WHETHER YOU’RE LOOKING to haul a Jet Ski to the nearest lake, or you want to rent a camper trailer for a road trip across Canada, learning how to tow can be a game changer. But there’s a lot to consider before hitting the road.
KNOW YOUR VEHICLE
Check your owner’s manual to find out if, and how much weight, your vehicle can tow. If you’re still not sure, ask your dealer or contact the manufacturer. “If your truck’s limit is 10,000 pounds, it’s best not to tow more than 7,500 pounds,” says Brandon Klassen, operations manager at AMA. “I never exceed 75 percent my tow limit.” Why? Staying well under the limit leaves a margin of safety, it puts less wear on your vehicle, and it makes for a better towing experience. That said, a tow vehicle is a hefty investment, and buying one that covers more than your basic needs can be prohibitive. For drivers who will occasionally be close to maxing out their vehicle’s towing capacity, consider investing in some additional gear to make the journey safer—sway-control bars help mitigate side-to-side trailer movement, and a weight-distribution hitch can help to level the trailer and tow vehicle.
TIP: There are different sizes of receivers, hitches and balls, and each part is stamped or labelled with its maximum weight rating. Remember, it’s the lowest-rated component that determines how much you can haul.
TOWING TERMS
Here are some key terms and numbers you’ll need to know before hitting the road.
TOW RATING This is a best-case-scenario measure of a vehicle’s maximum towing capacity. It doesn’t account for passengers or cargo. (Find this and other key stats in the owner’s manual or driver’s door-jamb sticker.)
TONGUE WEIGHT Also known as tongue load, it’s the amount of the trailer’s weight (when loaded) that rests on the ball. As a general rule, it should be 10 to 15 percent of the loaded trailer’s weight.
PAYLOAD CAPACITY The maximum permissible weight of all passengers and cargo, plus the tongue weight.
GROSS VEHICLE WEIGHT RATING (GVWR) The maximum permissible weight of the vehicle plus passengers, cargo plus and tongue weight. Trailers have their own separate GVWR, too.
GROSS COMBINED WEIGHT RATING (GCWR) The maximum permissible weight of the vehicle plus the trailer plus passengers and cargo.
GROSS TRAILER WEIGHT (GTW) The total weight of a trailer plus its cargo.
CURB WEIGHT The weight of the vehicle, ready to drive, without any optional equipment, passengers or cargo. Often found in the owner’s manual. You’ll want to know this when calculating how much your vehicle can tow while staying under its GVWR, GCWR and payload capacity.
HOW MUCH CAN YOU TOW?
Never haul more than your vehicle’s tow rating. Simple, right? Not so fast. It’s not enough to merely ensure you’re under the tow rating—drivers must also be careful not to exceed their vehicle’s GCWR, GVWR or payload capacity. This is where you’ll have to do some math. The formulas look like these:
- GCWR ≥ gross vehicle weight + gross trailer weight + passengers and cargo weight
- GVWR ≥ gross vehicle weight + tongue weight + passengers and cargo weight
- Payload capacity ≥ tongue weight + passengers and cargo weight
Since you most likely do not have a weigh station in your driveway, you’ll need to estimate all weights as best you can, then crunch the numbers to determine how much you can safely tow.
HOOKING UP THE TRAILER
Once you’ve crunched the numbers to figure out how much you can haul, it’s time to hitch up.
- If possible, have a spotter outside the vehicle to guide you.
- Line up your vehicle’s hitch with the trailer’s coupler.
- Raise the trailer’s coupler, using the jack, so the ball can slide underneath when reversing.
- Reverse the vehicle slowly toward the trailer until the ball is directly under the coupler, then engage the parking brake and shift into park.
- Using the jack, lower the coupler, securing it with all necessary bolts and locking pins. (You can test the connection by slightly raising the trailer back up on the jack—if the coupler comes off the ball, it’s not secured properly.)
- Attach the wiring harness and safety chains. The chains should be connected in a crisscross pattern, forming an X under the coupler.
- Retract the jack.
- With your spotter, check that the trailer’s lights and signals are working. Do a walk-around to double-check all connections.
LOADING UP THE TRAILER
Once the trailer is hitched up, it’s ready to be loaded with your gear. In general, when dealing with a cargo trailer, you’ll want to load it after it’s hitched. Park on a level surface with the parking brake engaged and chock the trailer’s wheels by placing a sturdy wedge or block against the tires, so they can’t roll. The goal for loading is 60/40—60 percent of the cargo’s weight should be ahead of the trailer’s axle (think: the trailer’s wheels) leaving 40 percent behind the axle. That’s critical to ensure the safe handling of your tow vehicle and it’ll also help keep 10 to 15 percent of the trailer’s weight on the tongue. Last but not least, secure the load with appropriate chains, ropes or ratchet straps.
TIP: It’s a bit like Tetris, loading everything properly. Load the heaviest item first and try
to position it just ahead of the trailer’s axle to get that 60/40 weight split.
DRIVING WITH A TRAILER
Adapt your driving when towing a heavy load.
MAKE SURE YOUR VEHICLE IS IN GOOD CONDITION. All fluids should be topped up and tire pressures correct. If necessary, install tow mirrors that extend out past the regular mirrors to provide a better view of what’s behind the trailer.
SLOW DOWN AND LEAVE EXTRA SPACE. Accelerating and braking takes significantly longer when towing a heavy load. For that reason, it’s crucial to leave much more distance between you and the vehicle ahead than you normally would.
SWING WIDE. Take corners wide and keep an eye on the trailer in your mirrors to avoid hitting the curb or worse.
CHECK FOR CLEARANCE. If you’ve got a tall load, watch for low-hanging obstacles, like tree branches and electric wires.
TAKE CARE WHEN REVERSING. Backing up can be intimidating, but don’t sweat it! Take it slow, ask a friend outside to spot you, and take advantage of new technology like trailer-mounted back-up cameras where possible. Backing up with a trailer can be counterintuitive, so if you can, practise in a parking lot. And be patient—this is a tough skill to master.
CHECK EARLY AND OFTEN. Soon after you set off, pull over somewhere safe and check that the trailer, its load and all connections are snug and secure. Make it easy on yourself and find a spot that you can easily exit without much manoeuvring.
TOWING WITH AN EV
The good news: EVs offer an instant surge of low-end torque that makes for an especially smooth towing experience. The bad news: Driving range plummets when towing. How much range is lost depends on the type of trailer and weight of the load. A real-world test by Consumer Reports found Ford’s F-150 Lightning and Rivian’s R1T were both reduced to less than a third of their normally rated range when towing 10,000 pounds (4,536 kilograms). You’ll need to charge more often, says AMA’s Brandon Klassen, but many public EV chargers aren’t set up to accept vehicles towing trailers. In order to plug in, you may have to uncouple the trailer. It all adds up to a longer journey, so plan accordingly.