So you're looking to grab a truck and some toys with the intention of towing them out to the lake or the woods for some fun. Here's all you need to know about hooking up a trailer and towing it.
How To Hook Up a Trailer To Tow a Vehicle
Connect Your Vehicle To a Trailer
It's perfectly usual for a first-time tower to go through this process several times before getting it correctly. To safely connect a trailer to your tow vehicle, follow these procedures.
- Insert the ball mount into the receiver tube of the hitch.
- Place the car directly in front of the trailer coupler.
- Make sure the trailer coupler is higher than the hitch ball.
- Slowly back up until the ball is directly under the trailer coupler. Use your vehicle's backup camera or have a friend spot you for this.
- Set the parking brake and put the tow vehicle in park.
- A twist lever on the trailer tongue allows you to raise or lower the metal bar/pipe that your trailer rests on when not linked to a car. This is known as the jack. Twist the trailer jack to completely lower the coupler onto the ball.
- To fasten the coupler to the ball, use the cotter pin attached to the latch.
- Lift the tongue to ensure that everything is in place.
- Raise the trailer jack so that it is entirely out of the way.
Once the trailer is mounted, secure safety chains in a crisscross pattern from the trailer to the vehicle, making sure the chains do not touch the ground. You must also connect the trailer's electrical hookup to the vehicle. Before driving away, always check the trailer's brake lights and turn signals.
