If You Do Decide To Pull A Trailer

If you do, here are some important points:

• There are many different laws, including speed limit restrictions, having to do with trailering.

Make sure your rig will be legal, not only where you live but also where you’ll be driving.

A good source for this information can be state or provincial police.
• Consider using a sway control. See “Hitches” later in this section.
• Don’t tow a trailer at all during the first 500 miles (800 km) your new vehicle is driven.

Your engine, axle or other parts could be damaged.
• Then, during the first 500 miles (800 km) that you tow a trailer, don’t drive over 50 mph (80 km/h) and don’t make starts at full throttle.

This helps your engine and other parts of your vehicle wear in at the heavier loads.
• You can tow in DRIVE (D). You may want to shift the transmission to THIRD (3) or, if necessary, a lower gear selection if the transmission shifts too often (e.g., under heavy loads and/or hilly conditions).

Three important considerations have to do with weight:

• the weight of the trailer,
• the weight of the trailer tongue
• and the weight on your vehicle’s tires.

    See also:

    Engine Coolant Temperature Gage
    This gage shows the engine coolant temperature. If the gage pointer moves into the red area, the engine coolant has overheated. If you have been operating your vehicle under normal driving c ...

    StabiliTrak® System
    The StabiliTrak system assists with directional control of the vehicle in difficult driving conditions. The system turns on automatically every time the vehicle is started. ► To turn off both t ...

    Passing
    More passing distance is needed when towing a trailer. Because the rig is longer, it is necessary to go farther beyond the passed vehicle before returning to the lane. ...