What to do when waiting for help from a towing company

car roadside

Whether you’ve just purchased your car or you’ve been driving for several years, one of the things you must know is that there are instances if you have to rely on the assistance of a towing company. While you often take your car for servicing and maintenance, it can still break down unexpected or might get involved in a traffic accident. If you’re stuck somewhere in northern California, you should call the best towing company in Palo Alto. With this in mind, there are particular things you must do while you are waiting for a tow truck for safety purposes and these include the following:

Ensure That Your Car is Parked at a Safe Spot

If your car stopped in the middle of the road, it may block the traffic flow and you would want to pull over so you will not cause other accidents. If the engine of your vehicle is malfunctioning, you would want to push the car off the road. If necessary, turn the hazard lights on.

Turning On Your Car’s Hazard Lights

The car’s hazard lights can be found on your dash and its symbol is red triangle. If you have noticed something wrong, you should turn on the car’s hazards lights. It will signal the other drivers that you’re having some difficulties. Even if it is daytime, you must turn on the lights and it’ll also help tow truck to distinguish your vehicle.

Call Authorities

If you’re involved in a road accident, you should contact the authorities to report incidents. Failing to report accidents may have some serious legal implications. Apart from that, if you like to file a claim with your car insurance company, you’ll require a case number. Although the accident occurred because of the other party’s fault, the claim number would be needed by your insurance company.

Remove All of Your Valuables

While you are waiting, take some time removing all your important or valuable items from your vehicle. It goes for the things with a sentimental value. It won’t only give you peace of mind, but also it would ensure that you have your valuables and you do not need to make trips to the location your vehicle is being stored while awaiting for the tow truck. Your chosen towing company isn’t responsible for loss or damage of your personal items in your car.

Stay Inside the Car

If there’s nothing you could do except wait for a tow truck to arrive, it’s recommended that you should stay inside your car for the reason that it may be dangerous to walk around your car or stand on a highway.

Don’t Dehydrate and Stay Calm

It’s recommended that you should not wear out the battery of your phone. You might have to make another call. Never forget to stay hydrated and if you’re close to the city, a flatbed tow truck might take several minutes to arrive. On contrary, if you’re away from the city, it could take sixty minutes or longer.

Best Tips For Packing a Moving Truck

moving truck

If you like to be organized and detailed, the first thing that you should do is to note the items you will load. Make a list of them and group the ones with same sizes. This will make your moving day a lot faster and smoother.

You have rented a moving truck and packed all your things and now you have to load and organize the moving truck to ensure that all of your things will arrive at your new house safely and damage-free.

Below are some of the tips you can consider when packing and organizing your things in a moving truck:

Protect Wood Corners and Surfaces Using Furniture Padding

Padding may be rented from truck rental agent and worth extra it costs. With the use of the padded protection, it makes it simpler to slide the heavier pieces inside the truck.

Move the Heaviest and Largest Items First

It includes dishwasher, refrigerator, washing machine, stove, and some items that need two or more people to move. Such things must be loaded on the truck before others and must be kept against far wall closest to cab. Keep your items in upright positions and ensure that you balance the truck through placing some heavy items on the opposite sides. If needed, seek help from professional movers in Aurora, Colorado.

Load the Longer Items

The longer pieces must be loaded next. These include table tops, sofas, headboards, long mirrors, box springs, mattresses, and so on. Place such items against the truck’s longest walls that would keep them upright and would save space. See to it that you use the mattress covers to spare your sofa and bed from tears and rips and make moving much easier.

Disassemble and Tape the Pieces of Desks, Tables, and Bed Frames Together

Follow the step for the longer items including lamp parts, poles and skis, and lamp bases. If you roll-up the carpets, place such items inside and tape your carpets closed. You may also use linens for stuffing both ends of your carpet roll before you tape both ends closed. It will prevent some items from falling out. Place your carpet on the truck’s floor.

Place Your Fragile Items Carefully

See to it that your fragile items will not move around during transport. Best spots for fragile boxed things are in cubbyholes including beneath chair legs and underneath the desks and tables.

Transfer the Lighter Boxes to Your Moving Truck and Stack All of Them on Heavier Boxes

Ensure that the lightest boxes are on the top. Try stacking the boxes in rows until they reached the top of the moving truck. Space between the top of your boxes and ceiling of the moving truck must be filled with crushable and soft items like garbage bags that are full of linens, clothing, and bedding.

Before your moving day, make sure to plan everything. This will not just make moving easy, but also it will make all your items organized and packed well in a moving truck.

5 Tips For Choosing a Towing Company

towing service

When your car gets stuck you may feel panicked. This may happen to everyone at one time or another. It seems like you are now at the mercy of a tow company. This does not have to be the case. These are 5 tips for choosing a tow company.

1. Out of Town Towing

If you are out of town and your car broke down you may want to contact the police department in that town. They will be able to give your recommendations of reliable long-distance towing companies that can help tow your car.

2. Get AAA

Service such as Triple-A will be there for you if your car needs to be towed. They will contact the towing companies. Since you pay for this service, you will not have to pay the tow driver out of pocket. Some insurance companies also offer towing service. You should get this as part of your insurance plan. That way all you need to do is contact the insurance company and everything will be taken care of.

3. Over the Phone Service

You can tell a lot about how a company is going to treat you by the first call. Bad customer service on the phone can be an indication or poor customer service when the tow driver arrives. If you are treated disrespectfully on the phone, call another tow company.

4. Ask for the Price

If you do not have to tow on your insurance, ask the tow company for the price upfront. They should be able to give you a cost and tell you about additional things that may not be included. If you do not have cash be sure they accept credit cards or another form of payment.

5. Ride

If there is no one around to come and get you, ask if you are able to ride with the driver to your tow location. If not, you will be stuck where you broke down. Most companies should be able to also you to ride with the driver.
These are some things to look for in a towing company. If in the Denver area, you should research towing companies in Aurora, CO to find reputable ones beforehand, so you are not in a panic if your car breaks down.

Ready your car for the winter months

 

car in snow

Repairing your car is very costly. That is why its is important to apply precautionary measures to ensure your vehicle is in a good  condition.

This is especially important during the winter season. This is because winter presents unique challenges to your car.

You, therefore, need to put preparatory measures days before the onset of winter. Some of the tips on how to prepare your vehicle for winter include:

ENSURE YOU HAVE PROPER TIRES
If you drive frequently during winter, you will know that your tires must have better grip. It is therefore important to ensure you have proper tires for your car. Consider purchasing special winter tires. You also need to have the pressure of your tires checked to ensure they will be effective on he the road. This is because during winter your vehicle is more likely to reduce pressure thus becoming less effective.

CHECK YOUR BATTERY
Winter requires that you have your battery functioning at its peak. If you do not have a proper battery then consider purchasing a new one. It is also important to have and know how to use jump start cables just in case. Winter temperatures greatly reduces the effectiveness of your car battery.

ENSURE YOUR HEADLIGHTS AND BREAK LIGHTS ARE FUNCTIONING WELL
Improve your ability to see the road in foggy conditions and the ability of other drivers to see you on the road by doing required repairs to both  your headlight as well as break light.

REPLACE YOUR WIPER BLADE
Your wiper blades will have to do more work during winter conditions. You may need to have new ones. You also need to have an effective windscreen for your vehicle.

HAVE ESSENTIAL WINTER EQUIPMENT
You need to have important equipment to assist and make life easy during winter. These include items such as first aid kit, warm clothing, towing rope in case of any eventuality, thick car mat among others.

The Cheapest Ways To Tow Your Vehicle Long Distance

Towing a vehicle for a long distance can be a hassle. Whether you are moving to a new place or simply traveling the country, having to pull a car can be a costly expenditure. While some car insurances may cover some of the towing cost, much of it will have to be paid out of pocket by the traveler. Luckily, there is a very cheap option to consider when having to tow a vehicle for a long distance.

Attach to another vehicle

One inexpensive method that can be used to tow your car across the country is to attach the vehicle in question to another vehicle with a tow bar. The vehicle that is doing the towing must be four wheel drive, such as a truck or SUV, but it is an option many people use when traveling far.

While many people will use a tow rope when towing their car, the safer option when traveling for extended distances is to use a tow bar. While a tow bar usually costs over a hundred dollars, it will ensure your car safely gets to its destination and will cause you less worry when traveling.

Rent a car dolly

Another option that can be considered if you are not comfortable towing your vehicle in this way is to rent a car dolly. This option while costing a bit more will prevent you from adding extra mileage to your car. While this may seem like a good option, it does have some caveats. Many rental companies will not allow you to only rent a car dolly but will require you to rent a truck with it.

Overall, the cheapest option when it comes to towing your vehicle for long distances is to use a tow bar. This option will allow you to save money and ensure your vehicle arrives safely to your destination.

If you’re not confident in your abilities to tow a vehicle on your own, seek the services of a professional towing company. Once of the best long-distance towing companies in Westminster, CO and throughout Colorado is Westminster Towing Service.

Traveling Route 66 This Summer

Traveling Route 66 This Summer

A bit of history

The famous Route 66, also known as the Will Rogers memorial highway, the Main Street Of America or the Mother Road, was established on November 11, 1926, and has been one the most famous roads of the United States ever since. It will allow you traveling from Chicago, through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona before ending in Santa Monica, California, with a length of 3940 kilometers.  Here is a look at some of the highlights of Route 66.

Trip guidance

Driving through one of America’s most iconic highways is definitely the trip of a lifetime; this legendary road passes through the heart of the United States while taking a gaze into some of the country’s roadside scenes that would leave you speechless for weeks.

Before setting sail, you must ensure your vehicle is at optimal condition, full tank and proper oil levels. You may as well want to check the alignment and balance of your vehicle’s axis.

Whenever you wish to call it a day, you may want to consider staying at some of our recommended places that charge less than $150 a night, such as the Three Roses at Illinois, The Blue Swallow at New Mexico, Campbell Hotel at Oklahoma, La Posada at Arizona, or the Wigwam Motel at California. All of these offer restaurants with delicious dinners and breakfasts, as well as Wi-Fi availability for all the customers.

Precautions to take while traveling

Traveling through almost four thousand kilometers can symbolize a great deal of strain for any vehicle, especially if you’re the kind of traveler who likes to take 10 hours straight up drives. This is why we advise you carry a basic car maintenance kit, as well as an electric air pump for your wheels, should things go south. Also make sure you have a spare tire in optimal conditions for the worst case scenario.

And you can never be too prepared for whatever comes wrongly. Be sure to have an emergency budget in case your car reaches an unfortunate scenario of “completely out of service”; should this happen you will very likely require a tow truck service to take you to the nearest mechanical auto workshop and get the immediate aid you require in a fast pace, so you don’t lose anything from your dreamed trip.

There are several dedicated tow truck, wreckers and auto repair services available with express speed spread evenly throughout New Mexico, Arizona and Oklahoma. These could be considered your checkpoints or “pits” for routine maintenance and making sure everything’s still in order in your car’s insides to ensure a seamless trip with no emergencies.