By Tom Hnatiw Contiilnting Writer TRAILERS are often overlooked when it comes to vehicle mainte- nance and suffer long periods of neglect as they sit and wait for their next trip. When trailers tat! due to lack of maintenance the results are nermally catastrophic. A wheel falling off or a trailer somehow becoming un-hitched will pre sent what could be the greatest dnving chal! sage of vour lite. Pay particular attention to the cendition of wheel bear- ings, tires, Wheels and the trail- er Wiring. ir would not be too conservative to do that cach ond every time you take it out. Ensure beyond a shadow of doubt that vour tow vehicle is rated highly enough to sately handle your boat and trailer. There are three pertinent num: bers. The first is “maximum trailer towing capacity.” This: -is othe maximum amount of weight your vehicle can safely tow and should not be confused with “gross com- bination weight rating” which defines the maximum weight of the fully loaded vehicle and trailer combined. The third number is “rear axle load.” Placing too much weight in the rear of a vehicle will severely affect the handling capability. Keep in mind that about 10% of the weight of the loaded trailer acts on the rear axle when the vehicle is static. Once moving at the speed limit, chat weight can effectively increase by half owing to aerodynamic drag and weight shiit during braking. Add the weight of the cargo, extra passengers and the weight of the hitch icself and the load on the rear axle can be considerable. Make sure you do not at any time exceed the manufacturer's recommended rear axle load for your vehicle. -That can be hard on the equip- -ment at feast and downright Unsafe at Worst. A trailer can often hinder sight lines. Aftermarket towing mirrors are an excellent solu- tion and are particularly useful when trying to back up. _ Naturally, your vehicle's handling will be different while you're towing. The vehicl’s aptitude for changing direction will be severely hindered as will its braking performance. It’s a good idea to assume that your braking distances will be about twice as long as well. At low speed, keep in mind that the trailer often doesn’t exactly follow the track of the tow vehicle so you'll most like- ly have to make your turns con- siderably wider chan you nor- mally would. Moving around in tight quarters such as a park- ing lot will require a significant change in your driving style. At high speed, the trailer can act Itke a pendulum once disturbed from a straight and truc attitude. Like a tail wag- ging the dog, your uailer can upset the balance of the vehicle asa result of cross winds, air off of other vehicles such as trans- port trucks and slippery road conditions. All of your steering inputs anced to besravoth and deliber- ate. Rapid changes in attirude OW your boat gently, or e will be rewarded in kind with disturbing sensations from behind. Braking should be done smoothly and progressively ina two-part: strategy. First, lighdy apply the brakes and feel the weight begin to shit forward. Then raadulate with the brake pedal to balance the rate of deceleration, Janiming che brake pedal and therefore upsetting the balance Gf both the tow vehicle and trailer will always raise vour heart rate and could have dire consequences. When the conditions are foul and traction is at a prem um, the dvnamics of towing a trailer are amplitied to clown like proportions. The traiter has its own Momentum and preters to uavel ina straight line. With reduced traction the traiier 4.0% rudely assert itself and actual move the tow schicle with sut: fivient toree to render the steer: mg wheel as useless as a pate of bull horns en your head. The solution 1s counter-intuitive to most of us, ‘fo recover, vou must stand on the aceclerator to attempt to take contral of the trader with your tow echicle, Sound seary? Take p tram me, ite. A tee Photo submitted PAY special attention to the condition of your whee! bearings, tires, wheels and the trailer wiring when getting ready to tow a trailer. rn my ‘Audi A4 A|l aluminum ‘space frame. choracter burding