In this blog entry, our professional Chicago towing service team will detail the main differences between dolly based towing and flatbed towing.
Category Archives: Towing
Catalytic converters are essential pieces of automotive equipment that need to properly operate for a vehicle to safely drive – and are now, more than ever, a major target of automotive equipment thieves. In this blog entry, the Chicagoland towing service experts here at Towing Chicago will detail the important things you need to know about catalytic converters.
The professional Chicagoland roadside assistance technicians here at Towing Chicago are prepared to provide vehicle recovery and towing services to vehicles of all sizes. Our team is highly experienced in light duty trucking, medium duty trucking, and heavy duty trucking services. In this blog entry, our professional towing service technicians will detail some of the different types of tow trucks that we regularly use to provide towing services throughout the entire Chicago region.
In this blog entry, the towing and vehicle recovery experts at Towing Chicago will detail the role that tongue weight plays in the technically complex – and essential – service of heavy duty (and medium duty) towing services.What is Tongue Weight
Winching is one of the main tool based services that we provide here at Towing Chicago. In this blog entry, our towing experts will explain exactly what a winch is, and how it works in towing operations.
When car breakdowns happen, getting reliable, speedy, and professional towing service is an absolute must. However, there’s myriad factors that affect the difficulty of a towing operation – factors that help to determine the price. While the experts here at Towing Chicago are committed to providing our valued customers with affordable and budget-friendly professional towing services at all times, we want to provide, in this brief blog entry, a guide as to the various factors that can determine the cost of a towing service.
Heavy duty hauling requires a great degree of professional knowledge and skill. That’s why it’s always best to leave heavy duty hauling to teams of towing experts, like those at Towing Chicago. Our technicians have the necessary experience to perform any type of heavy duty hauling operation with the utmost professionalism, skill, and efficiency. Here’s a guide to heavy duty hauling as prepared by the towing experts 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.
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.
Tow truck drivers are employed in a wide variety of professional industries, as well as dealing directly with civilian clients who may require towing assistance. Whether a vehicle gets somehow disabled, in an accident, ends up parked in an unauthorized place, or needs to get re-possessed, a tow truck driver will bring it to it’s required destination. The requirements stipulated for tow truck drivers vary state-by-state, but all in all they are present in order to ensure the full level of competence for all tow truck drivers on the road. In this brief blog post, the experts at Chicago Towing will detail some of the intense requirements for our professional tow truck technicians.
Government Agency Licensing
All qualifications including certificates and licenses for tow truck drivers are distributed and administered by either, or both, locally based or State run governing agencies. The standard age requirement is usually 18 years old at the minimum. Many State regulations stipulate that all prospective tow truck drivers submit their fingerprints so their criminal background can be investigated – and others require the payment of a fee- and of course, the holding of a valid driver’s license. The United States Dept. of Transportation requires large haul tow truck drivers to carry a separate commercial tow truck driver’s license.
Commercial Licenses
The United States Dept. of Transportation requires possession of a commercial driver’s license for tow trucks or cargo exceeding over 26,001 pounds, many local or state agencies require the possession of a commercial driver’s towing license for every kind of towing job. Commercial licenses are only rewarded after attendance of classes, accredited training, and the successful grade of a written test as well as driving test. The major benefit of gaining a commercial driver’s license for drivers is that it leads to an increase in employment opportunities for them.
Hours and Abilities
Local, state, and federal licensing agencies require that tow truck drivers are in good physical health states. Tow truck drivers are required to qualify a selection of assessment tests that measure vision, hearing, response time, and physical fitness. Many employers also issue required drug tests in order to qualify for their insurance policy. Tow truck drivers often work strange overnight hours, as well as during weekends and holidays. Anyone interested in being a tow truck driver has to be willing to work according to this strange schedule, and even work overtime sometimes.
Official Certificates
Many organizations exist like the Towing and Recovery Association of America, as well as the Professional Truck Driver institute that can provide tow truck driver certification. While certification isn’t always required by employers, official certification can vastly increase employment chances for prospective drivers, so it’s a common professional route. These non-governmental organizations also require passing of coursework or maintaining current employment as a tow truck driver, filling out an application, payment of a fee, or the successful passing of a nationally administered credential exam.
