Towing a trailer — Minnesota Permit Test

Towing a trailer on the Minnesota permit test — 6 rules, each with the reason behind it and a question on it while it is fresh.

The rules

Pulling a camper or trailer, you must keep at least 500 feet of following distance from other vehicles.

The extra weight means the extra distance, because the brakes on the car were not built for it.

If you pull a camper or trailer with your vehicle, you must maintain at least 500 feet of following distance from other vehicles.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.78

When loaded, 10 to 15 percent of a trailer’s weight should rest on the hitch, and the floor should be level.

Too little weight on the hitch and the trailer sways; too much and the car steers light at the front.

When loaded, 10 to 15 percent of the trailer’s weight should be balanced on the hitch between the trailer and vehicle.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.78

After the first few miles, stop and check the hitch, tires, lights and load, and do it again at every rest stop.

Things work loose in the first miles, and a trailer that comes off is unguided.

After the first few miles, stop and check the hitch, tires, lights and load. Repeat this process at all rest stops.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.78

Travel slower when towing, because smaller trailer wheels turn faster and build heat that can destroy a wheel bearing.

The bearing fails without warning and the wheel leaves the trailer at whatever speed you were doing.

Many trailers have smaller wheels that turn faster than your car wheels, causing heat buildup that can lead to trailer wheel bearing failure.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.78

Allow plenty of room for turns, because a long trailer swings closer to the edge of the road than your vehicle does.

The trailer cuts the corner your car went around, and the curb is where it ends up.

Long trailers will swing closer to the edge of the road than your vehicle.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.78

Wind and rain make a vehicle towing extra weight harder to control, so slow down more than usual in that weather.

A trailer is a sail, and a gust that moves a car sideways moves a trailer further.

When towing a trailer or camper in wet or windy conditions, slow down more than you would normally do in such weather.

Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.78

On the test

How much following distance must a vehicle towing a camper keep?

At least 500 feet. The extra weight means the extra distance, because the brakes on the car were not built for it. Minnesota Driver’s Manual, p.78: “If you pull a camper or trailer with your vehicle, you must maintain at least 500 feet of following distance from other vehicles.”

How this works

Most practice tests hand you a bank of questions and leave the manual somewhere else. This one puts them together.

You read one law and the reason behind it, then answer a question on that law while it is still fresh. Get it right and you move on; get it wrong and you have found the gap while it is cheap to fix, not on the morning of the exam.

Learning one rule at a time, and proving it immediately, is what turns a manual you skimmed into something you actually know — and it makes studying feel like getting somewhere rather than like waiting to find out.

What it costs

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  • Paying opens the rest of the cards, unlimited full-length practice tests, and retests built from exactly the questions you got wrong.
  • Every level up to Prepared — 3 tests passed in a row.
  • Do the work, fail the real exam, and we refund you.

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Where these come from

Every rule here is checked against Minnesota Driver’s Manual, published by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, and against the state code itself. Last checked 2026-09-22.