1999 GMC Sierra 1500 Pickup Owner's Manual - Page 236

Your Driving and the Road Total Weight on Your Vehicle'sTires Besureyourvehicle'stires are inflated to the limit for cold tires. You'll find thesenumbersontheCertificationlabelattherearedge of thedriver'sdoor (orsee"TireLoading" in theIndex).Thenbesureyoudon'tgooverthe GVW limit for your vehicle. Hitches It's important to havethecorrecthitchequipment.Crosswinds,largetrucks going by, androughroadsareafewreasonswhyyou'llneedtherighthitch. Herearesomerules to follow: Ifyourvehiclehasastepbumperandyouaregoing to useaball-type hitch,removethepadandcutholes in it to matchthehitchandsafety chainholesinthe bumper. If you'llbepullingatrailerthat, whenloaded, will weighmorethan 4,000 pounds (1800 kg)besure to useaproperlymountedweight-distributing hitchandswaycontrol of thepropersize.Thisequipment is very importantforpropervehicleloadingandgoodhandlingwhenyou're driving. Safety Chains You shouldalwaysattachchainsbetweenyourvehicleandyourtrailer.Cross so that the tongue will not the safety chains under the tongue of the trailer drop to theroad if it becomesseparatedfromthehitch.Instructionsabout or bythetrailer safetychainsmaybeprovidedbythehitchmanufacturer manufacturer.Followthemanufacturer'srecommendationforattachingsafety chains.Alwaysleave just enoughslack so youcan turn withyourrig.And, never allow safety chains to drag .on the ground. Trailer Brakes If yourtrailerweighsmorethan 1,000 pounds (450 kg)loaded,then it needs to readandfollowthe its ownbrakes-andtheymust beadequate.Besure instructions for the trailer brakes so you'llbeabletoinstall,adjustand maintainthemproperly. if thetrailer'sbrakesystemwilluse Don'ttapintoyourvehicle'sbrakesystem of more than 0.02 cubic inch ( 0 . 3 ~ ~ ) fluid from your vehicles master cylinder. If it does, bothbrakingsystemswon'tworkwell. You couldevenloseyour brakes. Willthetrailerbrakepartstake3,000 psi (20 650 kPa)ofpressure? If not,thetrailerbrakesystemmustnotbeusedwithyourvehicle. If everythingchecksoutthis far, thenmakethebrakefluidtapatthe to the rear brakes. But don't port on the master cylinder that sends fluid If youdo, it willbendandfinallybreak off. usecoppertubingforthis. Use steelbraketubing. 4-58