A hitch assist system for a vehicle is provided herein. The hitch assist system includes a sensing system configured to detect a hitch assembly and a coupler. A controller is configured to determine an offset between the hitch assembly and the coupler. The controller is further configured to generate a command for maneuvering the vehicle forward based on the offset exceeding an offset threshold. The controller is further configured to generate a command for subsequently maneuvering the vehicle rearward along an alignment path. The controller is configured to prompt termination of the forward maneuver of the vehicle based on a determination that alignment of the hitch assembly with the coupler is feasible via execution of the alignment path.

A method and device for vehicle speed control when towing a heavy load trailer are disclosed. The method includes determining whether a vehicle is in a trailer towing mode; determining whether the vehicle is in a slope-climbing situation or not using a G sensor based road gradient value when the vehicle is determined to be in the trailer towing mode; calculating a difference between the G sensor based road gradient value and a torque-based road gradient value, and determining whether a towed trailer is a heavy load trailer on the basis of the calculated difference, when it is determined the vehicle is in the slope-climbing situation; and performing shift control using a heavy load trailer dedicated shift map when the towed trailer is determined to be a heavy load trailer.

A computer-implemented method includes determining a vehicle configuration indicative of a towing mode setting for the vehicle, which can include a neutral transmission gear setting, a battery conservation mode, or another towing mode setting. The method can include determining at least one vehicle operation characteristic that changes with time while the vehicle is in the towing mode setting, and performing, via a vehicle control module and based at least in part on the towing mode setting and the vehicle operation characteristic, one or more vehicle actions that include generating an alert signal indicative that vehicle damage may be imminent.

A driving range estimator system for a vehicle accounting for a load on the vehicle may include an energy storage device configured to power the vehicle. Sensors may be disposed about the vehicle and may be configured to detect information relevant to a range estimate. A towing control unit may be configured to receive the detected information from the sensors, and configured to determine a) an expected range for the vehicle with the load, and b) an expected range for the vehicle without the load. A display may be configured to simultaneously display a) the expected range for the vehicle with the load and b) the expected range for the vehicle without the load.

The disclosure relates to a method for estimating a maximum safe articulation angle (Φlim) to be used in reversing of a vehicle combination (1) comprising a towing vehicle (10) and at least one trailer (20), said method comprising: S1) providing a preset maximum safe articulation angle (Φlim) for the towing vehicle (10) or the vehicle combination (1), S2) receiving a signal being indicative of an articulation angle (Φ) of the vehicle combination (1) during forward driving of the vehicle combination (1), and S3) updating the maximum safe articulation angle (Vim) when the articulation angle (Φ) of the vehicle combination (1) during forward driving is larger than the preset maximum safe articulation angle (Φlim). The disclosure also relates to a method for reversing a vehicle combination (10), to a control unit (11), to a towing vehicle (10), to a computer program and to a computer readable medium.

Various applications for use of mass estimations of a vehicle, including to control operation of the vehicle, sharing the mass estimation with other vehicles and/or a Network Operations Center (NOC), organizing vehicles operating in a platoon and/or partially controlling the operation of one or more vehicles operating in a platoon based on the relative mass estimations between the platooning vehicles. When vehicles are operating in a platoon, the relative mass between a lead and a following vehicle may be used to scale torque and/or brake commands generated by the lead vehicle and sent to the following vehicle.

System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to adapting operation of a driving assistance system according to a presence of a trailer. In one embodiment, a method includes adjusting system parameters according to attributes of a trailer connected with the subject vehicle. The system parameters control operation of the driving assistance system of the subject vehicle. The method includes, in response to detecting a nearby object from sensor data about a surrounding environment of the subject vehicle, estimating a path of the nearby object. The method includes activating the driving assistance system according to the system parameters when i) the estimated path satisfies an activation threshold and ii) the estimated path does not intersect a restricted zone of the trailer.

A method of controlling a vehicle combination, the vehicle combination comprising a first vehicle unit, a second vehicle unit and an articulated coupling connecting the first and second vehicle units to each other, the method comprising determining a coupling force parameter of the articulated coupling based on a combination of motion related parameters obtained from the first and second vehicle units; selecting an operational envelope for the vehicle combination based on the coupling force parameter; and controlling the vehicle combination to operate within the operational envelope.

A hitch assist system for a vehicle is provided herein. The hitch assist system includes a sensing system configured to detect a hitch assembly and a coupler. A controller is configured to determine an offset between the hitch assembly and the coupler. The controller is further configured to generate a command for maneuvering the vehicle forward based on the offset exceeding an offset threshold. The controller is further configured to generate a command for subsequently maneuvering the vehicle rearward along an alignment path. The controller is configured to prompt termination of the forward maneuver of the vehicle based on a determination that alignment of the hitch assembly with the coupler is feasible via execution of the alignment path.

System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to adapting operation of an assistance system in a subject vehicle according to a presence of a trailer. In one embodiment, a method includes, in response to determining that the trailer causes an occlusion to perception of at least one sensor about a surrounding environment of the subject vehicle, modifying system parameters associated with the assistance system according to the occlusion to adapt how the assistance system operates while the occlusion is present. The method includes controlling the assistance system as a function of the system parameters to improve assistance provided to an occupant of the subject vehicle.