The expert towing service providers at Towing Chicago know all the in’s and outs of the various issues that cause drivers to require towing service. Many accidents that cause car’s to end up needing towing service are a result of poor merging and lane switch practices. Here’s a list of essential tips to safely switch or merge lanes.
Getting flat tires can be both inconvenient and dangerous – with the puncture of tires by sharp objects being the number one reason for people to get flat tire repair. However, this doesn’t always happen instantly or for the same reason – here’s a guide to the causes of flat tires as compiled by the professional towing crew at Towing Chicago.
If you’re the proud owner of a motorcycle you understand the importance of maintenance. There’s a few aspects of motorcycles that need to be regularly checked to ensure that your bike will continue efficiently running. Here’s a guide to the essentials of the potential issues with your motorcycle you need to regularly check up on for optimal performance, as prepared by the motorcycle towing experts at Towing Chicago.
Now that it’s December, the towing experts at Towing Chicago are regularly fielding calls regarding our expert Windy City towing services. Countless vehicles get stuck or break down in the snow every year – and we thought it was important to share the essential safety protocols of this scenario with our loyal customers. Here’s what to do if you’re waiting for towing in the snow.
Tow truck drivers have a hard job – putting their lives on the line every day to provide assistance to broken down vehicles when drivers need it most. Towing can also be very complicated – and the entire process is always made easier when customers understand the best practices to follow when hiring professional Chicago Towing services.
Lot’s of people like to embark on Autumn road trips in order to take advantage of cheaper hotel rates and a less maddening amount of traffic. Here’s a guide to some of America’s most dangerous roads, as prepared by the highway gurus at Towing Chicago, so you can make sure that you’re extra careful in case you find yourself driving on one of the below ominous stretches of pavement.
Known as Death Road, Highway 138 stretches from the mountains of Interstate 15 through the San Gabriel Mountains to Palmdale. The majority of its stretch is on a twisting, non divided 1 lane highway with tiny narrow shoulders and huge drop offs. It’s infamous for head on collisions – leading us to recommend to use turnout areas to allow faster traveling cars to safely move past you.
Called the Million Dollar Highway and constructed during the late 19th century, this 25 mile road leads up from Ouray to the top of the San Juan Mountains Red Mountain Pass. It carries huge inclines, hairpin turns, steep drop offs, and thin nails – all with minimal guardrails or safety shoulders. Beginning in October, snow and avalanches add another level of risk to traversing this highway. We recommend using low gears when descending this steep mountainous road while continually braking your engine to keep your car moving slowly, steadily, and safely,
This may well be the USA’s most dangerous road. Moving across the east coast of Florida with beautiful views of 13 separate counties throughout the Florida Keys, U.S. Highway 1 has been home to over 1000 deaths. We stress the importance of paying close attention to the road rather than the enchantingly beautiful scenery, as by paying attention to ocean views, you’re being a distracted and dangerous driver. Instead, wait until you see an official scenic lookout areas where you can park and take in the view safely.
This country road runs from North Dakota to Iowa is pretty desolate, but still very dangerous. Since it’s usually so empty, drivers usually drive extra fast on it – and since it’s in the middle of nowhere, if there’s an accident, ambulances simply won’t arrive for quite a long time, over an hour on average actually. When driving on these visually blighted and empty highways, utilize your car’s cruise control at a safe speed and don’t let the landscape hypnotize you out of your driver’s alertness.
Here’s a fantastic method from the experts at Towing Chicago on how to check your tire tread using only a single penny.
Of course, you’re going to want to bring your car into an expert to get it checked out every now and then. However, there’s a few easy techniques you can utilize between visits to the mechanic to check up on your car’s status.
Check your lights out by testing low and high beams, turn signals, tail lights, dash lights, and hazard lights. Ask a gfriend to verify that your brake and reverse lights are working, or if you’re by yourself simply back on up to a wall and check out the reflection.
When the car is off and the engine is cold, remove the dipstick and wipe it clean with a rag or towel. Look at the bottom of the dipstick to find the minimum and maximum level markings. Then put the dipstick back in and pull it out. The oil should cover the stick at a point between the two marks, ideally closer to the top. If your oil is running low, top it off.
In industry tests, two Ford F150 trucks were loaded with identical amounts of gravel- one of which were additionally given a suspension stabilizer, and one only carried its default factory suspension. In an interview with the respective drivers after they completed a drive through a testing terrain, the driver who drove the truck with only the factory suspension described the drive as being somewhat “mushy” and bumpy – even inside a flat parking lot, the car and is affected by every ridge and bump, making for a much less smooth drive. The truck fitted with additional suspension stabilizers enjoyed a much smoother and more relaxed drive.
We understand how complex the maintenance of tires can be. The majority of truck drivers don’t keep daily tabs on the maintenance of their tires, since the haul of driving can be a distraction. It’s quite easy to pay no mind to your tires until somehow one of your treads drop out, or you pick up a bolt – and unfortunately, tires can be quite temperamental, and profit guzzling. Here’s how to avoid letting your tires become a drain on your profits.
The lowest legal depth of a tire is 4/32’ on the steer tires, and 2/32” on the rest. The average wearing rate of tires is somewhere around 1/32” for every 13-14,000 miles driven. To stay prepared, measure your tire treads, and mark down the projected date to replace them based on your calculations of what your average mileage is. This will help you avoid any future upsets.
Keep new tires with new tires, and used tires with used tires. Keep all tires of the same diameter together. If you don’t do this, you will end up with a tire skipping the ground or scraping it because it isn’t the same size as the others. Early tire wear is never a good thing.
If your tire keeps getting damaged, don’t just ignore it. It can be a signal to you that you need to get your tires realigned, so understanding exactly what pattern is reoccuring will help you identify exactly what you need to do. Many tire expert websites have solution charts listing the types of damages that can occur with every type of problem.
Don’t just install retreads on these axles – start fresh, from scratch, and you’ll receive a much smoother ride.
Make sure to change your tire pressure based on the climate of your area – if you’ve been driving in a warmer area and go into a much colder one, your tire’s air will contract and suddenly your truck is driving with underinflated tires – make sure to check pressure periodically throughout your drive.
The weight of the load the truck is carrying will affect how the tires operate at varying pressures. Tires that are underinflated for the weight they are bearing will accumulate damage very quickly, at an exponential rate.
Any unbalanced wheels will cause serious damage to tires – after making every trip, visually inspect your wheels to see signs of any dents or damages.
Tires are one of many absolutely essential parts of a working vehicle, and we at Chicago Towing understand that they can be costly. So we want to help our customers increase their tire’s longevity, so that they can save money by not having to replace them often. Here’s our professional tips for ensuring the continued healthy maintenance of your tires.
If you check your tire pressure regularly, you can make sure they keep working properly and prevent incurring any serious or even light damage. When your tire air pressure drops, your car’s engine has to work harder to keep your wheels moving, which will eventually cause interior damage and eventually wear your tires down even faster at an exponential level since the friction increases.
Even if you don’t own an air gauge, you can simply take your car to any local auto shop to check it. It’s the best to check air pressure once your tires are cool, as it can be somewhat risky to quickly take the inflation outside of a hot tire. Tires are prone to air loss, averaging around a pound of lost air per inch about once a month. It’s important to check air pressure every few months, and always before embarking on any long car trips on the road.
If your tires are perfectly and symmetrically aligned together, they get much less road friction, allowing your engine to run easier for every rotation of the tires. Tires often get knocked out of alignment when they hit any sort of road obstacle, or fall into a pothole. By aligning the suspension of your car, you will improve the way it drives – the toe, caster, and camber of a tire will be readjusted, rendering them properly aligned again.
Even when most people pay extra attention to keeping their cars clean, they often don’t clean the tires. By cleaning off tires with soapy water or official tire cleaner, you can make the tire’s tread last longer, and reduce any chances of getting a flat tire (as you’ll notice any rips in the process) – as well as keeping your car looking pristine. It’s smart to ask your local auto shop their opinion on which cleaner to use on your car tires, as some are much stronger than others are and can actually cause damage to the rubber of the tires.
Tires normally wear down even with normal driving habits. Based on the make of the car combined with the driving technique used, they might wear down on one side more than another. We recommend ensuring the uniform wear of tires on each side by having your tires rotated. This can be done at home, or even better, by professionals who will remove, turn around, and reconnect the tire. Certain automobile manufacturers have an official recommendation for the amount of necessary rotations per year, but we generally belief in the efficacy of having a rotation for every 6000 or 8000 miles.
