If you own a vehicle and you don’t often take care of its servicing and all, I bet there must have been a chance for you to call a towing company for roadside assistance, or perhaps, there could be a chance you might need to call a towing service near you in future.
But some people are afraid of towing their vehicles because they are afraid of some common towing misconceptions or in typical language—’myths‘. “Can towing a car damage the transmission?“, “Will towing damage my car?“, I keep hearing such kinds of questions often.
But not to worry, I am here to bust all the common myths regarding towing and I’ll explain the reason as well. I know some top-notch towing companies in Surrey BC like Surrey Wide Towing – Towing Surrey (the best in Surrey) which helped to bust some frequently known towing misconceptions.
Before that, if you have any questions regarding towing and roadside assistance, you can directly contact our tow truck Surrey company, ASAP |Towing Surrey-Tow Truck Surrey |. Anyways, enough introduction! Let’s move on to our topic.
Busting the 3 Most Common Towing Misconceptions and Myths
Myth #1: Can towing a car damage its transmission?
Answer: Well, yes, towing a car can damage its transmission, HOWEVER, only in some cases. Don’t worry about the transmission if you have hired a flatbed tow truck or a tow trailer for towing as the wheels of the car are fixed, and thus the transmission is also stagnant and hence there is not a chance for any kind of damage to the transmission.
But not all towing techniques involve flatbed towing. Tow dollies and tow straps/tow chains methods involve touchdown of the wheels of a car either partially or fully (all 4 wheels) to the ground. Thus, the wheels move, and the transmission is under operations, thus it may affect it. Especially if your car has a rear-wheel drive or a 4 wheel drive transmission, then you must take care of its transmission while towing. The same applies if your car is an automatic one.
For that, read the user manual of your car to know if it’s a 2-wheel drive or a 4-wheel. Then, you’ll need to disengage the transmission from the wheels, and that’s the only safest solution for that. To read in detail about that, you can check this link here.
Myth #2: Can towing damage my car?
Answer: Towing is an extremely professional business. Although there aren’t any chances of damage to your car if you hire an experienced towing company. However, some common damages that occur while towing include:
- Transmission damage: As we have already discussed in the first point, transmission damage is one of the most significant damages that occur while towing. It only occurs when the transmission is engaged with the wheels of the car touching the ground.
- Wheel Damage: Wheel or tow damage may occur while using tow dollies or tow bars. In such cases, there is an imbalanced weight distribution on the rear wheels of the car and they suffer from some sort of wearing and tearing. In such conditions, the tire pressures should be optimum. These methods are not recommended for long-distance towing. Check out this link if you have any concerns about towing your car long distance.
- Bumper/windshield/other damages: Frankly speaking, such damages happen mostly because of the fault of towing companies. When the tow strap is not properly tied, the car behind it may strike the tow truck and hence, resulting in damages to the front part of the vehicle. Even in flatbed/trailer towing, there is a possibility of damage to the car to be towed if proper precautions are not properly followed.
Myth #3: Only typical ‘tow-trucks’ are best for towing
Answer: A clear answer—No. Towing requires power and in mechanical language, a combination of torque and horsepower. These days, a number of manufacturers offer powerful SUVs and pick-up trucks that have multifunctional capabilities—one can switch their engine modes based on the performance requirements.
However, it is a fact that tow trucks have special features that modern SUVs and pickup trucks lack. Unless and until you are not a professional towing company and have enough investment to buy a tow truck, I’d recommend you to stick with pickup trucks.
The Takeaway
That’s all for today folks! I hope you liked the article, and if you have any suggestions for us about this article or our towing company, feel free to share. I’d recommend not to believe in towing myths, do your own research first, and then decide what should be done and what shouldn’t be.
