1996 Ford Explorer Owner's Manual - Page 292

Servicing Your Vehicle If You Tow If you tow a trailer for a long distance, your vehicle will need to be serviced more frequently than usual. Refer to the Maintenance Schedule and Record booklet for additional information. Trailer towing tips Before starting on a trip, practice turning, stopping and backing in an area away from heavy traffic. Get to know the "feel" of the vehicle/trailer combination. Practice backing up. Back up very slowly, with someone outside at the rear of your trailer to guide you. Place your hand at the bottom of the steering wheel and move it in the direction you want the rear of the trailer to swing. Slight movement of the steering wheel results in a much larger movement of the rear of the trailer. Allow more room for stopping with a trailer attached. Trailer brakes should be applied first, whether manually or automatically controlled, when approaching a stop. For a good handling truck-trailer combination, the trailer tongue load should be approximately 10-15% of the loaded trailer weight. Make a thorough check of your equipment before starting out on the road. After you have traveled about 50 miles (80 km) stop in a protected area and double-check your hitch and electrical connections. Also check trailer wheel lug nuts for tightness. When turning, drive slightly beyond the normal turning point so the trailer wheels will clear curbs or other obstructions. When stopped in traffic for long periods of time in hot weather, place the gearshift selector lever in P (Park) to increase the engine idle speed. This aids in engine cooling and air conditioner efficiency. If the engine overheats, rotate the function selector control knob to panel position to stop the compressor and increase the engine speed for a short time. 292