How to Turn While Towing
For most drivers, speeding up, slowing down, turning, and maintaining a straight line while driving aren’t difficult tasks. If you’ve ever towed a trailer however, simple tasks become much more complicated and require careful thought and manipulation. Speeding up and slowing down happens at a slower rate, steering feels different, and taking turns? Well, turning may very well have the steepest learning curve.
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Here, we’ll walk you through how to turn while towing.
The basics.
First, and most importantly, keep in mind that trailers make significantly wider turns than a regular car or truck does. The trailer’s tires will always track toward the inside of the vehicle’s turn radius, so the trailer will always cut the corner sharper than the vehicle will. Stay on the outside edge of the turns to be safe, and try to give yourself as much space as possible when turning. Doing so will help make sure you give yourself enough space to not clip other vehicles or the curb with your trailer. Also, be sure to adjust your mirrors so that you can see the back wheels of your trailer. The back wheels tell you where your trailer is and where it’s going.
Before hitting the town with your trailer in tow, it’s important to make sure you get some practice in. Whether you’ve never towed before or it’s just been a long time, you’ll want to get a feel for your trailer and how it responds to your driving. Find a large, empty parking lot or vacant street, set up cones, and practice making turns until you feel comfortable.
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Before you know it, you’ll feel confident in your ability to get around even crowded streets.
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