Driving with a trailer or RV

Licence and weight rules

• Know your weights. Find your tow vehicle's towing capacity, gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR), gross combined weight rating (GCWR) and hitch rating on the door sticker and in the owner's manual. Never go over the lowest rating.
• Weigh it loaded. A trailer's "dry weight" leaves out water, propane, batteries and gear. Weigh the loaded truck and trailer at a public scale before the season.
• Tongue weight. About 10 to 15 percent of the loaded trailer weight should sit on the hitch ball for a conventional trailer, and about 15 to 25 percent on the hitch for a fifth wheel. Too little tongue weight causes sway.
• Licences differ by province and state. In British Columbia, an RV or trailer over 4,600 kg loaded needs a house trailer endorsement (code 07), a heavy trailer endorsement (code 20) or a higher licence class. Several US states, including California and Texas, require a special licence or endorsement for heavy trailers or combinations. Check the rules in your home province or state and where you will work.
• Trailer brakes. Provinces and states require brakes on trailers over a set weight, and a breakaway system on many. Use a brake controller and set its gain for the loaded weight.

Hitching up: the checklist

1. Coupler fully seated on the ball and latched, with the pin or lock in.
2. Ball size matches the coupler. For a fifth wheel, the jaws are locked around the kingpin: do a pull test with the trailer brakes on.
3. Safety chains crossed under the tongue, attached, with enough slack to turn but not to drag.
4. Breakaway cable attached to the tow vehicle, not to the chains or hitch ball.
5. Weight-distribution and sway-control bars installed and tensioned, if you use them.
6. Lights connected: test brake lights, turn signals and running lights with a helper.
7. Tongue jack and stabilizer jacks fully raised. Wheel chocks removed and stowed.
8. Tire pressure checked cold on the tow vehicle and trailer, to the number on the placard. Check tire date codes; trailer tires often fail from age, not wear.
9. Wheel nuts torqued, especially after any tire change.
10. Doors, windows, roof vents, slides, steps, antenna and awning closed and latched. Load secured inside.
11. Mirrors set. Use towing mirrors if the trailer is wider than your vehicle.
12. Walk all the way around before you move. Then walk around again at your first stop.

Driving with a trailer

• Slow down. Stopping distance is much longer. Leave at least twice the normal gap. Some places set lower speed limits when towing; California limits vehicles towing a trailer to 55 mph (89 km/h).
• Wide turns. Trailer wheels cut inside the path of the tow vehicle. Swing wide at corners and watch the trailer in your mirrors.
• Lane changes. Signal early and move over slowly. Your trailer adds many metres of length.
• Wind and passing trucks. Slow down in crosswinds and when large trucks pass. Keep a firm, steady grip.
• Fuel. Plan stops. Range drops sharply when towing, and fuel can be far apart in the North and the rural West.
• Fatigue. Towing is tiring. Stop every two hours. Do not drive the last hours of a long day into a new campground in the dark if you can avoid it.

If the trailer sways

1. Take your foot off the accelerator. Do not brake hard with the vehicle brakes.
2. Hold the steering wheel straight. Do not steer to correct the sway.
3. If you have a brake controller, apply the trailer brakes alone with the manual lever, gently.
4. When the trailer is straight and you have slowed down, pull over and find the cause: low tongue weight, a heavy load at the back, low tire pressure or too much speed.

Mountain grades

• Go down hills in a lower gear, using the engine to hold your speed. Use tow/haul mode if your vehicle has it.
• Brake firmly to slow down, then let off. Do not ride the brakes; they overheat and fade.
• Know where runaway lanes are on steep passes.
• Watch engine and transmission temperatures on long climbs. Pull over to cool down if needed.

Backing into a site

• Use a spotter. Agree on hand signals and that "stop" means stop. Keep the spotter in your mirror; if you lose sight of them, stop.
• Put your hand at the bottom of the steering wheel: move your hand in the direction you want the trailer to go.
• Make small corrections. Pull forward and start again as many times as you need.
• Get out and look (GOAL) for posts, rocks, low branches, fire rings and hookups.

Gravel and resource roads

Many recreation sites, forest campgrounds and remote parks are reached on gravel, forest service or logging roads.

• Drive with headlights on and slow down. Gravel lengthens stopping distance and causes loss of control on curves.
• Logging trucks and industrial traffic have the right of way in practice. Pull over and stop for loaded trucks on narrow roads.
• On British Columbia's radio-assisted resource roads, drivers call their kilometre and direction on the posted radio channel. Carry a radio if you can, or drive as if every corner has a truck coming.
• Watch for washouts, potholes, soft shoulders and steep grades. Check road conditions with the operator or the provincial, state or federal land office before you take a trailer in.
• Carry a full-size spare, jack, tire plugs, a shovel, water and a way to call for help where there is no cell service.

Wildlife on the road

• Moose, elk, deer and bison are on highways day and night, most often at dawn and dusk. Moose are a serious danger in Newfoundland, northern Ontario, Quebec, the North, Maine and Alaska.
• Slow down where signs warn of wildlife. Where you see one animal, expect others.
• Brake firmly and stay in your lane. Swerving with a trailer can roll it.
• Do not stop on the highway to look at wildlife. Pull fully off the road where it is safe, and stay in your vehicle. See wildlife jams.

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General safety information for campground hosts, workers and campers in Canada and the US, compiled by CampHostJobs from Parks Canada, the US National Park Service, provincial, territorial and state agencies, and public health sources, October 2026. It does not replace training or the rules where you are. Always follow your employer, park staff and local officials. In an emergency, call 911.