Tag Archives: boat towing tips

Boat Towing Safety Facts You Need to Know

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Although summer hasn’t technically come up on the calendar, the weather permits lake and river activities right now! Unfortunately, not everyone has the privilege of living right on the water, and dock boats, jet skis, and canoes right outside their backyards. No, for the in-lander community, we must hitch and haul our water crafts to our desired body of water. On the bright side, boat towing is a perfectly-manageable feat, so long as you do so safely. Now that it is time to transport your asset to the lake, be sure you have reviewed the most important boat towing safety facts and tips first.

Continue reading to learn what you need to know about boats, towing, and safety, including who to call when you need professional towing assistance.

Indianapolis Towing & Recovery 317-247-8484
Indianapolis Towing & Recovery 317-247-8484

Safe Boat Towing

Towing a boat with your car, truck, or trailer requires undivided attention and care to ensure driver and passenger safety, as well as, the protection for the vehicle, trailer, and load itself. Here are the most crucial reminders for taking your boat to the water:

⚠ Making Turns

When it comes to towing a boat, once of the most difficult and crucial points of training is learning how to make a turn. Driving in a straight path can seem easy enough, but taking that first left or right can have rookies stumbling over what to do.

The first important factor to remember is that the turn is going to require a much wider range. Keep checking your mirrors and be sure to accommodate enough space for the turn. If the turn is too narrow, you may have to find another path, or have friends get out and direct you through the turn manually.

⚠ Backing Up

When it comes to backing up with a boat in tow, ideally, you don’t want to ever do it. But if you must, visibility is the key factor. Before hitting the gas to back up, double check your mirrors. It may be helpful to get out of the vehicle before backing up, to assess the area and space available for driving. Once you have a very good idea of what is behind you, check your mirrors once more to be sure the back is still clear, then begin to move slowly and make small adjustments with the steering wheel until you reach your desired destination.

⚠ Braking

Last, always remember that your brakes will be affected when towing a boat or other water craft. Braking will be different because of the added weight to your vehicle. Be sure to accommodate space and time to allow for proper braking times. Just remember, the heavier the load, the longer it will take for your vehicle to come to a stop.

Need Some Boat Towing Assistance?

Call Zore’s Towing at 317-247-8484 for 24 hour roadside assistance and towing services in Indianapolis and throughout Central Indiana. We are fully-equipped with the right fleets to assist boats, cars, construction equipment, trailers, vans, semi-trucks, airplanes, and much more. Our friendly staff is waiting by the phones, ready to help you get back on the road, safe and sound. We operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year, so you can always count on us. Request a free estimate, today.

Indianapolis Towing & Recovery 317-247-8484

What Should I Do If My Trailer Starts To Sway?

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Regardless of experience, a driver can encounter a loss of control over their trailer at any time. Whether from a sudden and unexpected gust of wind or a simple steering wheel over-correction, a swaying trailer is a very scary situation that can cause serious accidents on the road. Fortunately, there is a particular course of action you can take if you are ever faced with a fishtailing trailer; furthermore, there are products available on the market that can help prevent trailer swaying altogether.

Continue reading to learn some common causes of trailer swaying, how you can prevent it, and how to stop it when it’s happening to you.

Indianapolis Towing & Recovery 317-247-8484

Indianapolis Towing & Recovery 317-247-8484

Common Causes of Trailer Swaying

If your trailer is connected to a hitch that is located behind the rear axle of your vehicle, it is capable of swaying. Since the hitch is essentially the acting pivot point between the centers of gravity of the trailer and vehicle, any sudden force can send it into a swaying motion if it is stronger than the road tire friction for the drive wheels on your towing vehicle. This can lead to your vehicle to spin out of control or tip over. The same can happen to your trailer.

Additional Causes:

🗸 Crosswinds
🗸 Descending Hills
🗸 Incorrect Braking
🗸 Fast-Passing Large Truck Drafts
🗸 Over-Corrected Steering
🗸 Improperly Loaded Trailer
🗸 Unbalanced Trailer Weight
🗸 Exceeding the Towing Weight of the Hitch

What To Do if Your Trailer Begins to Sway

According to this National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), you should immediately engage your manual brake control override with your hands in the case that your trailer begins to sway. If you apply the towing vehicle or trailer brakes, it will only make the swaying worse, as will speeding up. Attempting to control the movement by turning the steering wheel can make it much worse as well.

Here’s What You Should Do:

➀ Slowly remove your foot from the accelerator to gradually reduce your speed.

➁ Hold on to the steering wheel to keep it straight.

➂ Wait for your vehicle to slow down and for the trailer to reduce swaying motion.

➃ Pull over to a safe spot and re-organize your cargo with more weight at the front.

➄ Continue driving, but at a reduced speed.

➅ Have your hitch inspected for defects and consider having it replaced with a weight distribution model.

➆ Consider having your brake control system upgraded too.

Indianapolis Towing and Roadside Assistance

Indianapolis Roadside Assistance 317-247-8484

Indianapolis Towing and Roadside Assistance 317-247-8484

Call Zore’s Towing at 317-247-8484 for prompt and professional towing and roadside assistance, regardless of time or day. Since 1927, we have a provided a wide range of roadside assistance services in Indianapolis and throughout Central Indiana. And for the past 90 years, we have earned a reputation for trusted service at a fair price! Our licensed towing and recovery division retains an extensive fleet of over 35 tow trucks and wrecker equipment, allowing us to assist drivers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year, rain, snow, sleet, or ice.

Safely Tow Your Boat to Winter Storage

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Indianapolis Towing 317-247-8484

Indianapolis Towing 317-247-8484

Now that summer has come to an end, we can expect cold weather to hit us soon! Fall is a good time of year to pull boats and water crafts off the dock and place them back into storage for the winter. Since it’s been a few months since the last time you towed your boat, it may be a good idea to review some helpful boat towing tips to ensure the safety of your truck, your riders, and of course, your beloved boat! Continue reading for tips on safely towing your boat back into winter storage.

Boat Towing Safety Tips

Whether you choose to use a car or truck, you should realize that once you connect the trailer and begin to haul your load, the vehicle will drive differently. It will respond slower to brake signals, accelerate slower, turn wider, and drive heavier altogether. Getting used to this feeling is part of the towing learning curve, and simply takes time. With enough practice, you will be able to maneuver and navigate a tow without any anxiety or hassle.
It is also important to remember how to back up properly when hauling a boat and trailer. It can be confusing knowing which way to turn the wheel and tires. Be sure to review the owners’ manual for these particular instructions, and practice a few times in an open space before the real reversing happens.

Here are some more tips to remember:

Be sure your load is balanced and the weight is evenly distributed on all sides. If you have loaded your boat up with a bunch of supplies and extra equipment, be sure to disperse them evenly for even weight distribution.

Always check the tongue weight to be sure you are not overloading the hitch. Use the ten percent formula: If a boat and trailer weighs 5,000 pounds added together, the tongue weight should be 500 pounds.

The towing vehicle, trailer, and boat should be nearly parallel to the ground.

Be sure all ratchet straps are secured. The trailer winch strap should be secured to the bow eye.

Check that all vehicle and trailer lights and signals are working. This includes turn signals, flashers, brake lights, parking lights, reverse lights, and more.

Always do a final walk-around inspection for loose straps and obstructions before getting behind the wheel. Pull over and do these every 50 miles as well.

Always have a spare trailer tire, as well as, a lug wrench, grease gun, and tire gauge in the case that you get a flat.

Call a licensed towing company for professional boat towing services for long distance towing or heavy boat towing.

Indianapolis Boat Towing

Zore's Towing Indianapolis 317-247-8484

Zore’s Towing Indianapolis 317-247-8484

Call Zore’s Towing at 317-247-8484 for professional boat towing in Indianapolis, Indiana. Our tow truck operators are highly trained, licensed, and experienced within the towing and recovery industry. We offer a wide range of towing services for all vehicles, boats, water crafts, equipment, and more. Call 317-247-8484 for free price quotes and information regarding boat towing services in Indianapolis, IN.