Category Archives: Chicago Towing Tips

The Chicago heavy duty towing service experts here at Towing Chicago regularly provide roadside assistance service to vehicles.

Different Kinds of Tow Trucks

Published August 23, 2016 By Chicago Towing

There’s three main kinds of tow trucks commonly used, but five common categories of equipment. The three main kinds of trucks are used for different crisis or labor scenarios like emergency towing, and determine what kind of tow truck that a service will send out. The three main kinds of tow trucks are:

Hook and Chain or Sling Trucks

Hook and chain tow trucks are rarely used today because, due to their design, damage is often sustained to the bumpers or front end of the cars. This truck works by looping a chain around the frame or axle of the vehicle, which is then wound up with a boom winch. Sometimes the sling truck is used on towing vehicles that have suffered an accident, or are missing one or both of the rear wheels, since the car can’t be securely towed by another kind of wrecker truck.

Flatbed, or slide trucks

These trucks are fit with beds that can be hydraulically positioned at an incline, and slid down to ground level – the truck is then driven onto the bed, or pulled on to it with a truck mounted winch. This is the most common and popular kind of tow truck used for emergency towing.

How to Tow a Boat

Published April 17, 2016 By Chicago Towing

Whether you’re towing a well worn dinghy or a high-end speedboat, it’s common knowledge that the kind of car you’re using to do the towing will affect the way that it handles a towed boat. Different cars yield different kinds of acceleration maneuvering, and stopping speeds. Whatever vehicle you’re using to tow your boat, here are some essential rules to follow in order to keep you (and your boat) safe and secure.

Keep Weight Balanced

While you’re loading the boat up onto whatever trailer it will be towed on, make sure that it’s weight is evenly distributed throughout – this means from both horizontal and vertical axis, from side to side, and from the entire length. You might have to shift around any other equipment inside the boat or on the trailer to find the right balance – anything can throw it off, from fuel, technical equipment, and even rations like water – make sure to stay vigilant in ensuring that the boat’s weight is evenly balanced.

Keep a flat axis

The towing vehicle and the trailer should both be exactly or just about parallel to the ground – make sure to research the trailer’s tongue weight so you can be certain that you’re not overloading the hitch with weight – the load (in this case, the boat) should weigh around 10 percent of the entire trailer’s weight.

Secure the boat tightly

Make sure the boat is securely attached to the trailer with ratchet straps, and make sure that the trailer’s winch strap is attached securely to the bow eye.

Compensate for weight when breaking

Since the trailer and towed boat adds a great deal of weight to the entire vehicle, make sure to keep this in mind while driving – your vehicle will require additional time to stop completely, so drive slow and break somewhat in advance of when you would instinctively break normally. Never make sudden starts, stops, or turns that can throw off the stability of the trailer or else the boat could fall away. When driving downhill, make sure to drive in low gear for extra traction.

Keep tools with you

You can never be too prepared. Make sure to bring a spare tire for your trailer, a lug wrench and tire gauge that fit your tires, and a grease gun for additional on the spot lubrication as needed. You don’t ever want to be caught stranded at a standstill with a boat attached to a trailer.

Be extra prudent and safe

In advance, make sure that the lights on your trailer are working properly, and just in case, make sure they are on even during the day. Before you embark, walk completely around the trailer and make sure everything looks right and that the weight seems evenly distributed. Every few miles of driving, check to make sure that no straps attaching the car has come loose – this way, even though the trip might go somewhat slower, you can be certain that you’re undertaking it with the maximum amount of safety and care.

Tire Maintenance Advice

Published April 3, 2016 By Chicago Towing

The most common cause of a call to request roadside towing is the incidence of a flat or blown out tire. If this happens to you, the skilled technicians at Chicago Towing are more than prepared to provide roadside assistance to pull you out of this situation – but of course, prevention is absolutely the best method. If you want to be proactively prepared and prevent any sort of tire failure, you need to learn a bit about proper tire maintenance.

The first step towards sustainably healthy tires is maintaining a proper inflation pressure for all four. By doing this you not only optimize your car’s performance, but also increase its safety – not to mention your monetary savings on fuel. In order to make sure that your car’s tires have correct pressure, check them periodically, about once or twice a month. Make sure that the tires feel cool to the touch – so don’t check them right after you finish driving – and use a working pressure gauge. The inflation level of your tires is specifically very important to maintain before embarking on a long car trip when your vehicle suffers slightly more wear than it usually does on a day to day level, and when you’re far from your local repair shop or even far away from anyone who can help. As a stated rule – always check your tire’s inflation before leaving on a long trip.

Depending on the manufacturer and model of your vehicle, it has a specific ideal tire pressure level – this can usually be found inside the car’s placard or inside the car’s owner manual. The single most effective way to preserve the working order of your car, it’s tires, and their tread life is to maintain a regular ideal tire pressure. Underinflation is the largest cause of tire failure – which can crack your tires, separate internal mechanisms, or even blow out the entire wheel. You don’t want that to happen when you’re on the road; no less in the middle of nowhere.

Secondly, make sure not to spin your tires in excess. The usual instinct that drivers follow when their vehicle is stranded in mud, sand, snow, or ice is to spin the tires and try to get out. This can be very harmful to your car because the centrifugal forces generated by the spinning tire could cause a sudden tire explosion – if you’re trying to get out of a pile of dirt or sand that you’re stuck in make sure not to drive above 35 mph, and use a slight back and forward rocking movement to gently free your car from its predicament.

On a regular basis check to see if your tires are worn out. Your tires should be taken out when they are worn down to 2/32’’ of tread depth left. All currently manufactured tires have indicator lines to show how far the treads are worn into – smooth lines inside the tread groove. Driving on tires with worn out treads is dangerous as the majority of rain or snow based accidents happen when a car starts skidding on worn out – or “bald” – tires. Not to mention the ease with which worn out tires can be punctured and blown out by any glass or roadside debris.

Since tires have broad contact with possible road debris, it’s essential that you check them on a monthly basis – at least – to preserve your safety. Any sorts of air loss, cracks, bulges, holes, or knots should warrant the removal of the tire and a close inspection by a professional. If you can, don’t overexert your car. The vehicle owner’s manual should have a set limit to pressure and exertion which should never be raised – as that can cause lots of problems, including affecting how your vehicle drives and how fast it eats up fuel – not to mention raising the possibility of tire failure. In some situations, exceeding your vehicle’s limits can cause serious cracking or a blowout.

In order to prevent abrasive vibration or excess tire wear, have your tires rotated on a regular basis – make sure they are properly inflated, aligned, and balanced – and replace any broken or worn out suspension mechanisms. Misalignment can cause scrubbing against the surface of the road which abrades the tire and unbalanced them – causing extreme vibration that can not only exhaust the human driver of the car, but can seriously take a toll on the suspension of the vehicle.
If you are able to change a tire, make sure that you have a spare one in your car at all times. That can save you a great deal of money and stress in situations where you get stranded. In fact, keep a tire on you even if you don’t know how to change it – so you can save some money once you contact a roadside assistance provider. We hope that the above tips will help you preserve the longevity of your vehicle’s tires – if you find yourself in a dire situation, Chicago Towing is always available to help you. Simply call us with any questions and we can be at your direct location in minutes.

Driving in Winter Conditions

Published March 23, 2016 By Chicago Towing

Advance Preparation

In the frigid winter weather, Chicago residents often encounter poor to bad driving conditions. Since most drivers never learn defensive driving techniques for bad weather, during the winter many accidents occur that otherwise never would have. Because of this, it’s absolutely essential that you prepare for driving under poor weather conditions; first of all, always keep a raincoat, umbrella, and gloves/scarf in the trunk of the car. You might have to change a tire in the middle of a snowstorm or cold downpour. Also keep a working flashlight in the trunk; as you’ll never know when you’re going to have to change a tire on a dark street or highway. Always remember to keep jumper cables in the trunk – you want to avoid being stranded in a car with a dead battery without the materials to jump start it. Keep your gas over the halfway mark as a force of habit, that absolutely reduces the chances of accidentally depleting your car’s gas. Ensure that you have a car jack, the proper tire iron for your vehicle, and a correctly blown-up spare tire. If your area gets especially cold during the winter, it couldn’t hurt to have a certified mechanic look at your car to make sure that everything is working correctly. Ideally, if there’s any problems found, you would get them taken care of before being caught driving in an unpleasant weather event, when it might really affect you. By following active awareness and preparation, you can avoid having to spend even more time, effort, or money if your vehicle suffers a breakdown.

Careful Practices

Whenever any bad weather event occurs – be it a blizzard, hail, frozen roads, or a rainstorm – one of the most important defensive driving techniques one can adopt is to drive slowly. By driving at a slower speed, you’re increasing the amount of time that you will have to react in case you come into/across some kind of accident. Also, if you’re driving slowly, and keep a large space between your car and the other vehicles that are driving, you’re going to have a much lesser chance of bumping into the back of one of them if they suddenly break. If the roads are incredibly slippery, one thing you should do is keep the brakes lightly applied while driving at a slow pace – for extra traction.

Top 7 Towing Myths DEBUNKED

Published March 17, 2016 By Chicago Towing

There’s a ton of misinformation out there being hawked by scam towing companies and blogs alike. Here’s a list of the most common towing misconceptions.

Myth One : You can increase a vehicle’s towing capacity by upgrading its hitch.

Untrue. A trailer’s hitch does not cancel out the maximum capacity rating of your vehicle – however it does maximize it. You should never tow more weight than your hitch is rated for.

Myth Two: Tongue weight makes up ten percent of the towed weight.

Untrue. The safe amount of tongue weight is somewhere between ten to fifteen percent of the trailer’s weight – depending on a range of criteria, including the load distribution and the position of the trailer’s axles. Often too much of the load is placed at the trailer’s front – which puts way too much weight on the tongue. If a heavy tongue is a concern for you, make sure to install a rated weight distribution mechanism, which can allow for more towing weight on your vehicle. The tongue prevents the trailer from swaying fast – this sort of sway can also be canceled if you increase the tongue weight, or place sway control devices on the trailer hitch.

Myth Three: All towing extensions work on truck campers.

Untrue. Hitch extensions have to have the right capacity of tongue weight for your truck – shorter extensions can handle weight better than longer ones, as a general rule.

Common Towing Mistakes

Published March 3, 2016 By Chicago Towing

Hitching a trailer to your truck and hauling out all your belongings on the open road sounds exhilarating for many people – but if you’re not skilled with long heavy tows it can be an incredibly complex process. There’s 8 major mistakes that people usually make when they’re towing. If you want to avoid paying extreme fees for mistakes, educate yourself on this list of potential mishaps before you embark.

Having the Wrong Weight Distribution Bars

The weight distribution bars between your vehicle and trailer have to be set up correctly; otherwise, the vehicle and the trailer will be bouncing away from each other – causing a bumpy ride, and potential damage to the trailer’s frame and hitch. The size of the weight distribution bar shouldn’t matter – many tunable chained bars come in many different levels of strength or weight – if you use the right bar size, it will be completely parallel to the frame of the trailer.

Heavy Duty Towing Safety Tips

Published February 23, 2016 By Chicago Towing

There’s variable reasons that cause a car to need to get towed. Whether you suffer an unfortunate accident in your vehicle, or if it breaks down on the highway, you should know the proper safety measures that both you and any towing specialist you may contact should take on the road, to protect your safety.

Driver Safety Tips

If you’re in the middle of driving and need to pull over to get towed, it’s absolutely necessary to follow these safety tips. First of all, move your car as far away from other cars as possible. If there’s a shoulder to the road, move onto it as soon as possible, as close to the edge as you can. Additionally, leave your hazard lights on – this is particularly important at night – so other drivers driving can see you, and also so the towing company can have an easier time recognizing you. If you have an emergency roadside kit in your car, place reflectors around the perimeter of your vehicle.

As you’re waiting for the tow company to get there, take anything that you might need (like license information, insurance records, registration, etc…) out of the car before it’s towed. It might be a few days before you see your car and you’re going to need to provide this information to the towing service during the process. While you’re waiting for the towing company to get there, make sure to wait inside the car, so you don’t put yourself at risk for the passing cars or any weather that might be occurring.

The Heavy Duty Towing Truck Safety Tips

Not only does the initial driver of the vehicle need to take safety measures to ensure the protection of their being and their vehicle’s being in the event where a towing is necessitated, but the driver of the tow truck that will transport your vehicle absolutely needs to follow safety measures. One of their initial steps is to increase the visibility of your stranded vehicle, by placing cones and flags around the area. This is to protect both you and them from oncoming traffic.

Tow truck drivers are also required to check whether their cable lines are intact, and not damaged. They need to make certain that their truck is capable of hauling your stranded vehicle safely. This information will be verified over the phone upon your first contact. Drivers additionally have training to never unwind the towing cables all the way when they’re loading a vehicle, and to make sure that the wheel-lift is extended far enough after the loading that they can safely and easily make turns. Drivers are also trained to avoid any electrical lines, and ensure that bystanders stand a safe distance during the entire towing process. All these safety measures are completely necessary – the operation of towing requires a great deal of safety attention, and drivers for the right company are thoroughly trained in all these measures to protect both their own neck, but yours, and that of your vehicle.

Common Car Towing Questions

Published February 1, 2016 By Chicago Towing

Can tow trucks tow the car backwards?

Most tow trucks can hook themselves up to the front or the back of the vehicle that’s being towed. This is actually the ideal (and most widely used) method for vehicles with rear wheel drive, although front or all-wheel drive vehicles can also be towed from the back if the car’s front can be lifted with a pulley or dolly.

Can your car get towed if you’re touching it?

Absolutely not. In order to complete the towing job safely, the tow truck driver will need you to stand away from your vehicle. If you’re physically blocking the car from getting towed, If your car is being towed due to legal injunction, and you’re physically blocking it from getting towed, the driver might contact the police to escort you away – which may result in a fine or civil charges of obstruction.

How can I prevent my car from being able to get towed by a roll-back or flatbed tow truck?

These trucks get their name from their flatbed that tilts backwards so that vehicles can get rolled on to it for transporting. These trucks usually transport strangely shaped, damaged, or large vehicles – but also commonly tow regular cars. Since the flatbed’s driver needs to position the truck directly in line with the car so that it can be winched up, you can prevent one of these trucks from being able to tow you by parking somewhere there the flatbed truck can’t reach the front or back of the car.

Tips for Driving in Heavy Fog Chicago

Published January 20, 2016 By Chicago Towing

Driving in fog can be incredibly dangerous – not only does the moisture make vehicles more likely to skid, but your visibility is drastically reduced. If you find yourself having to make an automobile trip in heavy fog, try sticking to these tips – they are great safety boosters.

Use your low-beam headlights

While the seemingly obvious thing to do is use high beam headlights, this isn’t actually the best safety method, as the high beams simply illuminate the fog in front of you, making it harder to see traffic. Using your low beams light on your vehicle is a more effective way of spotting traffic.

Use the line in the pavement as a safety guide.

If the fog is exceptionally thick, try using the white line on the right side of the road as a navigation guide. Don’t look at the center pavement line, as doing so will lead you to be closer to oncoming traffic then leaning to the non-highway side.

Use your Fog Lights

If your car has specialty fog lights, you can illuminate the road in front of you, as well as making you and your car more easily spotted by other drivers. Rear fog lights can be effective in helping motorists behind you spot your vehicle’s course.

Drive Slow!

This is an essential tip. If you’re having problems seeing the road in front of you, don’t drive fast under any circumstances. Monitor your speedometer in order to regulate how fast you’re going, as thick fog that obscures the landscape around your car makes it more difficult to determine your vehicle’s velocity by sight alone.

Don’t stop – for any reason!

If you can’t see where you’re going, you may be inclined to stop on the road until the fog clears. If you need to stop, you need to find a spot far away from traffic, and make sure your lights are turned off. If you leave your lights on, it might make other motorists think that where you’re sitting is the direction of traffic, which could cause an accident.

Emergency Roadside Services

Chicago Towing Service is designed to assist you in an emergency when the vehicle you are either driving or riding and your vehicle becomes disabled in any weather conditions in Chicago, IL.