Driving while towing differs from regular driving in many ways. For example, acceleration feels much slower and braking distances become longer. However, the most drastic change you’ll feel while towing a trailer is turning. Turning with a trailer may be one of the more difficult maneuvers of driving with a trailer, along with backing up. But with a bit of planning and practice, figuring out how to turn while towing will be a breeze!
The Basic Maneuvers
The most important thing to remember is that you’ll need to make significantly wider turns than you do by yourself. Since the trailer’s tires will always track towards the inside of the vehicle’s turn radius, the trailer will always cut the corner sharper than the vehicle. With this in mind, try to give yourself as much space as possible when turning so you don’t risk clipping your trailer on other vehicles or curbs. Remember to adjust your mirrors so that you can see the back wheels of your trailer; they can tell you where your trailer is and where it’s going.
When you’re moving at higher speeds on the highway, the trailer will track inward but to a lesser extent than at lower speeds. However, it’s still recommended that you stay on the outside edge of the turns just to be safe.
Practice Makes Perfect
If you haven’t towed in a while, or have never towed at all, you should first practice turning with a trailer in an empty parking lot. You can set up cones to emulate a street and try turning when you reach the end of the cones, alternating between left-hand and right-hand turns. Watch the mirrors to see how close your trailer wheels come to the last cone. Rearrange the cones into a variety of turns so you can practice until you feel confident and comfortable making turns while towing.
Find A Professional
If you don’t feel comfortable with driving while towing a large trailer, you may want to consult a towing contractor about having your items towed. If you use TalkLocal, you can be talking to a high-quality, local towing professional in just minutes!
