Towing Advice - 31' Travel Trailer
Hi everybody, I've reviewed the postings listed as "towing advice" and all are helpful. I suppose I'm looking for that little extra bit of "confidence" as I tow our 31" Coleman TT. It's really a ...
Forum Discussion
My suggestion is if you have the ability, load the rig as it would be for a trip and take it to a scale and weigh it all. This will tell you for sure that things are setup correctly. When properly adjusted, meaning hitch and load inside TV and TT are balanced, you will barely notice anything is behind you unless you are braking.
Another great thing you can do is just hook up and go practice. Find a big parking lot that is near empty and go practice maneuvering the trailer forward and back. Setup some cones or some soft obstacle to practice avoiding. As far as hills and speed you should just go drive. The more you tow the more comfortable you will get. On hills it is important to remember DO NOT ride the brakes or brake gently. If you find that your speed is increasing too far, apply firm brakes to get below your target speed. Then release and let the rig increase on its own to your upper limit. Then brake again. Riding the brakes or braking gently to try and maintain one speed will burn them up and can cause brake failure. I travel SD interstates where limit is 75mph. I always tow 65-70. I will let her get all the way to 75ish on some good straight downhills and on some long uphills I will drop all the way down 55-60 before pushing harder up.
Another great thing you can do is just hook up and go practice. Find a big parking lot that is near empty and go practice maneuvering the trailer forward and back. Setup some cones or some soft obstacle to practice avoiding. As far as hills and speed you should just go drive. The more you tow the more comfortable you will get. On hills it is important to remember DO NOT ride the brakes or brake gently. If you find that your speed is increasing too far, apply firm brakes to get below your target speed. Then release and let the rig increase on its own to your upper limit. Then brake again. Riding the brakes or braking gently to try and maintain one speed will burn them up and can cause brake failure. I travel SD interstates where limit is 75mph. I always tow 65-70. I will let her get all the way to 75ish on some good straight downhills and on some long uphills I will drop all the way down 55-60 before pushing harder up.
