There’s a wide range of simple and easy tips that drivers can implement to not only save money on fuel – but to make their vehicles more efficient and durable. In this blog entry, the Chicago roadside assistance service and fuel delivery service experts here at Towing Chicago will detail the best ways to improve your gas mileage.
If you suddenly find your car with an empty gas tank while driving, you may wind up stranded – in which case, you can be rescued by contacting a reputable towing service like Towing Chicago. However, if you absolutely need to get to your destination that’s only a few miles away, here’s a guide to making the most of a nearly empty gas tank.
Tow trucks can be a serious saving grace when your car is having mechanical problems. You simply call up the car towing company, and the team will be there incredibly fast in order to tow your vehicle back for repairs. Tow trucks are designed to tow many kinds of vehicles without causing any damage – and here’s how to select a good towing company, like the experts here at Towing Chicago.
Sometimes it’s simply necessary to drive on other types of surfaces besides a perfectly paved highway or road. And we wouldn’t ever want to change that! It’s one of the adventures of driving, and great pleasures that these amazing transportation devices allow us to experience. However, this pleasure can quickly turn to agony and stress when your vehicle gets stuck in surfaces like snow, sand, dirt, or mud – especially if it’s in the middle of nowhere. Here’s a guide to how to avoid getting your car stuck in these substances, as prepared by the towing experts at Towing Chicago.
Drivers of semi trucks are perhaps the most at risk drivers out there; this is due to the massive size of semi trucks, and the unique difficulty in delicately maneuvering these giant metal beasts. Semi trucks are more vulnerable to mechanical issues that affect smaller sedan style cars much less commonly – and when they break down, it really sucks for the driver, since they commonly are towing cargo with a specific delivery time. Here’s a guide, as prepared by the truck towing experts at Towing Chicago, as to the most common causes of semi truck roadside breakdown that we respond to.
If your car breaks down, no matter where or when, you’re going to require the assistance of a professional towing company like Towing Chicago. Vehicle breakdowns can be caused by dead batteries, mechanical malfunctions, leaking fuel, or accidents. Roadside assistance is an absolute essential when you are in this situation. Here’s a brief guide to roadside assistance, as prepared by the experienced towing technicians at Towing Chicago.
There’s few everyday day-ruiners like automobile trouble. However, you’re lucky that Chicago Towing can always help provide roadside assistance to you when you need it. Here’s some of the most common vehicle issues that might lead to calling for roadside help for a good fix.
Sometimes you place your key in the ignition slot and turn it, only to find that it has no effect. This can be unbelievably annoying when you’re in a huge rush to get somewhere, or if someone you know or are related to can’t get there in a rush to help. Calling Chicago Towing for roadside assistance is a fantastic quick solution to get a jumpstart and get you back on the road. If you find that your car needs jumpstarts often, it should have it’s battery completely replaced.
Flat tires are a very common cause for roadside assistance. It’s always smart to carry a spare tire inside your car, but it can be very very hard to change your tire when you’re all by yourself. Getting professional roadside assistance can help you swap your faulty tire for a good new one, and get you back on the road in a matter of minutes.
Roadside assistance can help when you get locked outside of your car. This is one of the most common issues for motorists. Within a matter of minutes from your call, a technician from Chicago Towing will arrive directly at your location, get your car unlocked instantly, and get you back on the road right away.
Sometimes you’re in a hurry to leave your house, so you leave bevor checking the gas meter, or hoping that you have enough to pull you through the day, and just refuel at a gas station after work. However, you’re driving down the street and your car begins feeling weird – this means it needs to be refueled, but this can be difficult especially when you’re in the middle of nowhere. Gas delivery is a commons service performed by roadside assistance groups – one of our technicians will simply drive to your location and refill your gas tank as soon as possible.
If you’ve ever had your car towed, you may have been asked by the expert towing technician if the car needed flatbed or dolly towing. You might have been – or still be – confused as to what exactly this means. Here’s a guide to the difference between flatbed and towing service, prepared by the towing experts at Chicago Towing.
This service, known as the hook method, involves a two-wheeled towing device attached to a tow-hitch and axle. This dolly trailer tows front wheel drive suspension cars, and hooks the front wheels up on the trailer, with the two back wheels of the car remaining on the ground. Dolly towing lifts the front wheels of your car off the street onto the truck itself. Dolly cars help save money over using a flatbed truck, while also keeping your car’s mileage the same. However dolly towing cannot work with the same amount of weight as a flatbed truck.
Make sure to hook the towing dolly to the vehicle you want to tow before it’s loaded onto the dolly. If you’re driving a big vehicle, we highly encourage you to use a flatbed truck, as it’s much safer for the car. You can also check with your insurance company to see if it qualifies with the first few miles.
This involves a flatbed tow truck fit with a ‘bed’ that’s hydraulically controlled, shifting on an incline to ground level, allowing for a car to be attached on top of it (either through the car’s own drive, or using a winch.) This towing is usually used to transport 4 wheel drive cars, as well as any heavy equipment including excavators, bulldozers, and dump trucks.
This is the safest transportation methods for vehicles as they don’t change the powertrain of the vehicle. The car doesn’t incur any wear as they often do with typical dolly’s, since all of its wheels are off of the road. This is an ideal towing method for all vintage and luxury cars – or anybody who wants to keep their car as safe as possible as it’s being towed. However, flatbed towing costs more money than dolly towing.
Now that the weather is getting colder, many parts of Chicago are already freezing. Towing can be a very hard task to complete, and towing in icy weather is even harder – even when you’re using a truck complete with four wheel drive. Here are our tips for safe Winter towing.
This is an absolute must. Tire chains provide the extra traction that’s necessary for safe driving on snow or ice, and lessen any chances of jackknifing on a cold highway. Park your truck on a flat area with 10 feet of clearance in front and behind your truck. Put a chain down next to both front tires, with studs facing down. Put the end of each chain on the front of the tire where it’s making contact with the ground. Slowly drive the truck forward until the tires are centered onto the chains. Pull each end of the chain over the top of each tire, giving a small amount of slack room. Attach the closing device to each end of the chain – and remember that some snow chains will need you to install tension cords on the chain links using hooks or nuts. Drive the truck a short amount of room within the recommended speed limit paying attention to whether you hear any jarring noises that might mean that the chains aren’t tight enough.
Back up the truck to the back of the towed vehicle – ideally the area next to the driving wheels, since that end’s axle is likely more durable. If that part of the vehicle isn’t accessible, just use the other one. Make sure the two vehicle’s bumpers aren’t any more than 3 feet away from each other, and place the tow truck in parking mode. Wrap one side of the towing chain over the top of the truck’s back axle, making sure that it’s not accidentally wrapped around any wires or hoses. Put one side of the chain over the other end, and attach the chain end hook to the link above the axle. Make sure the chain loops are as tight as possible. Do the same actions to the other end of the chain.
Make sure both vehicle’s wheels are parallel and straight – ask the driver of the stuck vehicle to place their car in neutral and stay inside the vehicle. This will help the vehicle’s physics remain in synchronization with each other. Put your truck in the lowest gear facing forward to help prevent the tires from spinning or slipping. Slowly accelerate the gas pedal to slowly increase tension on the chain, making sure your wheels are still straight. Drive straight at a steady slow pace while traction increases, and once you’re moving more smoothly, make your speed faster at a very slow pace. Just be careful, as the drivers in front of you may pose a danger – the main danger being a driver who strikes their brakes suddenly – so it’s best to keep as much distance between your truck, the vehicle you’re towing, and any other cars in front of you. Once the towed vehicle is on firm non icy ground, stop the truck in a safe place – and of course, always make sure that your brake lights are on when you’re stopping.
Some of the most common equipment that requires heavy hauling is heavy machinery or construction equipment. While many companies have their own hauling equipment, lots of others don’t, or perhaps they need to use their hauling equipment for another big project.
Regardless of the project where it’s implemented, heavy hauling is a difficult and technically complex job. The kind of equipment that requires heavy hauling is expensive and delicate, despite its extreme weight. Due to the extreme value of this equipment, and the magnitude of the job’s complexity, it’s totally necessary to hire a professional hauling company. It’s of major importance that they are trustworthy, and have the necessary experience and expertise to safely finish the haul without causing any damage to the vehicle.
When you’re transporting extremely heavy and large equipment, the haul’s route should be determined in advance. There’s many detailed aspects to the ride that absolutely need to be considered, including the height of overpasses. Both equipment and even the overpass could be damaged, which could not only result in heavy costs but also put people’s lives at risk. There will be many potential obstacles including weight limits on roads and bridges. A truly professional hauling company will know exactly how to find and expertly navigate the best route to haul out the equipment to it’s rightful destination.
