Towing is the service of moving a car that cannot drive on its own. A few things can cause a car to need a Tow.
The best way to avoid being overcharged for your Tow is to know what fees are included. Many companies have hidden costs they won’t tell you about beforehand. Click the Azteca Towing to learn more.
- Safety
Whether you haul offroad toys to the beach or a horse trailer to shows, it’s important to understand how trailers and their towing vehicles operate. Performing basic inspections and safety checks before every use helps ensure trailers are properly loaded, safely secured and ready to hit the road.
Towing a trailer puts more strain on the vehicle towing it, so the driver needs to pay special attention to the driving style required. Using spotters for backing up, allowing enough room to maneuver in tight spaces, and making sure to check the towing mirrors often can reduce the likelihood of an accident.
It’s also a good idea to practice driving with a trailer before taking it out on the highway. Have a friend stand outside the rear of the trailer and watch the way it tracks to help with the learning process. Practice accelerating, turning, and braking in an empty parking lot to get a feel for the added weight behind your vehicle and how it affects performance.
Inspect both the trailer and towing vehicle tires to make sure they are in good condition. Keeping tire pressures within manufacturer specifications, avoiding abrasions or cuts on the tires and ensuring they are rated for the load help ensure a safe towing experience. Always keep in mind that your trailer may be taller than the towing vehicle, so ensuring proper clearance is critical when pulling into gas stations or passing under low bridges.
Consider installing a trailer bypass system on your towing vehicle if you frequently use a trailer. This type of system separates the wiring in the trailer from the towing vehicle’s lighting harness, reducing the risk of damage from overloading the minimal gauge cabling.
Be sure to follow regular maintenance schedules for your towing vehicle, as the additional load can cause it to require more frequent oil changes or other preventative measures. This is even more true if your vehicle is towed frequently for business purposes or over long distances. Keeping up with recommended maintenance is the best way to extend the life of both the vehicle and the trailer.
- Regulatory Compliance
As a towing company, you must adhere to local regulations to maintain your license. These requirements often pertain to equipment, safety, insurance, and business practices. Failure to comply can result in penalties, fines, and the revocation of your license.
For example, some states require all towing companies to use a bypass system in their trailers to prevent overloading the vehicle’s lighting systems. This system is common in universal or non-dedicated towing systems and works by taking a small current signal from the car’s lighting harness to activate a relay that then sends a direct power supply to the tow vehicle. This keeps the tow vehicle from drawing too much power, which could damage its own wiring.
Other laws mandate that you clearly mark your towing service areas with clear, bright tow-away signs. These must include the name of the towing company, the owner or operator’s contact information, and tow-away policies. This helps you enforce your policies and promote transparency to your customers. It also helps to prevent unauthorized vehicles from accessing your private parking areas and stealing or damaging property.
Some towing companies are required to conduct background checks on their employees before hiring them. This is often the case if they are licensed to tow certain types of vehicles, such as those involved in accidents. The check typically includes criminal records, driving history, and other relevant information.
In addition to background checks, towing companies should have a written document outlining the fees they can charge for their services. This should be updated regularly. It is important to balance the cost of running a towing service with what you can charge for your services. This will help ensure that your customers are protected while you are able to cover your operating expenses.
The DCWP is ignoring the real issues that Tow Truck drivers face daily such as the ever increasing coast of fuel, insurance and maintenance. If they were addressing these issues and adding some balance to their new rules it would be less draconian on the industry.
- Fleet Management
Fleet management is a wide-ranging set of tools that businesses use to monitor, track, and optimize the performance of their vehicles. It covers a range of different areas including vehicle procurement, maintenance and fuel efficiency and driver safety and compliance. The goal of a fleet management solution is to help companies improve supply chain output by tracking the location and condition of vehicles, optimizing maintenance schedules, and managing the lifecycle of commercial vehicles while maintaining operational budgets.
One of the most significant benefits a fleet management solution provides is saved time. As a result, it allows a fleet manager to devote more of their attention to other crucial aspects of the business. This may include analyzing data, identifying potential areas for improvement, and providing hands-on leadership to their drivers. Achieving these tasks manually takes a significant amount of time and often leads to errors, particularly in the case of manual paperwork.
Dispatch/Job Management: Digital job management tools allow you to assign daily run sheets and one-off jobs to your team, monitor progress and automate customer communication from a single application. They also facilitate HOS/ELD compliance and help simplify the documentation process by storing all required documents in one place.
Driver Retention: Recruiting new drivers and maintaining the retention of current ones is an important aspect of fleet management. This is achieved by promoting a culture of safety and clear communication with mobile employees. Having a good relationship with your drivers leads to happier workers, higher productivity and better performance.
Purchasing/Procurement: A well-managed procurement process will ensure the best value for your vehicles and equipment. This will save money in the long-term while increasing your supply chain output. Fleet managers can manage the entire process from beginning to end, ensuring that you are getting the best bang for your buck.
Streamlined logistics and transportation enables businesses to deliver on-time for their customers, as well as reduce their environmental impact. A fleet management system makes this possible by reducing the time spent on administrative tasks, thereby cutting costs and allowing the team to focus on more productive activities.
- Business Management
Business management is the practice of overseeing and supervising business operations. It includes strategic planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling resources to accomplish goals and objectives. Towing is hard work. It forces your vehicle and its components to work harder than normal driving – just like when you carry a heavy backpack. The extra weight takes a toll on your muscles, joints, and bones. It’s important to have the right resources and tools to manage these extra challenges. Business process management (BPM) is a tool that helps you identify, model, automate, and improve business processes to optimize performance.
Safety
If you’re planning to tow a vehicle or trailer, there are several safety measures to take before getting on the road. These include a thorough inspection of the towing vehicle and trailer, making sure that all lights and signals are working properly, and taking extra time to maintain safe following distances. These precautions can help prevent expensive and dangerous accidents while on the road.
Start and stop the trailer gently, avoiding sudden jerks that can strain the towing vehicle and cause swaying. It’s also important to keep a safe speed limit and leave plenty of room for stopping, especially considering the additional weight of the trailer.
Inspect the trailer tires and make sure they are properly inflated and free from damage, such as cracks or bulges. Make sure the trailer and towing vehicle hitch are connected securely, using factory-approved connections with no loose ends. Check the safety chains as well, as these can be extremely hazardous if they detach from the trailer.
Ensure that the trailer tongue and ball mount are set up correctly according to the manufacturer’s recommendations, with enough clearance to allow for turning without hitting the ground. Similarly, it’s important to check the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of your towing vehicle and ensure that it does not exceed its maximum capacity.