Towing Basics: 8 Helpful Tips to Tow Someone’s Car

Find yourself in an auto emergency and needing to help someone tow their car? Read this article to find out what you need to know first.

Learn About Towing Limit

You should first find out what the towing limit or the towing capacity of your car is. The maximum towing capacity indicates the maximum weight that your vehicle is able to tow.

You need to find out what the towing capacity is for your car first. Otherwise, you might end up with two broken down cars instead of just one.

Each type of vehicle has a different maximum towing capacity. You can find out what they are by checking the owner’s manual. However, if you don’t know where that is, you could check online instead.

Keep the Drive Wheels Off the Ground

The placement of a car’s driving wheels are different and when it comes to towing a car, you need to figure out which one is a car’s drive wheels. It can either be a front-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive, so depending on which one it is, you should make sure that you keep the driving wheels off of the ground.

If you don’t keep it off the ground, then you might end up damaging the tires which can rack up additional costs. There are some tools you can use to help you if you can’t keep the drive wheels off of the ground, so look those up as well.

Use the Most Applicable Towing Method

You might not notice this but there is actually quite a choice when it comes to the towing method of a car.

There are several methods to towing a car and the method can rely on the type of tow truck that you are using.

The most common one (and also the safest method) is the Flatbed Towing Method. This requires a tow truck that has a flatbed behind it. The damaged car or the car with issues need only to drive up the ramp into the flatbed and you’re good to go.

Other methods are the Two-wheel Towing Method, wherein half of your car is hanging and the other half is rolling down the highway.

Another method is the Flat Towing Method wherein all the wheels of your car are rolling along as it’s dragged.

Know that Each Location Have Towing Rules

It’s best that you know the legalities of towing someone’s car before you do it. Otherwise, you might be slapped with several citations and fees that can cost you a lot of money if you don’t know the legalities of towing a car.

According to Koru Towing, you need to make sure you fulfill all of the requirements so that you don’t receive any citations. Some areas, though, are more lenient about their towing laws so you can have a leeway when towing a car.

Even if the laws are lenient, it’s best that you get the right license and all that so that you are operating within legal boundaries.

Learn How to Attach a Vehicle

A big part of towing (if you’re not using the Flatbed Towing Method) is learning how to attach a vehicle to the tow truck. You need to be able to attach a vehicle correctly or else it might detach and come rolling down the highway, endangering other people along with it.

You’ll need some things before you can tow and attach a vehicle properly to your vehicle. First, you’ll need quality tow rope. Always bring one with you in your vehicle to be safe. Second, you’ll need towing eyes so that the car isn’t damaged when it’s hooked on.

Make sure the distance between your vehicle and the damaged vehicle isn’t too far that it strains the towrope, but not too loose that the rope can end up snagging.

Learn the Towing Pointers by Heart

There are several towing pointers you need to take to heart to be able to do a safe and good job towing. Here are some of them for your reference:

• Place a sign like a piece of paper on the back of the car you’re towing to indicate that it’s being towed. That way, oncoming traffic will know what’s going on and adjust accordingly.
• Have a signal in place to indicate when you’re stopping.
• Don’t move to fast so that you don’t hit a speedbump or any other road issues that can end up snapping the towrope.
• Communicate any move or driving maneuvers before doing them.
• Drive slow in corners to be safe and turn with wide angles.

The Same Thing if Your Car is Towed

There are also some pointers to check for the car that is being towed. Check them out below:

• Turn the handbrake off and put the car in neutral before towing it.
• Try to match your driving with the tow vehicle and look out for signals from them as much as possible.
• Apply your brakes gently so that the towrope remains tight and doesn’t loosen up.

Practice How to Tow a Car

Towing a car takes some time getting used to, and as with any skill, it’s best to get some practice in.

Look for a relatively safe and open space to practice towing a car in so that you have better maneuverability when the time comes.