Car towing is one of the most common car services performed in the United States. It has become a necessity as almost all new cars have a tow system built in. The majority of these services are located in the United Arab Emirates, where cars are rare and valued.
A car towing service can quickly charge you between $250 and $500 for their services, which includes mounting and unhooking the vehicle from its normal setup, removing the wheels and seats to access the towed location, and transporting the vehicle to an agreed-upon location.
This article will talk about how to do a basic car towing on your own. This is not a hard skill to have, especially if you are not sure if you have it or not. You can also call a professional if you do not feel confident doing it on your own.
Contents:
Buy a lightweight trailer
When to buy a trailer? When you tow a heavy car, the answer is when. Car trailers are designed for carrying a car with the back wheels on a hill or in water, so when you need to pull it out, you have the right one.
When you own a car that has a rear wheel drive, stay away from any type of trailer that is meant for a front wheel drive car. Even with the old reputation for being harder to tow, front wheel drives hold their value better over time due to better handling.
To buy the right trailer for your car, stay away from those that are made for cars with no weight behind the wheels such as bicycles or boats.
Buy a heavy duty trailer
If you are towing a lighter weight vehicle, consider buying a heavier duty trailer. The heavier the trailer, the greater the distance it can towing a vehicle.
A heavy duty trailer can withstand more towing stresses compared to a lightweight one. This means your vehicle will last longer and be safer while towing. Plus, if you need to move it away from the truck at some point, a more sturdy unit will do the job fine.
Additionally, purchasing a heavy duty unit will help save money in the long run. Because it cost more to purchase and rent at times, you could save some money by buying one on Amazon or another site. It is totally up to you though!
The last tip is about choosing how tall your vehicle is. Many people are surprised by what sized trailer they need with their truck.
Get a flat tow bar
If you have a 4-5 wheeled vehicle, get a flat tow bar. It will help you pull your vehicle off the ground to make it easier to tow.
A typical flat tow bar has a curved top, where you can place your car. Then, there is a short piece of pipe that you can place your wheel chain on.
You must keep in mind that when pulling your car with a flat tow bar, it must bein the direction of travel. When moving your vehicle with the flat tow bar, make sure to keep the same amount of pressure on the bar.
When properly placed in front of your vehicle, the bar should be parallel to and slightly above the ground. This way, it will not be effected by potholes or other similar terrain conditions.
Get automatic brakes
When you drive a car with manual brakes, your job is to apply the brakes. If you have automatic brakes, they will stop the car!
Most cars have a feature called parking assist. This helps you stop your car when putting it in park mode is activated. It also turns on the Brakes if you leave it on while driving.
This function can also be turned off but then you get better handling when driving at night or in bad weather. Having it off might make people not feel comfortable using the brakes because they are automatic, but we would rather have that than no braking at all!
Bullet pointing up next is getting better steering control. Many people find that if they turn the wheel slightly, the car will correct itself and return to a straight path.
Use ratchet straps to secure the vehicle to the trailer
If you have a 3- or 5-row trailer, you can use ratchet straps to secure the vehicle to the trailer. These straps are usually marked as a 3 or 5 on the trailer.
If you have a 6- or 8-row trailer, you can use strap locks to secure the vehicle to the trailer. These 6-, 8-, and 12-row trailers have different strap locks than 4-, 6-, and 10-row trailers.
Either way, these prevent your vehicle from being pulled off of the trailer by an animal or pedestrian, since only one tie down can be used on each vehicle.
Use enough strap ringwraps to reach at least halfway across your roof deck.
Know your limits
When towing a car with a rear wheel drive, you should know what limits you have when towing with a bicycle trailer or an electric bike.
When riding an e-bike, you can have a maximum range of about 30 miles per charge. This includes stopping and starting the bike as well as putting power into the pedals. A normal e-bike can easily reach 20 miles per charge!
With a bicycle trailer, the maximum distance is about 12 miles per charge. The actual travel may take more than double that amount due to friction from moving across terrain.
These differences mean using the correct type of towing for your needs.
Have someone watch you while towing
When towing a car with a rear wheel drive, you should have someone watch your car while you are towing. This includes when you are driving the car, when you are parked, and when you are handling the vehicle while towing.
When driving the vehicle or performing any other task that requires concentration, such as operating the parking brake or turning off the lights at home while towing, is when someone should be watching the car. When stopped, someone should be ready to quickly move out of range of the tow bar movement or sound.
While parked, there is a chance that another person could come across your vehicle and start to work on it. If someone tries to move out of range of what they are doing with a T-bar or brush, they could end up hurting themselves or their vehicle.
There have been cases where cars have had accidents because of people trying to help themselves with equipment on them.
Keep your speeds low
If you have a high speed car like a Formula 1 car or a typical driver car, do not try to tow it at a higher speed. It may damage your vehicle and yourself.
Your vehicle will not be able to handle the stress of being towed at a higher speed. The tires will probably break or get treaded over in the process and you will be stuck with that speed!
Instead, drive slow enough to keep your tires intact, but low enough to not harm your vehicle.
If you have a slower driver car, then you can really go fast! You can easily stay under the legal limit by having little or no towing behinds!
Many people are shocked how much weight they gain when they have an extra baby on the wagon. Your body needs time to recover from such heavy use so do not go too fast when you have kids in tow.