How to have vehicles with different types of steering towed

Getting towed is something a lot of people have to go through with their car at least once in their lives. You car or truck might have broken down by the side of the road, or you need help to get your car from your home to your mechanic's. If your car is a subject of roadside services, you might not be able to choose what type of tow truck you get for your transport, and if you are offered assistance by a tow truck that demands that you still have two wheels on the ground, as opposed to a flatbed tow truck, you need to know what to do to make sure you don't damage your car. 

Front wheel drive

If your car has front wheel drive, then towing by suspending two tyres while keeping two tyres rolling is a good way of towing. The driving wheels are simply suspended on the tow truck or on the dolly while the non-driving wheels keep on rolling. Just remember to put your car in neutral beforehand and to undo the parking break. You should also enable the steering lock to keep your car rolling in the same direction as the tow truck.

Rear wheel drive

If your rear tyres are the steering tyres, then the procedure is the same as for front wheel steered vehicles, except that your car has to be towed backwards. If you need to tow vehicles other than a car, you should know that many of them use rear wheel steering. However, not all types of machines are suitable for this type of towing even if they are rear wheel steered. For your forklift transport, for example, the tilt of the vehicle when being towed can damage the forks and break your machine even more.

Four wheel drive

Vehicles with four wheel drive are a bit more complicated to tow this way, as all the wheels are the driving wheels and should not be left on the ground while it's not driving. If there are no possibilities to get a flatbed tow truck to perform your machinery transport, you need to disable the four wheel drive before attempting to tow the vehicle. If this is not possible, then this method of towing is not to recommend.

Precautions

Although this way of towing is very possible to perform without damaging the vehicle is possible with most machines, you should still take care and make sure your car doesn't have to be transported for a long time this way. It puts a strain on the car regardless of what wheels you have on the ground simply because the car has to be pulled and your wheels are forced to turn. 

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