Tag Archives: Towing

Tow Truck Facts you may not know

Published October 23, 2016 By Chicago Towing

Towing, if you haven’t already learned it, is the art of coupling two or more objects (usually vehicles) together so that they can be pulled or transported by a power source – which can be a human, animal, vessel, or other vehicle. IN the past, before we all relied on vehicles, animals and people did all the towing work. Nowadays boats and motorized land vehicles do it – boats are usually used in maritime or aircraft related industries – and on land, vehicles are used to tow other vehicles. Here’s some facts about tow trucks you might not know:

Tow Trucks don’t equal Motor Carriers

Tow trucks are motorized land trucks meant to transport disabled, broken, impounded, or wrongly parked vehicles. Motor carriers are different – they are trailers meant to carry cars, usually for commercial purposes – and usually for the efficient transfer of passenger vehicles.

Start of the Tow Truck

Tow trucks were invented in 1916 by SR. Ernest Holmes – who needed to improvise a way to use blocks, ropes, and manpower to pull a car out of a creek. He developed the tow truck design, which involves a flat surface behind the truck which an operate as a bed that can easily carry a car.

Evolution of Tow Trucks

At first only traditional tow trucks existed, but as the car industry grew, the tow truck evolved over times. Today, there’s over five kinds of tow trucks: notably the Boom, Wheel-Lift, Hook and Chain, Integrated, and Flatbed (the most commonly used.)

Tow Truck Museum

The International Towing and Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee (the hometown of Sr. Ernest Holmes) shows antique tools, wreckers, tow trucks, equipment, and photographs documenting the history of the industry created by Holmes.

Tough Regulations

The tow trucking industry is heavily regulated by Congressional laws and acts – in order to drive a tow truck, you must possess a license for it – so not everyone can just get behind the wheel from off the street and start long hauling or recovering cars.

Safest Option

Flatbed tow trucks are the most commonly used because they are the absolute safest and simplest choice. Their design gets rid of the possibility that you’ll cause extra damage to your car’s underside and transmission, and they don’t allow the car’s wheels to hang off the sides while it’s being transported.

Hiring a Professional for Heavy Hauling

Published September 1, 2016 By Chicago Towing

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.

Experience with Heavy Hauling

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.

Worst places for your car to break down

Published August 3, 2016 By Chicago Towing

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.

Highway 50 in the USA

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.

Famous Tow Trucks of Cinema

Published July 17, 2016 By Chicago Towing

The trucking movie is a classic American genre. It’s fun for an audience to see truckers ‘gettin er done’ just like ours do every single day of the week. Here’s our list of the most famous tow trucks in cinema.

Smokey and the Bandit (1977)

This classic movie made an entire generation of children wonder what it would be like to be a trucker. Burt Reynolds and Jerry reed play two truckers on an adventure, hauling an illegal shipment of beer to Georgia from the Lone Star State while being chased by Jackie Gleason’s vengeful sheriff. This movie enjoyed immense success; not only one, but two sequels were released!.

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.

Rural, Suburban, and Urban Towing Chicago

Published January 3, 2016 By Chicago Towing

Towing is affected by Terrain

Towing is a technically complicated process. Tons of variables exist which can affect the speed and quality of any trip. Rural Towing involves traveling greater distances, and may involve travel over rocky or unpaved terrain. Sometimes special equipment is needed to travel throughout rural environments. Cell phone reception may be limited when traveling through particular terrains and climates, specifically mountains and deserts. Sometimes, for 4×4 off-road vehicles that need to be towed in rough environments full of mud or rocks, special vehicles or gear is required. Extra gear is never thought of as an optional excess – rather it’s a necessary tool to protect your vehicle, so it doesn’t incur any extra damage.

Smooth Sailing in Urban Chicago

Urban towing is, by its very nature, more common than rural towing. Due to transportation infrastructure, the trips are often much faster. However, due to urban population saturation, there’s much more traffic in cities than in suburban areas. This is why our customers benefit from our servicemen’s experience with navigating the busy Chicago streets. They’re aware of all the traffic flows, patterns of commuting, and the spots that tend to get congested. Essentially, the city is their turf, and they know exactly how to get through it, as quickly as possible.

Experienced Navigators

Chicago Towing is an automotive towing company (servicing cars, vans, motorcycles, trucks, RVs, and pick-up-trucks) in the bustling city of Chicago. We serve the entire metropolitan area, from the I-90 – the Chicago Skyway, Dan Ryan Expressway that runs throughout the city of Chicago, connecting Downtown with the South Side. In this entire area, we are the premiere towing service; our experience allows us to set ourselves apart by offering the smoothest, most efficient service, regardless of if you’re in Downtown Chicago, the suburbs, the freeway, or the countryside. There’s simply nobody better equipped to handle your vehicle