Honda 1995 Accord Wagon, Owner'S Manual

Page: 99 / 197

Towing a Trailer
Before Starting Out
As you are preparing to tow your
trailer, do the following:
Measure the trailer's tongue
load. You can do this with a
bathroom scale.
Verify that the hitch and
safety chain are securely
fastened.
Check the condition and air
pressure of all tires on the
trailer and your car. Low tire
pressure can seriously affect
the handling. Also, check the
spare tire.
With everything loaded and
the trailer connected, check
that the rear of the car is not
sagging. If so, redistribute the
load in the car.
Check that all lights on the car
and trailer are working
properly.
Towing Safety
Your car will not stop as quickly
with a trailer in tow. Leave extra
distance between your car and
other vehicles. Avoid braking or
turning suddenly. This could
cause the trailer to jackknife or
possibly turn over.
Keep in mind that your total
vehicle is now much longer.
Leave more room when making
turns. The trailer tracks a
smaller arc than the car and can
hit or run over something that
the car misses. When passing
another vehicle, make sure the
trailer is clear before changing
lanes.
The car/trailer combination is
more affected by crosswinds and
buffeting. When being passed by
a large vehicle, keep a constant
speed and steer straight ahead. If
there is too much wind buffeting,
slow down to get out of the other
vehicle's air turbulence.
Towing a trailer puts an extra
load on your car. You should
have your car serviced
according to the maintenance
schedule under severe driving
conditions on page
109 .
This extra load is magnified
when you are driving in hilly
terrain. Watch the temperature
gauge closely when climbing
hills. If it gets near the hot area,
turn off the air conditioning (if it
is on). If this does not reduce the
heat, it may be necessary to pull
to the side of the road and wait
for the engine to cool. If the
automatic transmission shifts
frequently between 3rd and 4th
gears, put it in D3. This will help
prevent the transmission from
overheating. Help keep the
brakes from overheating by
Driving