate as the lead car.

I have never towed before but have driven LWB vans (Masters and Lutons etc) in previous job.

What things do i need to take extra care of whilst towing a trialer. A few people have said the length (an obvious one) but what about things like turnind circles and pivot points on the trailer?

Any Advice welcome!

All the best

Alex

Braking, and theoretically larger gaps to allow you to brake gently (but some plonker will usually fill the gap you leave!). 3rd lane on roads (motorways etc) with 3 or more lanes is a big no-no!

stay out of the fast lane ;-)

If you get a wobble don't slam the brakes on, back of very very slowly or accelerate if you dare! Be careful when coming to the brow of hills, i had a trailer that always got a wobble on if i towed at its limit (about 65mph) as i went over the brow of a hill (and i don't mean a sharp brow)

Load the trailer so you are slightly nose heavy, but don't go mad, especially with a big estate as the overhang on the back acts as a bigger lever. My mondeo hated more than a small nose wait, but then again if it was too light its was horrible to tow at speed.

Glad to see you got yourself sorted with a trailer, Alex - good luck for the trip.

Advice.......can you get out with the full set up for a bit of practice before the long trip? It will show up whether you have to do anything with your mirrors / trailer wiring securing the load etc etc.

Also - don't forget to stow the jockey wheel properly / connect the lighting plug - even fully engage the towing hitch! I once did that with my little trailer - just 'sat it' on the towhook, moved the car 6 feet down the drive, - the hitch came off, but the breakaway chain - which was connected yanked the trailer into the back of the bumper - nice dent! what a muppet!

Regards, Steve.

As already said above,
Take more care of whats happening around you, and prejudge your braking/acceleration certainly at junctions/roundabouts
Dont forget that when pulling out of a junction, theres still a lot of your vehicle behind you, and your acceleration will be slower

Try and stay at a constant speed, and lane hopping is not really the way forward

When towing my caravan, i usually stay in the 55-60MPH region, and on cruise control, as thats the most efficent fo economey on my mondeo

also the faster you go, the problems will appear quicker

take your time

Steve

As already suggested. Try and get some 'practice' in somewhere first. I would aim for a nose weight of around 75kg (I use bathroom scales, they're close enough). And if it does start to snake, as said, just slow down GRADUALLY! or if you can just accelerate slightly (unless you're going downhill ), that will normally sort it out, and most of all.......DON'T PANIC!!

Dont forget the reduced speed limit. 60mph on dual carriageway/Motorway

thanks for all the advice guys,

my thinking was along the lines of if i put the car on backwards (rear end first) it would put the engine & gearbox over the axles of the trailer leaving the rear axle over the nose?

Good idea or bad?

you sorted a trailer then mate?

I towed with a Passat Estate a while ago (in the snow!) . It liked a bit of nose weight so I'd say put the car on forwards. I have an Audi S6 Estate now and that also likes noseweight.

Have a practice somewhere and don't be afraid to move the car forwards / backwards on the trailer to get the balance right.

Give yourself plenty of time too so that you don't have to rush!

And everything else said above!

Wyn

make sure that you keep an eye on what is overtaking you. If you have a large vehicle like a LWB van passing you at 70 plus, they cab unsettle your rig. Its not as bad with a car trailer but with a caravan its very noticeable. The trick is to anticipate and accelerate as the other vehicle is passing you. The acceleration is exerting a force on the trailer which means it won't snake as much.

Other than that, just leave plenty of space to stop and swing out a little more when negotiating junctions and roundabouts.

Good luck!

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Originally posted by Davey D
Dont forget the reduced speed limit. 60mph on dual carriageway/Motorway

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Originally posted by omega0684
thanks for all the advice guys,

my thinking was along the lines of if i put the car on backwards (rear end first) it would put the engine & gearbox over the axles of the trailer leaving the rear axle over the nose?

Good idea or bad?

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All the above advice is good but some more points:-

1) Your driving licence does cover you to tow doesn't it?

2) Do a lighting check before pulling away - brakes, indicators, side, fog, hazards.

3) After a couple of miles pull over and CHECK EVERYTHING - tie-downs, hitch, handbrake off, breakaway cable attached, car not moved on the bed, steadies up, jockey wheel up & locked. Never ceases to amaze me what shifts or wasn't tight enough when loaded up. Then when the road's clear practise some braking to feel what it's like when the trailer brakes kick in.

4) Reversing practise can't be beaten. However if you need to do it without practise ensure there's an automatic over-run on the hitch otherwise there'll be a tag to flip over to stop the brakes activating (old fashioned but still some around & don't forget to swing the tag away once finished reversing).
Golden rules of reversing :- TAKE IT SLOWLY it's more difficult to reverse a small trailer than a 40' artic due to the hitch/axle distance.
To reverse successfully - PUT ONE HAND AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STEERING WHEEL - MOVE YOUR HAND THE WAY YOU WANT THE TRAILER TO MOVE (probably THE BEST TOWING TIP EVER).

5) Allow a wider swing into tight corners - you should be able to keep an eye on the trailer wheels via your door mirrors to check you aren't clipping the kerbs.

It's easy once you get the hang of it.
Best of luck.
Cheers, Pewe

A short point if you are like me try stop places where you don't need to reverse anywhere!

some great advice there guys, i've done all the legal checks, licence, vehicle & trailer weights etc, i'll

Where are the best places to attach the straps too on the car?

I always treat it a bit like a mild version of driving on snow, keep everthing nice and smooth, no sudden sterering input/braking (unless it's an emergency obviously), think/plan ahead for junctions/roundabouts etc, don't forget your increased braking distance and most important........don't forget the trailer is there.

Not as bad as you might think, you'll be fine.

my 3 biggest points of failure are the load coming loose, having to brake too hard (in case it isnt tied down as well as you thought!) and snaking.

I snaked a car once, at about 60 as i passed an HGV. That was diabolically overweight though, but lesson learnt. You will sh*t yourself if it happens. If you dont steer it will fold you up, and if you try to correct it, you just feed more snaking into it.

If im honest you are unlikely to be able to comply with the law totally because the plate weight of the trailer would need to be quite specific to be legal. But, i never cared myself.

As for tying it down, its harder than it sounds without the proper straps. The handbrake will have no affect really, so its entirely down to your straps.

I think the best approach is to drive as smoothly as possible, with as much anticipation as you can muster.

Dont bother trying to reverse under pressure, if you havent practiced its just annoying. Easy in a car park, not so easy when you're blocking a road!

[Edited on 14/2/11 by JoelP]

If you are reversing and you think it is starting to go off course the best thing to do is stop, pull forwards slightly to straighten up and only then try reversing again. Far too often people (including myself many times!) go wrong and try to overcorrect and get themselves in an even bigger mucking fuddle!

The only other advice is when manoeuvring; don't be hurried. I used to be wary of holding people up but slow once is far quicker than going wrong and having to retry, especially if by then you have an audience!

50mm ratchet strapes, with a loop behind the wheel is the best way of strapping down. Very hard to expalin without pictures. Failing that ratchet strat front and rear tow eye to each corner of the trailer, this stops its sliding side ways

What he said!
When you tie a car on, only tie the unsprung bits.

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Originally posted by omega0684
some great advice there guys, i've done all the legal checks, licence, vehicle & trailer weights etc, i'll

Where are the best places to attach the straps too on the car?

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This is how I do mine.

Paul G


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everything that everybody else says, and then add more practice, try going to a really big carpark and reversing, and driving around the parking bays, watch how the trailer cuts the corners and how far it swings out. This might just save one of those oops moments.

hope that helps

ps 907's picture is perfect for tie down

I towed my Rush with my Focus with a twin axle BJ clubman trailer, and it towed very well, had the car on nose first and proper 4 wheel tie downs, also attached the winch strap to the front of the chassis through the nose.

Country lanes are one to watch as the trailer will probably be wider than your car so you need to watch the kerbs on the nearside and the white lines down the middle of the road as its easy to stick the trailer wheels over these.

Another thing to watch out for is after a while you'll relax into it then look in the rear view mirror and see this car right up your tail and Sh*t yourself that someones going to plough into you!

When i hooked up a caravan to our SAAB last year for the 1st time & towed, on a quiet sunday i took it to the industrial estate where i work, i then practised reversing into the parking spaces & turning round etc.

It was well worth a couple of hours of my time, when we got to the campsite, i pulled up, reversed the caravan onto the hardstanding we had booked & all went like clockwork, which was nice considering the amount of people around watching me with a cuppa in their hands !

I didnt find it too difficult driving with 1 tonne of caravan attached either, just make sensible manouvres with plenty of time etc.

One thing i would say though is when i hooked up for the sunday practice, i told the wife and kids to stay indoors and leave me to it until i got home and fully unhitched, i really didnt want any distractions resulting in forgetting to connect something properly.

Good luck and its not as bad as you may think.

"practice, i told the wife and kids to stay indoors and leave me to it until i got home and fully unhitched, i really didnt want any distractions resulting in forgetting to connect something properly. "

Andy, you are so right !!

I have been towing Caravans about for 23 ish years, and STILL tell everyone in the car, wife daughter grandkids etc to shut the f**k up untill i say they can talk,

Last year we were nearly at chichester (40 miles from home) when Reece (10) piped up, "grandad can we talk yet"

we all did laugh, as its normally a 5 miniute/ 1/2 mile time, just for met to make sure evry thing feels, and looks right

But the family did take head of my nead to prepare

Steve

DavieP is spot on

I only have a pair of the rachet straps so I put one per side across both wheels with the ratchet tightening the centre section evenly as below (not as neat as your drawing I'm afraid, daviep).



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in my opinion that wont pull up properly.

buy, beg, borrow or acquire 2 more straps to save your pride and joy leaving your trailer and ploughing through your back windowl

hth

Hi.

The bridging straps in my pic are only £4.99 + p&p. ( handystraps1 , ebay item 110365447997 )

I actually prefer them to the ones with metal loops. Less likely to damage alloy wheels, and cheaper.

Cheers,
Paul G

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Originally posted by 907
Hi.

The bridging straps in my pic are only £4.99 + p&p. ( handystraps1 , ebay item 110365447997 )

I actually prefer them to the ones with metal loops. Less likely to damage alloy wheels, and cheaper.

Cheers,
Paul G

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Originally posted by HowardB
in my opinion that wont pull up properly.

buy, beg, borrow or acquire 2 more straps to save your pride and joy leaving your trailer and ploughing through your back windowl

hth

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I have experience of using a single strap to hold in multiple places, it always needs "worked" through to allow the tension to move pass the points where it is "locked".

In the diagram shown I fear that the ratchet end would be tight, and the other end less so. In my experience using two straps is better than one fed back, or round. If it works for you that's ok, but I prefer to do it the same way as Mr 907.

thanks

quote:

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Originally posted by HowardB
I have experience of using a single strap to hold in multiple places, it always needs "worked" through to allow the tension to move pass the points where it is "locked".

In the diagram shown I fear that the ratchet end would be tight, and the other end less so. In my experience using two straps is better than one fed back, or round. If it works for you that's ok, but I prefer to do it the same way as Mr 907.

thanks

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You can't knock this forum, can you? A guy asks a simple question like Alex has done here - and BANG! 33 replies including photos, diagrams and loads of advice in just 24 hours - bloody amazing init?

One more tip, once you've strapped the car down you'll be left with one loose end on each ratchet strap. Make sure you tidy them away so they can't come loose and get tangled in the trailer wheels.

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Originally posted by Blackbird Rush
Another thing to watch out for is after a while you'll relax into it then look in the rear view mirror and see this car right up your tail and Sh*t yourself that someones going to plough into you!

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