Towing on the highway is one of the essential techniques which every tourist should know. It’s too hectic when your car or any other vehicle is out of order, and you cannot tow specifically on the highway. In this post, we mentioned some important tips for how to tow on the highway.
8 Tips for Towing on the Highway
1. To Know the Towing Laws
The first and most important thing is to know about the towing laws. Knowing these laws can help you to solve the problem. Towing laws let you allow to handle critical situations on time. Owning a travel trailer is the first law of towing, which helps you to pull the vehicle anytime, even on the high-traffic roadside.
Additionally, check out the trailer according to the load of your car, i.e.; it must be able enough to adjust the burden of the particular vehicle you need to tow.
In this regard, you can check out the size and weight of the trailer to check its compatibility with the car. Also, remember that towing capacities are different for each camper. If the size of two trailers is the same, it does not mean that both can handle the exact weight handling and disturbing capacities. The reason is that each camper has its properties and features.
2. Checking the Tongue Weight
Tongue weight is another crucial measure to check the balance between the trailer and your vehicle. It’s good if the weight is some KGs less than the overall weight handling capacity of the tongue as it leads to excellent driving results for long-term term routes. Also, check that weight is equally distributed on both sides of the trailer, specifically on the V-share parts near the tongue. The ideal tongue weight capacity is 10 to 15 % less than the overall trailer’s weight.
3. Check for Your Vehicle’s Maintenance
Another essential tip everyone should remember while towing on the highway is vehicle maintenance before starting their journey on the highway and long route. Checking the vehicle’s oil and engine’s coolant levels are top recommendations from our side.
1. Packing the Trailer Properly
Packing and positioning the trailer is another essential tip and consideration that most people miss at the start, and they face long-term issues. So, carefully pack the trailer properly to avoid any towing problems later.
2. Asking for Help from the Friends
Pulling a vehicle or trailer back is not accessible if you are alone. And the issue becomes more dominant if you are on the highway. Towing the trailer or vehicle itself is not easy so ask for help from an expert friend or the highway police.
The police have unique cameras from which they can see the full view of the vehicle and trailer. Hence it’s easy for them to adjust everything to the right place.
3. Park Your Vehicle at the Lowest Traffic Side
People face serious and long-term issues when they park their vehicles in areas where a lot of traffic awaits them. It is one of the dominant issues most people neglect as they don’t take it seriously. Parking the car anywhere, especially in the high traffic area where there are many other obstacles, may cause severe issues. So, keep calm when you are stuck on the highway and park your vehicle in the shallow traffic area, no matter how much extra effort is needed.
4. Using a Safety Chain
Keeping a chain in your luggage during travel is the safest and ideal way to avoid long-term towing issues. Once the vehicle and trailer are connected, using a safety chain to tighten them with greater force is what everyone should do. Carefully use the chain to pull the hitches and tongue. The chain should be heavy enough to keep a balance between the load of the trailer and the vehicle itself. Don’t save your money when you are buying it and try to find the most suitable and heavyweight chain for this purpose.
5. Checking the Tires
The biggest mistake people make is that they check the tires only for the vehicle and not for the trailer. If the tire capacities and specifications are matchless, it may cause severe issues during towing on the highway. So check the tire for both the trailer and the vehicle itself.
The tire’s pressure must be stable enough not to cause much inflation issues when putting extra pressure on them. If the vehicle and trailer tires are not used for a long time, observe them. Examine them before starting your journey; if they are too slow or too fast, they are not much compatible.
To avoid these issues, check the tire’s inflation rate properly and use them for a few minutes before starting your long-term journey. This way, their inflation rate is adjusted, and they can work properly.
6. Check Mirrors and Lights
Cross-checking the mirrors of the trailer are essential for safe driving. Check from the mirror by sitting on the tires of the trailer and examine if you can see the vehicles and other things on the road correctly from a short distance. It’s perfect to see them, but if you cannot see them, adjust the mirrors properly or install the mirror extensions to see the road traffic from a short distance.
Also, check whether the lights for the trailer and the vehicle are working fine or not. If your lights are off, they can cause severe issues, which lead to road accidents, especially at night, as no one can see your vehicle in the darkness. Check the lights properly and make sure that they are working, turn them on and have a safe journey.
Conclusion
So these are some essential tips to follow before or during towing issues on the highway. Once you face any towing-related problems during a highway journey, don’t go into the rush and stay calm to think about the solution properly. Call your friends or the highway duty members for the solution if you don’t own a trailer. Otherwise, keep the trailer with you, adjust it with your vehicle, and enjoy the journey.
