As a tow truck operator, you’ve seen a lot of cars and sticky situations. But sometimes, there’s a driver with a car model that you’re not too familiar with. You don’t want to risk damaging the car, but you also don’t want to leave a customer out to dry. Luckily, there’s an app for everything these days, including ones to help you tow any car the right way. Here are some towing resources that offer a quick guide on where to hook a car.
2 tools to help with hooking up a car for a tow
1. Tow Standard
It’s no secret that each manufacturer has specific towing instructions in a car’s specific manual, but keeping a manual for every car in existence isn’t the most convenient thing in the world. Tow Standard has consolidated all the towing and service instructions from the manuals of almost every vehicle make and model.
The home screen lays out a kind of beginner’s guide to towing, listing sections that explain things like standard towing and jumpstart instructions, best practices for locating and attaching a spare tire, and a guide to jumpstarting a motorcycle.
If you’re a more seasoned professional who’s just not familiar with a car model, though, the top of the home menu has a search feature. There, you can put in a car’s year, make, and model. From there, the app displays information about the vehicle, such as curb and front axle weight. The vehicle menu also shows:
- Towing and tie-down diagrams
- Best practices for hooking and towing
- Servicing information, and
- Tow limits
There’s only an Android version for this app so far, and some reviews state that some model years are missing from certain manufacturers. However, this seems to be the best towing instruction app currently on the market.
2. Towspec.com
Beacon Software has provided several dispatch software options for tow truck operators and companies. So, it only makes sense that they’ve developed a website for towing instructions too.
Towspec’s desktop and mobile versions are easy to navigate. Still, you’ll need to create a free account to start your vehicle search. There’s only a search bar, not a drop-down menu like Tow Standard, but it may allow operators to input information that is as vague or as specific as needed.
The site also only lists approx. weights of the vehicle, recommended methods for towing, tie-down points, and jacking locations. So, if that’s all the information you need for a tow or you have an Apple device, this could be a quick guide to get the job done without all the frills of the Tow Standard app.
When you’re not sure how to hook a customer’s car, the entire job can become stressful. So, hopefully these resources can help you manage whatever you come up against. If all else fails, just ask the customer for the vehicle’s user manual that came with the car. That way, you have instructions directly from the manufacturer on where the tow points are and what the recommended methods of servicing the vehicles are. Some manufacturers even include copies of certain car model manuals online.
Even when you crack the code of where to hook a tow, it’s important to have the right tow truck insurance to protect you, your drivers, and your business from any mishaps. That’s why our agents are ready to help you find the best prices on the tow truck insurance you need – from auto liability to on-hook coverage to even garagekeepers insurance. All you have to do to start your free, customized quotes is call our agents , fill out our online form, or LiveChat with a professional today!