trailer DODGE SPRINTER 2006 1.G User Guide

224 STARTING AND OPERATING
Checking Weights of Vehicle and Trailer
To assure that the tow vehicle and trailer are in
compliance with the maximum permissible weight
limits, and to know the actual weights, have the loaded
vehicle-trailer combination (tow vehicle including
driver, passengers and cargo, trailer fully loaded)
weighed on a commercial scale.
Check the vehicle’s front and rear Gross Axle Weight
(GAW), the GTW and TW. The values as measured
must not be exceeded, according to the weight listed
under “Vehicle and trailer weight and ratings”.
Attaching a Trailer
Please observe maximum permitted trailer dimensions
(width and length).
Most states and all Canadian provinces require safety
chains between your tow vehicle and the trailer. The
chains should be crisscrossed under the trailer tongue.
They must be attached to the hitch receiver, and not to
the vehicle’s bumper or axle. Be sure to leave enough
slack in the chains to permit turning corners.
Most states and all Canadian provinces require a
separate brake system at various trailer weights.
WARNING!
Do not connect a trailer brake system (if trailer is
so equipped) directly to the vehicle’s hydraulic
brake system as your vehicle is equipped with an-
tilock brakes. If you do, neither the vehicle’s
brakes nor the trailer’s brakes will function prop-
erly. This could cause an accident resulting in
property damage, injury or death to you or others.
The provided vehicle electrical wiring harness for
trailer towing has a brake signal wire for hook-up
to a brake controller.
Most states and all Canadian provinces require a
break-away switch on trailers with a separate
brake system. The switch activates the trailer
brakes in the possible event that the trailer might
separate from the tow vehicle.
You should consider using a trailer sway control
system. For further information see your
authorized Sprinter Dealer.

STARTING AND OPERATING 225
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Towing a Trailer
There are many different laws, including speed limit
restrictions, having to do with trailer towing. Make
sure that your vehicle-trailer combination will be legal,
not only for where you reside, but also for where you
will be driving. A good source for this information can
be the police or local authorities.
Before you start driving with the trailer, check the
trailer hitch, break-away switch, safety chains,
electrical connections, lighting and tires. Also adjust
the mirrors to permit unobstructed view beyond rear
of trailer.
If the trailer has electric brakes, start your vehicle and
trailer moving slowly, and then apply only the trailer
brake controller by hand to be sure the brakes are
working properly.
When towing a trailer, check occasionally to be sure
that the load is secure, and that lighting and trailer
brakes (if so equipped) are functioning properly.
Always secure items in the trailer to prevent load shifts
while driving.Take into consideration that when towing a trailer, the
handling characteristics are different and less stable
from those when operating the vehicle without a
trailer. It is important to avoid sudden maneuvers. The
vehicle and trailer combination is heavier, and
therefore is limited in acceleration and climbing ability,
and requires longer stopping distances. It is more
prone to reacting to side wind gusts, and requires more
sensitive steering input.
In order to gain skill and an understanding of the
vehicle’s behavior, you should practice turning, stopping
and backing up in an area which is free from traffic.
If possible, do not brake abruptly, but rather engage
the brake slightly at first to permit the trailer to activate
its brake. Then increase the braking force.

226 STARTING AND OPERATING
WARNING!
Take into consideration that when towing a trail-
er, the handling characteristics are different and
less stable from those when operating the vehicle
without a trailer.
It is important to avoid sudden maneuvers.
Sudden maneuvers may lead to loss of control
over the vehicle-trailer combination. This could
cause an accident resulting in property damage or
injury to you or others.
CAUTION!
If the transmission hunts between gears on
inclines, manually shift to a lower gear (select
"4",
"3", "2" or"1"). A lower gear and reduction of
speed reduces the chance of engine overloading
and / or overheating.
When going down a long hill, shift into a lower
gear and use the engine’s braking effect. Avoid
riding the brakes, thus overheating the vehicle
and trailer brakes.
If the engine coolant rises to an extremely high
temperature (coolant temperature needle
approaching the red zone) when the air
conditioner is on, turn off the air conditioner.
Engine coolant heat can be additionally vented by
opening the windows, switching the climate
control fan speed to high and setting the
temperature control to the maximum hot position.

STARTING AND OPERATING 227
5
Parking a TrailerCAUTION!
Extreme care must be exercised since your vehicle
with a trailer will require additional passing
distance ahead than when driving without a
trailer. Because your vehicle and trailer is longer
than your vehicle alone, you will also need to go
much farther ahead of the passed vehicle before
you can return to your lane.WARNING!
To reduce the risk of personal injury, or damage to
the vehicle powertrain, as a result of vehicle/trail-
er movement, always:
Keep right foot on brake pedal.
Shift gear selector lever to position
"N".
Have a second person place wheel chocks on
downhill side of left and right trailer wheels.
Slowly release brake pedal and let vehicle and
trailer roll into chocks until stopped.
Firmly depress parking brake pedal.
Move gear selector lever to position
"P".
On inclines turn front wheels towards the road
curb.

308 MAINTENANCE SCHEDULESM
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SCOPE OF WORK FOR MAINTENANCE SERVICE
Oil Service
Oil change
Engine:
Oil change and filter replacement
Check fluid levels of the following system, refill as
necessary.
If fluid is lost, trace and eliminate cause – as a separate
order.
Power-assisted steering
Lubrication work:
Trailer tow hitch (original equipment)
Maintenance
ASSYST maintenance computer resetFunction check
Signalling system,
warning and indicator lamps
Headlamps, exterior lighting
Windscreen wipers,
windscreen washer system
Check for leaks and damage.
Check for abrasion points and ensure that
lines are correctly routed!
All assemblies:
Engine, transmission, transfer case, front axle, rear
axle, steering, power steering pump
All lines and hoses, sensor cables
Rubber boots on front axle drive shafts,
rubber boots on front axle suspension ball joints, shock
absorbers

MAINTENANCE SCHEDULES 309
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Check fluid levels for the following systems, correct
as necessary.
Should there be a loss of fluid which cannot be
explained by regular use, trace and eliminate
the cause.
Engine cooling system
Check corrosion inhibitor/antifreeze,
refill as necessary.
Hydraulic brake system
Battery
Windscreen washer system
Engine
Fuel filter renewal
Air cleaner with maintenance indicator:
Check degree of contamination.
Air cleaner filter element renewed as
necessary.Chassis and body
Trailer coupling:
Check operation, play and retaining fixtures
Secondary rubber springs:
Visual check
Tire pressures:
Correct as necessary, including spare tyre
Check thickness of brake pads
Brake test
Check condition of brake disks. Brake disks renewal as
necessary
– as a separate order
Check condition of steering mechanism
Heating/ventilation dust filter renewal

INDEX 319
10
Care of Vehicle
Engine Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Headlamps, Taillamps, Turn Signal Lenses . . . . 273
Vehicle Washing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Care of vehicle
Paintwork, painted body components . . . . . . . . 272
Power washer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271
Tar stains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Catalytic Converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Central Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Central Locking Switch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Locking and Unlocking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Locking Status Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
To Program the Automatic Lock Feature . . . . . . . 19
Changing a Bulb
Additional Brake Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Exit Lamps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
Front Lamp Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Interior Lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293
Interior Lighting with Interior Sensor
Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294License Plate Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Reading Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Side-Marker Lamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Side-Mounted Turn Signal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
Taillamp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289
Changing the Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Charging the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267
Checking Coolant Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Checking Weights of Vehicle and Trailer. . . . . . . . . 224
Cigar Lighter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Cleaning
Cup Holder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Hard Plastic Trim Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Instrument Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Light Alloy Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Plastic and Rubber Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Seat Belts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 275
Steering Wheel and Gear Selector Lever . . . . . . . 275
Upholstery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Wiper Blade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Cleaning Tires. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182

INDEX 327
10
Care and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Changing the Tire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Date of Manufacture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Design Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Direction of Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
DOT, Tire Identification Number (TIN) . . . . . . . 196
Hydroplaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Important Notes on Tire Inflation Pressure . . . . 187
Inspection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Installing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Jack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
Labeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191
Life of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Load Rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Maximum Inflation Pressure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
Maximum Load. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Recommended Tire Inflation Pressure . . . . . . . . 186
Removing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242
Rim Diameter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193Rotating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204
Size Designation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Sizes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Snow Chains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Spare Wheel Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236
Speed Rating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192, 195
Storing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Tire and Loading Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
Tire and Loading Terminology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Tire Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Tire Grip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Tire Ply Material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Tire Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Tread Depth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Type Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Vehicles type 2500 C/HC/SHC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Vehicles type 3500 C/HC/SHC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Winter Tires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Tires, Wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Towing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Towing a Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225

328 INDEX
Towing Protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Switching off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Towing Protection and Passenger Compartment
Protection Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Towing the Vehicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
If the Engine is Damaged. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
If the Front Axle is Damaged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
If the Rear Axle is Damaged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
If the Transmission is Damaged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Attaching a Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Checking Weights of Vehicle and Trailer . . . . . . 224
Electrical Connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Loading a Trailer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Parking a Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
Towing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221
Towing a Trailer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Trailer Hitches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Trailer Tongue Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223
Vehicle and Trailer Weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Trailer Tongue Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223Transmission, Automatic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Trip Meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Two Way Radio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
UUsing the Jack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239
VVehicle / Engine Emission Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Vehicle Alteration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230
Vehicle and Trailer Weights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Vehicle and Trailer Weights and Ratings. . . . . . . . . 221
Vehicle Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Vehicle Safety Certification Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Vehicle Tool Kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233
Vehicle Washing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Vehicles type 2500 C/HC/SHC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Vehicles type 3500 C/HC/SHC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
Ventilation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Ventilation, Heating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
WWading Capability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228
Warning Buzzer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102, 156
Warnings and Cautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Warranty Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315