TOWING A TRAILER
WARNING: Towing trailersbeyond the maximum recommendedgross trailer weight exceeds the limitof your vehicle and could result inengine damage, transmission damage,structural damage, loss of vehiclecontrol, vehicle rollover and personalinjury.
WARNING: Do not exceed theGVWR or the GAWR specified on thecertification label.
Note: See Recommended TowingWeights (page 309).
Your vehicle may have electrical items,such as fuses or relays, related totowing. See Fuses (page 341).
Your vehicle's load capacity designationis by weight, not by volume, so youcannot necessarily use all availablespace when loading a vehicle or trailer.
Towing a trailer places an extra load onyour vehicle's engine, transmission, axle,brakes, tires and suspension. Inspectthese components periodically during,and after, any towing operation.
Load Placement
To help minimize how trailer movementaffects your vehicle when driving:
•Load the heaviest items closest tothe trailer floor.
•Load the heaviest items centeredbetween the left and right side trailertires.
•Load the heaviest items above thetrailer axles or just slightly forwardtoward the trailer tongue. Do notallow the final trailer tongue weightto go above or below 10-15% of theloaded trailer weight.
•Select a ball mount with the correctrise or drop and load capacity. Whenboth the loaded vehicle and trailerare connected, the trailer frameshould be level, or slightly angleddown toward your vehicle, whenviewed from the side.
When driving with a trailer or payload, aslight takeoff vibration or shudder maybe present due to the increased payloadweight. Additional information regardingproper trailer loading and setting yourvehicle up for towing is located inanother chapter of this manual. SeeLoad Limit (page 292).
You can also find information in the RV& Trailer Towing Guide available at yourauthorized dealer, or online.
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Towing
TRANSPORTING THE VEHICLEIf you need to tow your vehicle, contact aprofessional towing service or, if you are amember of a roadside assistance program,your roadside assistance service provider.
We recommend the use of a wheel lift anddollies or flatbed equipment to tow yourvehicle. Do not tow with a slingbelt. We donot approve a slingbelt towing procedure. Ifyou tow your vehicle incorrectly, or by anyother means, vehicle damage may occur.
We produce a towing manual for allauthorized tow truck operators. Have yourtow truck operator refer to this manual forproper hook-up and towing procedures foryour vehicle.
We recommend towing a four-wheel drivevehicle with all wheels off the ground, suchas using a wheel lift and dollies or flatbedequipment.
We recommend towing a rear-wheel drivevehicle with the rear wheels on a tow dollywhen towing your vehicle from the frontusing wheel lift equipment. This preventsdamage to the transmission.
We recommend towing a rear-wheel drivevehicle with the front wheels on a tow dollywhen towing your vehicle from the rear usingwheel lift equipment. This prevents damageto the front fascia.
TOWING POINTS
WARNING: Switch the ignition offbefore removing the recovery hook. Failureto do so could result in personal injury.
WARNING: The recovery hook canbecome hot. Let the recovery hook cooldown before removing it. Failure to do socould result in personal injury.
Your vehicle comes with frame-mountedfront recovery hooks. These hooks shouldnever have a load applied to them greaterthan the gross vehicle weight rating of yourvehicle.
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Roadside EmergenciesE143886
