Not everyone has a truck in their garage. But once in a while, life throws you curveballs when you need to haul something. If you’re looking to haul or hitch something up to your current vehicle, learn what your vehicle can and cannot handle, and be sure to understand what your insurance can cover.
Know Your Towing Capacity
For those of you without a truck, you’ve probably considered hauling with a towing kit for your car or small SUV. If your vehicle does not already have a towing package installed, you can find local vendors who can order in the specific model for your vehicle and install it. Once the parts have arrived in for your car, installation only takes a few days. If you don’t already have the electrical wiring setup for your trailer lights and turn signals, make sure to ask the vendor about installation. Driving without trailer lights is extremely dangerous, especially at night, and can result in a ticket.
Although you’ll have the beginning of a great new way to haul things, be sure to check your vehicle’s towing capacity before hitching a trailer up. The towing capacity should be listed in your vehicle’s manual, but you can also find that information on the web. This tells you how much your vehicle can safely pull, including the weight of the trailer, passengers, and any liquids in your car or on the trailer you’re hauling.
Know Your Hitch
Just as important as paying attention to the towing capacity, is being aware of your Gross Trailer Weight and your Tongue Weight. Gross Trailer Weight is the maximum load weight your trailer can carry, while Tongue Weight is the weight that’s pushing down on the hitch, which is roughly 10 to 15 percent of the Gross Trailer Weight.
Why is that important, you ask?
After you’ve got the towing kit figured out, you’ll need to have a hitch that will attach the trailer to your vehicle. The right hitch will depend on what you’re towing, as hitches are divided into five classes that can safely haul different Gross Trailer and Tongue Weights.
Extra Safety Precautions
With your new towing kit and hitch figured out, the last thing you need to do is take some additional safety precautions. Always make sure that you have the correct hitch ball for the trailer you will be hauling to ensure a tight connection between your vehicle and the trailer. The height of the hitch should be adjusted, so that it is aligned with your vehicle. When you’re ready to drop the trailer onto the hitch, always have a pin in place to keep the trailer locked onto the ball.
If you don’t already, you should also always keep safety chains with you to hook onto your trailer and hitch. This just makes sure that if ever the trailer was disconnected from the hitch ball, the trailer would still be connected to the vehicle with the safety chains.
Before you pull away, the last thing you need to check is if your trailer lights are working properly. Have someone stand behind the vehicle to check brake lights, turn signals, and hazard lights.
Rent or Borrow
If towing and hitching up a trailer to your vehicle is of little interest to you, consider a rental. Home Depot, U-Haul, and some other companies offer truck rental service for a flat rate combined with a per mile rate. Do you know someone who owns a truck? Ask them if you can borrow their vehicle for the afternoon, maybe even offer to pay them for the time you use it.
Check Your Coverage
Whichever option you choose to haul, double check your insurance coverage before you load up. Different plans cover your vehicle, the item you’re towing, and other people’s vehicles you may be borrowing or hauling in different ways. Be safe and be smart when you’re hitting the road, and take the time to understand what you’re protected against.
Wanting to learn more about your plan or are you looking to shop for a new one? Give the experts at Doyle & Ogden a call! As West Michigan’s first choice for insurance advisors, we’ve got close relationships with over 15 companies. That means we can work to find you better coverage, for the best price. Give one of our experts a call at 616-949-9000 or request a free quote online today!
