It's Time To Get Your Tire Inspection Rolling

It's the season for getting our vehicles in gear for 2012. Let's begin with the only part of your car or truck that actually touches the highway-your tires. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says underinflation is the leading cause of tire failure-and tire failure can lead to accidents.

 Be your own crew chief and follow these simple guidelines from the NHTSA and other experts:
 • Take a peek at your tires: Visually inspect your tires on a regular basis. Consumer Reports says consult a professional if you see cracks or cuts on the sidewalls. If you see bulges or blisters, which signal potential weak spots that could lead to tire failure, replace the tire at once.

 • Under pressure: A tire doesn't have to be punctured to lose air. Tires naturally lose air over time. Check the pressure in all your tires -even the spare-at least once a month with a tire gauge.

 • How much air?: Tires should be inflated to the psi, or pounds per square inch, recommended by the vehicle's manufacturer.

 • Time matters: The best time for checking pressure is when a tire is "cold"-at least three hours after the vehicle has been driven. Even if you only drive your truck around the block, the tire still needs to rest for three hours to get an accurate reading.

 • Tread test: Make sure your tires have the proper amount of tread. Many tires have tread wear indicator bars molded into the tread. If you can see a solid bar of rubber across the width of the tread, it's time to buy new tires.

 • Rotation, rotation, rotation: Most manufacturers recommend rotating tires every 5,000 to 8,000 miles. However, some four-wheel- drive vehicles require rotation even sooner, such as every 4,000 miles. Always check your owner's manual. According to Brad Eggleston, vice president of AutoVantage, "One of the best precautions is proper tire maintenance, which keeps your vehicle humming during the often hazardous road conditions."

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Your Guide to Towing

If you love to camp, hike, fish, water ski and enjoy the great outdoors; chances are there will come a time when you want to tow a boat or camping trailer. Know before you tow with this guide to towing.

Here are some terms you should be familiar with and what you need to check. The Base Curb Weight + Cargo Weight + Passenger Weight = GVW or Gross Vehicle Weight. The GVW + Loaded Trailer Weight = GCW or Gross Combination Weight.

The GVW must not exceed the GVWR which can be found on the safety Compliance Certification label. The GVWR is the maximum weight allowed on a fully loaded vehicle. This includes passengers and cargo. Once you have this information, you will be able to figure out what size trailer a vehicle can tow.

There are two different types of hitches on the market. A weight carrying hitch is common for small to medium size trailers. Use a good weight carrying hitch that properly distributes the weight. You’ll find a label on the hitch that provides the weight carrying and weight distributing capacity of the hitch. Don’t exceed the rating.

The weight distributing hitch uses a hitch platform to distribute the tongue load to all the wheels of the towing vehicle and trailer. It is the required type of hitch for most Class III and IV trailers. This type of hitch is welded or bolted to the frame of the vehicle and it has equalizing arms that are connected from the hitch to the trailer’s frame.

Besides the GVWR and the correct type of hitch, you also need to make sure your braking system is adequate. If your load is more than 1500 pounds, the law requires a separate braking system. There are two types on the market.

Electronically controlled brakes provide both automatic and manual control of the trailer brakes. The tow vehicle needs to be equipped with a controlling device and requires some wiring. Surge brakes are independent and are activated by a master cylinder that is located at the junction of the trailer tongue and hitch. Make sure your braking system conforms with all legal requirements.

The trailer will also need to be equipped with trailer lights that meet government regulations. Do not connect the trailer lights directly to the vehicle’s lighting system. They need to be installed with a proper wiring harness. See your dealer to ensure you have the correct wiring harness for your vehicle.

Safety chains should always be used when towing. They provide a connection between the trailer and the vehicle should the hitch fail. Cross the chains under the trailer tongue to stop the tongue from connecting with the ground if the hitch fails, and leave only enough slack to allow for a full turn.

A trailer is a great investment. It will take you from the mountains to the valleys and from the river to the lakes. If you haven’t towed before it’s natural to feel overwhelmed about choosing a vehicle and trailer to tow safely. This guide to towing will have you confidently towing in no time!

Car Towing

All but the very luckiest of souls has, at some point, had their car towed away from them in the wake of malfunction from an automotive towing company, or worse, come out to the place it had once been parked only to find some phantom tow truck had grabbed hold of their prized possession and quickly spirited it away. The latter case is always most infuriating, though having to call an towing company is never anyone’s idea of a ripping good time in itself. Either way, without traffic enforcement bylaws and tow trucks we probably wouldn’t recognize the world we live in, so it’s time to accept their existence, and know a few things about them that can help you in case you have to cross their path.

The first thing to make sure of as a car owner is that you have a plan of action in mind in the event of a breakdown or, God forbid, a sudden realization that you haven’t the requisite amount of gasoline to continue running that combustion engine of yours. It’s embarrassing, yes – but hey, it happens to all of us, so the best thing to do is swallow pride and vanity and ring up a auto towing company ASAP to get that motionless heap of your off the road as quickly as humanly possible. Having a number handy with you in your car at all times is a necessity. Just when you’re having the worse day of your life as your engine overheats on two-lane bridge in the middle of summer, billowing smoke out like chimney, you don’t need the added joy of having to stop and ask someone if they know the number of a tow truck so that you can quickly get out of the flow angry motorists who are bound to be making vocal their aggravation with you.

But that, of course, is the worst of the possible scenarios which could force you to have to call a towing company. We’ve all done the key-in-the-ignition thing, where we frantically grope ourselves in hopes of realizing we’ve left our set of keys in some secret, hidden pocket we didn’t realize we had, and then peered in through the tightly sealed window to see them dangling there inside locked doors. Again, we hate to admit our own stupidity, but it happens, and a towing company is the first number you punch into your cell phone to admit the understandable lapse in common sense. Of course, you may also be in the unfortunate position of having battery with no more juice without another soul around to help jumpstart you back into running order.

And then there’s the other kind of auto towing that we have to bear witness to on a daily basis: the parking violation tow away. This, surely, is no laughing matter, but it’s also important for you as the motorist (in this case, parked motorist) to know that there are rules and regulations that every towing company must abide by before they hook themselves up to your car and speed off to the nearest impound lot. These laws are up to you to be aware of, and are occasionally broken at the motorist expense, when companies assume that car owners will be too ignorant to know their rights. Firstly, a car cannot usually be towed by an auto towing company due to a parking infraction unless the proper authorities are noted, and a significant amount of time (usually in the neighborhood of an hour) has elapsed to give the owner a chance to claim his automobile. Second, if you race out to see a truck in the process of raising your car up to tow away, you have the right to tell him to lower it back down, and it is against the law for him to impound it after you have done so.

Just knowing this much can save you money and stress, in what is bound to be a costly and stressful enough situation as it is. Know your rights and be prepared, and your encounters with the towing companies won’t be as horrifying as they could be.

Boat towing or trailering across the United States is subject to different state laws as far as maximum speeds, trailer equipment requirements, trailer dimensions, brakes, insurance, and accessories such as reflectors are concerned. A separate permit for boat towing in each state is also required.

Most Americans live within a 100 miles of boatable waterways, and boat trailering is something of a national craze. Statistics show that the easiest boats to tow on a regular basis measure within twenty-five feet in length, since these allow for easier maneuvering on highways. Boat-towing vehicles and trailers differ quite a bit from other kinds because of the unique shape and dimensions of these crafts.

There is a mind-boggling array of towable boats available on the market today. These include air boats, fishing boats, bow riders, canoes, cuddy cabins, day sailers, deck boats, sailing dinghies, flats boats, jet boats, inflatable boats, and a host of others.

If one isn’t an expert, it is important to follow a trailering-safety checklist while towing. The checklist should include guidelines to loading, leveling, driving, unloading, and launching. Probably one of the most common and dreaded hazards that all boat towers face is compromised tightness of the nuts on the trailer wheels. These tend to loosen with distance covered. Wheel maintenance in all its aspects should be a primary concern of every boat trailer owner.

As with most other kinds of towing, each state has its own set of trailering laws that will prescribe limits to weight, speed, and minimum equipment. These are strictly enforced, and it is wise to be prepared for all eventualities.