How to Set Up a Tow Hitch

If you don’t set up a tow hitch as a part of your daily job, you might find these items to be tricky and difficult to work with. Even if you tow a boat or trailer on the weekends, you sometimes have to remind yourself how the hitch should be attached and what the best way to pull your trailer can be. While we’ll give you some basic tips, each hitch and trailer can be different, which means you should get to know your equipment before you begin to tow your stuff down the road.

1. Get Your Stuff Hooked Up

If you’re towing an RV or heavy trailer, you won’t be able to lift the tongue of the trailer by hand. With lighter trailers, you can often do this, but it’s not advisable. The best way to life the front of the trailer up is with a trailer jack. Once the tongue is in the air, move your towing vehicle in place, so the ball is directly below the coupler. After you’re in place, you can set the trailer down on the ball and should feel the weight of the trailer settle onto it.

2. Secure Your Safety Chains in Place

Part of setting up a tow hitch is to offer a secondary safety function to the process. If your hitch comes undone while on the road, you don’t want to see your trailer pass by you as it heads off the road and down a hill. Those chains attached to the trailer are called safety chains, and you need to use them. Crisscross the chains over and under the hitch to give yourself the best chance of stopping and reattaching the trailer if it comes undone. Once the chains are in place, connect the electrical connections from the trailer to your vehicle.

3. Check Those Lights

The lights on the trailer need to function properly to tell other drivers your intentions. If they don’t work, no one will know you’re braking, turning, or that you have a trailer at night. Some vehicles come with apps that can help you test the lights, but most of the time, a second person is needed to do this. Have them stand behind the trailer and turn on one signal at a time, the brake lights and then the headlights, to make sure all lights are working properly.

A Few Things to Consider Before You Set Up the Tow Hitch

The process of hooking up a trailer to your vehicle is relatively simple, but actually pulling the load takes some planning and requires you to consider a few things before you load the trailer, hook it up, and drive. Make sure you think about the following items before you ever get your trailer hooked up.

How Much Can Your Vehicle Tow?

This is possibly one of the most important numbers you’ll need to know before you go. You need to know the cargo weight and allowable payload of your ride. Don’t be fooled by the maximum towing capacity of a pickup truck, especially if that capacity requires a fifth-wheel setup. If all of your passengers, interior cargo, the weight of the trailer, and the cargo in the trailer add up to less than your tow rating, you’re ready to go. If not, you need to think about leaving some stuff behind or a stronger vehicle.

Are You Evenly Distributing the Weight?

If you’ve ever moved, you know you need to consider putting the same amount of weight on either side of a moving truck. You also don’t build high stacks of items on one side and not the other. Evenly distributing the weight is as important as properly setting up a tow hitch, maybe more important. You want all of your stuff to arrive safe and intact, and you want the drive to be smooth. With weight even from side to side and from front to back, you’ll have a smooth ride.

Pro Tip: When loading heavier items, try to center the weight over the axle of the trailer to allow the best distribution of this weight.

Get Ready to Use Your Side Mirrors

Some people drive without using their side-view mirrors except to change lanes in traffic. When you tow a trailer, you’ll need to use your side mirrors almost exclusively. Some newer trucks offer a remote camera you can attach to the rear of the trailer to give you a clear view of the lane behind your vehicle, but this is not widespread technology. Adjust your side mirrors to ensure you can see everything you need to during your drive.

Choose the Right Hitch

Understanding how high your hitch position needs to have a level trailer is important. This can be especially necessary when you pull an RV or travel trailer full of the essentials you need when you get to the next campground. The right hitch should pull your trailer level and not cause it to be inclined or declined when attached. Some hitches offer adjustments to raise or lower the ball to ensure you have a level load when you’re out on the road.

Look Up Driving Tips When Pulling a Trailer

How should you drive with your trailer? Depending upon the length of your trailer, you could have doubled the distance from the front of your vehicle to the rear of the trailer from what you normally deal with. You need to take this extra length into account when changing lanes, making turns, and finding parking.

It’s important to drive slower than normal with a trailer, especially if you haven’t done it before. Once you get the hang of having extra weight behind you, you can go faster, but it’s still important to leave extra room for slowing and stopping. You’ve got a trailer with extra weight in it; that means it’s going to take longer to stop than normal. Leave some extra room.

Finally, understand how to back a trailer into a space. This is almost an art form, and some people are very good at it while others are not. Turning a trailer can be tricky. Some newer vehicles have features to help with this, but you could be in for a bit of a shock if you turn too hard, don’t turn the right way, or miss your target completely.

When you set up a tow hitch, you’re only just beginning the adventures of pulling a trailer. Good luck, and have fun with this process.