Audi allroad 2001, Owner'S Manual

Page: 212 / 306

OPERATION
Trailer towing tips
Your vehicle handles differently when tow­
ing a trailer because of the additional weight
and weight distribution. Safety, perfor­
mance and economy will greatly depend on
how carefully you load your trailer and oper­
ate your rig.
Before you actually tow your trailer, practice
turning, stopping and backing up in an area
away from traffic until you learn the feel of
your vehicle and trailer unit.
Backing up is difficult and requires practice.
Steering while backing up is generally oppo­
site of that when backing your vehicle with­
out a trailer.
Maintain a greater distance between your
vehicle and the one in front of you. You will
need more room to stop.
To compensate for the trailer, you will need
a larger than normal turning radius.
When passing, remember that you cannot
accelerate as fast as you normally would be­
cause of the added load. Make sure you
have enough room to pass. After passing,
allow plenty of room for your trailer before
changing lanes again.
Avoid jerky starts, sharp turns or rapid lane
changes.
After parking, always block the wheels of
both vehicle and trailer. Do not park with a
trailer on a slope. If it cannot be avoided, do
so only after doing the following:
• Apply foot brake.
•
Have someone place chocks under both
vehicle and trailer wheels.
•
With chocks in place, slowly release
brakes until wheel blocks absorb the load.
•
Turn wheels to curb.
o
Apply parking brake.
•
Place automatic transmission in
"
P
".
If you move the selector lever of the auto­
matic transmission to "P" before applying
the parking brake and before blocking the
wheels, you may require more force later to
move the lever out of the
"P" position.
When restarting after parking on a slope, re­
verse the procedure:
•
Start the engine.
•
Shift transmission into gear.
o
Release the parking brake and slowly
move away from the wheel blocks.
•
Stop and have someone retrieve the
wheel blocks.
Notes
• Do not tow a trailer during the
break-in period of your vehicle.
•
If you tow a trailer, your Audi may require
more frequent maintenance due to the ex­
tra load - see also page
228.
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