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1. Have the dealer show you how to set everything up, how to connect, how to tow, how to brake, how to turn, and how to disconnect. What NOT to do. Whether you should/can back up.
2. Make a video of that instruction process. You'll want to refer to this many times.
3. Use / create a check list for connecting it up and for disconnecting it.
4. Never disconnect the toad without first putting it in park. Toads quickly roll downhill once they're disconnected, and you won't be in it to apply the brakes. Set the brakes before you disconnect.
5. Don't let friendly neighbors interrupt your connecting/disconnecting process. Be kind, but let them know the situation. Tell them "I'd love to talk with you, but I'm in the middle of a complex process right now; I can't afford to be distracted. Please come back in 30 minutes and we'll talk then."
6. Use remote tire pressure sensors on your toad's tires, and keep the monitor where you can see it in the towing vehicle. Any tire touching the ground needs to be remotely monitored for temperature and pressure. When you see one tire showing any sudden or slow change that's different from all the other tires, pull over and investigate it. You might have a slow leak that could develop into a flat or a catastrophic blow-out. You might have a bearing that's failing, or a stuck brake caliper. Maybe you even forgot to take the toad out of park before you started driving! There are too many pictures of shredded tires on the Internet that were caused by that exact thing. Go back up & re-read the comments about using a check list and not allowing yourself to be distracted.
7. Use a full-time rear camera on your tow vehicle that shows your toad all the time. Not only will it be reminder that it's behind you, but it will show if it's starting to smoke, or is flopping on a flat tire--or that it's missing completely!
8. Read the complete manual for the towing hardware before you connect/disconnect anything.
9. Read the complete manual for towing your toad. Be certain that vehicle CAN be safely towed, and know how to do it correctly.
10. Many vehicles CANNOT be towed with all four wheels on the ground. KNOW if yours is one of those. If you have to buy/rent a two-wheel tow dolly, or a 4-wheel tow trailer, read their instructions before buying them, AND before hooking them up. There's nothing quite like disconnecting a car-tow trailer and then realizing you didn't put the chocks around its wheels, watching it roll down hill away from you.
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