You’ve tried everything, including checking the battery terminals or jumpstarting the battery, but your car’s engine still won’t start. Now what? Reach out to friends or family for help? Call the nearest towing company? Contact roadside assistance and have a qualified mechanic come take a look? This does seem like the obvious answer, but what happens if your AAA membership has expired, or you’re in a far-off location, or can’t afford towing charges at that moment?
According to most experts, it’s best to tow a car with a pickup/trailer combo or a tow truck, rather than with another car. However, such heavy equipment isn’t always easy to come by. That leads us to the million-dollar question: Can you safely tow a car with another car? Well, technically yes, but should you? That’s a whole different story with more to it than one may think.
Although we don’t tow very often, it pays to always be ready for anything, as you can never tell when you might need a friend to tow you out of trouble or provide them the same courtesy. So, what’s there to know about towing a car with another, and how do you go about it? Read on to find out.
Things to Know Before Hooking Up that Rope
To establish whether you can tow a car with another, you must conduct some basic research. You must be aware of your car’s towing capacity, whether it features a tow hitch, whether the car to be towed is a 4-wheel driver (4WD) or a 2-wheel driver (2WD), and whether it has a manual or automatic transmission. If unsure about any of these, read the user’s manual.
When towing a 2WD car, the method varies depending on whether it’s front-wheel drive (FWD) or rear-wheel drive (RWD). For FWD cars, lifting the front wheels off the ground is the safest option. For RWD cars, towing with the rear wheels on the ground is risky, unless the driveshaft is disconnected. Simply putting an automatic or CVT transmission in neutral doesn’t make it safe, as the components inside may still revolve without engine-driven lubrication, causing damage. Suffice it to say, using a flatbed trailer is always the safer option, especially if towing long distances.
Flatbed towing is also usually necessary for 4WD and AWD cars, unless the manufacturer explicitly says it’s safe and proper procedures are followed (like transfer case neutral + driveshaft disconnect). Otherwise, use a flatbed trailer to avoid expensive repairs.
Smart Driving Tips for Car-to-Car Towing
Car towing can prove a tricky experience and calls for a totally different driving approach. For starters, you’ll need to driver slower than you normally would. Pulling extra weight means you need longer braking distances, so check your speed and always have plenty of space between the car doing the towing and the one being towed. Also, be easy on the brakes. The car on tow might not weigh much less than the towing vehicle, so avoid sudden panic stops or braking, and ensure that the braking system’s maintenance is up to date.
Additionally, only change lanes when it’s safe and do so slowly after checking your mirrors carefully and activating your turn signals. Towing vehicles creates blind spots, and therefore, you should always apply the “If you can’t see my mirror, I can’t see you” policy during towing. You may also want to avoid sharp turns, as they may result in collision and damage of both vehicles.
As we’ve seen, you can tow a car with another car. But before getting into it, you should thoroughly examine specifications of the towing car, the trailer hitch, and the vehicle to be pulled, then proceed with caution.