How to choose a reliable towing service
Disabled Vehicle Handling is a more technical area of expertise than it appears. Many people assume that towing is just towing, and that it’s a no-brainer. Most imagine it like this: You have a disabled vehicle that you need to pull off the street and into a mechanic’s bay. You call a towing service that comes and transports your car or truck to a truck to the nearest repair. However, that is not the scenario that unfolds. The trailer needs some valuable details too! Important questions like, how big is your vehicle? Is it automatic or manual transmission? Is it four wheel drive or two wheel drive? If the latter, is it front or rear wheel drive?
You need to get the answers first, before the team can send the crane to you. Some streets can be very crowded and it would be quite irritating to wait on the side of the road for a truck to arrive, so it is very important to have the details correct. Vehicles can be towed with: (a) four wheels ON the ground, (b) two wheels OFF, or (c) four wheels off the ground, depending on the tools available to the service performing the towing. Drivers more often see the second option on the streets, due to a combination of two factors: simple equipment and two-wheel drive vehicles. Most sedans and vans are front-wheel drive vehicles. Since they make up the bulk of daily traffic, they’re also the ones you’re likely to see on the shoulders and bays of roads, needing a trailer.
However, not all services can offer a flatbed truck, which would have been the easiest and safest solution for your vehicle and not everyone can afford it. If budget is a concern, then tow trucks are the way to go because they work and are a good example of efficient and economical towing. Towing services offer this affordable option for all cars and trucks that need a tow.
Dollies work like two-wheeled trailers that lift the front tires off the ground and can possibly finish the job deftly like a flatbed truck. For rear wheel drive vehicles, extra caution is required to prevent transmission and engine damage. This would involve removing the driveshaft, which connects the shaft to the transmission and engine, to prevent friction buildup. Although this can definitely be done by experienced drivers, it would be better to entrust it to a trusted mechanic or the towing service itself. Learn more about it here.