Towing Tips
It is important to remember that mistakes and mishaps can cost you dearly. In the end educational advice is available for free from all of our extremely well trained staff. There are many things that you should be aware of in order to make your towing experience a pleasurable one with little or no mishaps. Even if you have towed before it is worth taking the time to listen to some advice, it is free after all! Let us begin with an overview of your towing vehicle:
Towing Vehicle:
Your towing vehicle determines the size of trailer you can/may tow. Check your vehicle’s manufacturer’s handbook for details then read section 151 of the Road Traffic Act, which states:
- Trailer without brakes: The Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM) of a trailer that is 750 kg or less is limited to half the tare (weight) of the towing vehicle.
- Trailer with brakes: If the GVM of a trailer is more than 750 kg but less than 3,500 kg, the GVM may not exceed the tare of the towing vehicle.
It is you, our valued customer’s responsibility to make sure that you are towing in accordance with the law. Also, it should be noted that your towing vehicle must be 100% roadworthy. If it is not we regret to inform you that we cannot, under any circumstances, allow you to rent one of our fine trailers.
How to Tow a Trailer – Valuable Information:
When renting from us, you will receive a host of ‘worth more than gold’ information on how to tow a trailer. It is not published here as there is no way for you to read it while on the road and we would prefer to share to with you in person. It is available from all of our branches in printed form. Read it, better still; get your road trip partner to read it to you while driving. This way it can be fresh in your mind while you are still on the road and you can stop any incidents before they happen.
To this day we have yet to find a ‘Man’s Man’ who would read through our advice before hitching the new trailer rental they have just picked up. “I know what I’m doing” or “I’ve towed trailers long before you were born” is what we hear on a daily basis when our staff is simply trying to do their job.
Be aware that if you do not heed our advice we will be smiling if you return with a broken trailer. We will be happy to write you out an invoice for the damages, and furthermore, we will make sure that it costs more than the gatepost you hit while backing out of your gate. It would be far cheaper to take a few minutes to listen to us, we have after all been in the business for a while. We tow trailers day in and day out; the advice we give is free and comes from experience.
Remember:
- Don’t Speed!
- Don’t Overload!
- Don’t Return Our Trailer Late!
- Read and Listen to our Free Advice
In the end it is really that simple. If you can follow our instructions you will find that your trailer rental should be seamless.