Off road recovery is one of the services that we proudly offer here at Towing Chicago. This service proves to be a lifesaver to drivers in need – whether they have been in an accident, an automotive break-down, have run out of gas, or any myriad of issues that can affect drivers. In this blog entry, we’ll provide some detail as to the definition of off-road recovery, and the various scenarios in which it can prove useful.
While Towing Chicago is always happy to provide reliable, professional, and safe roadside assistance services to all of our valued clients when needed, we also understand that most people would prefer not to have to receive roadside assistance in the first place. In this blog entry, we are going to detail some ways that you can avoid having to receive ANY roadside assistance, staying safe on the road all the while.
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.
Having a vehicle flip over is one of the scariest and most dangerous types of accidents that can happen with vehicles. While we hope and pray that nobody has to experience this sort of accident, the towing experts here at Towing Chicago have prepared the following list of tips to help drivers be better prepared as to what to do to to survive this experience.
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 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.
Car break downs are never enjoyable – from having to wait to get the car repaired, to having to wonder how much the repairs will cost. The area where your car breaks down makes a huge difference as to what your experience will be like. Breaking down in your driveway is much better than breaking down in the middle of the desert. In this blog entry, I’ll detail some of the worst possible places in the world that your car could break down.
This road, known as Loneliest Road, runs from Fernley to Ely in the arid state of Nevada for over 287 miles with only a few gas stations along the way. The AAA has announced an official warning to drivers not to drive through there unless they are 100% confident in their driving prowess – and since hours can go by without passing another vehicle or having a tow truck come to your rescue, it would take a very long time for help to arrive if your car broke down.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.