by B. L. Babb

Created on: May 24, 2010

There are many reasons you may wish to have a car towed.  Understanding the risks and safety for both your vehicle and the vehicles around you, as well as the laws for your state can make the tow less stressful.

Reasons for towing could be due to breakdown or simply because you are traveling in an RV and wish to tow a smaller vehicle behind for local transportation when you get to your destination to allow the higher priced fuel RV to sit as well as having a more maneuverable vehicle available.

Before it ever becomes necessary to tow your car, check to see if your car is safe to be towed and the safe manners it can be towed.  Your local dealer is a good source for this information as well as the glove box owner's manual.

When your engine is running and all is well, the engine and the transmission lubrication systems keep everything sufficiently supplied in oil to prevent damage from friction of turning shafts and gears. 

There are a good many vehicles that cannot be towed because the simple motion of the wheels driving the transmission without this lubrication source will cause dry rotation - the shafts that free wheel (turned by the motion of the wheels rolling over the road) may be running with dry bearings.  Towing these vehicles most often can and will result in severe transmission bearing damage.  This includes towing behind your buddy's car because you broke down, behind a tow truck, or behind that RV on vacation.

These types of cars must be transported on rollback tow trucks.  Knowing this ahead of time can save high dollar repair costs. 

When buying a car, that is the best time to learn if it can be towed should the occasion ever warrant moving the vehicle from one location to another in the future.  In addition, if you suffer a failure that leaves you stranded by the road, this will ensure when you call for  a tow that you specify a rollback type tow vehicle to prevent damage.

Let's suppose you have researched this and found your vehicle can be towed without damaging the transmission or other components in your car.

Tow with a rope/chain?  Tow with a tow dolly?  Tow with a tow bar?

What is the difference between these?

Towing with a rope/chain is illegal in some states within the U.S.  In Virginia, at one point (and may still be today). it was illegal to tow a vehicle in this manner.  Reasoning is due to the uncertainty of the safety of the rope/chain and total lack of control in the

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