Towing the Trailer

Suitable Tow vehicles


The trailer weighs about 5000 pounds, so special considerations apply, and most vehicles are not suitable tow vehicles.  The following are the key requirements:

1. A large tow vehicle with a long wheelbase.  Suitable vehicles include large SUVs such as a Suburban, or full size pickup trucks.  Passenger cars, smaller pickups, and small or medium size SUVs, such as Explorers or Grand Cherokees are not suitable tow vehicles.

2. A ball of 2 and 5/16 inch diameter, with a receiver and hitch rated for at least 5000 pounds.

3. Electric brake controller, adjusted for the trailer.

4. Wiring and connectors to run the trailer lights and electric brakes.  Generally speaking, this is very troublesome to do the first time, and it frequently takes several hours to work out the bugs.  For this reason, it is best to use vehicles on which the cables have already been checked out with the trailer.
 

Important Safety notes

The trailer is very heavy, and means that stopping distances increase in the best of circumstances.  Avoid tailgating, and drive conservatively for the conditions.  On steep downhills, use engine braking (downshift) rather than the brake pedal to keep you speed down.  Towing the trailer when roads are icy or snowy is tricky, you will probably need to reduce the brake gain, see below.  Obviously, the trailer must be hitched up correctly, with safety chains secured, tongue pin secure, brakes adjusted, etc., before driving the trailer anywhere.  See below for more information.
 

Preparing the Trailer for Towing

Secure any loose gear in the trailer.  Note that if generators or other heavy gear are transported in the trailer, shock cords are not sufficient to secure them, use rope.  If the generator shifts during transport, it can block the door.

Secure the rear and side doors.

Close and secure the roof hatch.

Close and secure the front door.

Raise and tilt up the stabilizers on the rear corners of the trailer.  (See below for more information).

Reinstall the trailer tongue, place and secure the pin, and plug in the cable.  (See below for more information).
 
 

Rear Stabilizers
Stabilizer in down position, one on each side at the back of the trailer
Stabilizer in foreground in the tilted up position, ready for transport. Stabilizer in the background in the down position. Pull stabilizer out to rotate from up to down position.

 
 
 

Hitching the trailer
Check that the pin is in and secure, the pin that connects the removable trailer tongue to the trailer proper. 

Reinstall the trailer tongue, place and secure the pin, and plug in the cable.  (See below for more information).
 
 

Be sure that the safety chains connect the tongue of the trailer to the tow vehicle.  Note that the chains cross on top of the tongue. 

Tilt up the stabilizers on the rear of the trailer, or they will hit the ground while the trailer is being towed.

Jack up the front end of the trailer.

Position the tow vehicle ball below the end of the trailer tongue.

Jack down the front end of the trailer until the rear of the tow vehicle starts to go down.

Be sure that the trailer tongue is securely attached to the ball on the tow vehicle.

Completely raise the trailer jack, so it does not hit the ground while the trailer is being towed.

Remove the wheel chocks

Turn off the propane valves on both tanks.

Hook up the safety chains

Plug in the electrical cable for the lights and brakes.

Check that the trailer lights and brakes are working.
 
 

Trailer Brakes
The trailer has electric brakes.  The brakes are operated by a brake controller in the cab of the tow vehicle.  The picture below shows the brake controller used on the Salvation Army Suburban.  (Note that the break-away automatic braking system is not functional, since the trailer does not have a battery.)

Electric brake controllers generally have two controls, Gain and Manual Braking.  The Gain control determines how hard the brakes are applied with you push the brake pedal.  More gain is more braking from the trailer.  The Manual Brake control operates the trailer brakes without applying the brakes on the tow vehicle. 

To adjust the gain control, start with the control in the middle, and then apply the brakes in the tow vehicle at low speed.  If it is too jerky, reduce the gain.  If it seems like the trailer is pushing the tow vehicle, and not helping stop the unit, increase the gain.  If the trailer brakes smell hot when you stop, you are probably using too much gain.  Generally you can find a kind of happy medium. 

The Manual Brake control can be used to test that the trailer brakes are working.  If the trailer starts to sway on the highway, use the Manual Brake control to apply the trailer brakes and stop the sway.  Most authorities recomend applying only the trailer brakes in case of trailer sway.

The LED lights in proportion to the amount of braking voltage coming out of the controller.  Brighter LED means more braking, if the system is working correctly.

 

Unhitching the trailer


Chock the trailer wheels to keep the trailer from moving.

Crank the jack to take the weight of the trailer off the tow vehicle.

Disconnect the safety chains, and the electrical cable.

Unlatch the hitch from the ball on the tow vehicle.

Crank the jack up until the trailer is free of the ball.

Drive the tow vehicle away.

Lower the stabilizers from behind the rear bumper.  Pull forward to swing them down.  See above for more information.

Adjust the jack and the stabilizers to level the trailer.
 
 

Removing the tongue from the trailer
 In most cases, it will be more convenient to use the trailer if the tongue is removed.  To remove the tongue, remove the pin holding the tongue, (picture above), disconnect the electrical cable, and then pull out the tongue.  The tongue is usually stored under the trailer.

 

 
 

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RAF 12/28/02