Tow Safety

Tow Safety

Safety first

Now that you’re considering in a Tent Topped Camping Trailer, you will need to know how much your vehicle is able to tow. Before we jump into that though, I recommend you begin with a primer on safe towing. The US Department of Transportation - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has published a useful brochure on towing safety, view it at, Towing Safety.

Always keep in mind that your vehicles handling and performance will be altered when towing a trailer. Take care and make safety your first consideration. Never exceed the tow rating for your vehicle or the Gross Vehicle Weight rating of your trailer.

Finding your vehicles towing capacity from reliable sources

The owner’s manual for your vehicle is the best place to start. They will list tow ratings and normally have a section on safe towing with your particular vehicle.

If your owner’s manual isn’t available, go to the manufactures web-site for your vehicle. Look under specifications on your model.

If your vehicle is older that the models on the manufactures web-site, I have found Edmunds.com to be a reliable source for this information. You can find it by;

On main screen click (under used cars or new cars) ‘Research Used Cars’, then click on type (sedan, truck, SUV, etc.)

Click on year

Click on photo to see car of your choice

Click ‘overview’

Click ‘specs’ in left column menu

Scroll down to ‘performance data’ where you’ll find towing capacity.

Now you need a hitch

If your vehicle isn’t currently equipped with a hitch, be sure to purchase one from an established and reliable source.

If you plan on having it installed, there are a couple of good options available. First, would be the dealer you bought your vehicle from. This option normally is more expensive than the others, but they will have the specific parts for your vehicle. For items such as plug in tail light converters, sometimes the dealer is your only option.

Another one is U-haul. They sell and install hitches for most vehicles, have been in business for years and will be less expensive than many dealers. It’s usually easy to find a U-Haul in most cities.

If you plan on installing it yourself, I’ve had good luck with U-Haul and Hidden Hitch hitches in the past. The Hidden Hitch web-site has a nice feature for DIY’ers, it has a ‘difficulty’ rating and estimated installation time listed for most hitches.