Chances are good that any driver is going to need to have a vehicle towed now and then. You’ll generally have a professional take care of the towing for you, but it’s an easy enough matter to tow yourself should the need arrive. In such an event, keep the following tips in mind to avoid doing any extra damage to your car:
- Attach the Chain in a Secure Place: Do not attach the cable to your bumper! You want to find a sturdy place on the undercarriage of your car to loop the tow cable around. In most cases, you should be at least double-looping the cable. Attach the other end of the cable to the trailer hitch of the towing vehicle, or a secure location on its undercarriage if you don’t have a trailer hitch.
- Put Your Car in Neutral: Park the car you are to tow until you have the cable attached, then put it in neutral and make sure that the parking brake is disengaged.
- Place a Sign on Your Car: It helps to have a sign in the rear window of the car you are towing to alert other drivers that the car is being towed.
- Vacate the Towed Car: Nobody should be in the car that you are towing!
- Drive Slow: Don’t drive any faster than 45 mph; preferably, you should be going even slower.
- Keep Trips Short: Ideally, you should only tow a car as far as you absolutely need to, like to a gas station or an auto body shop.