Not sure if this is breaking any group rules and if so...I preface this with an apology. I need to know people's opinions on my situation. I am 45 (male) and was partially blinded in 2009 due to a benign brain tumor. I continued to work (shipping/receiving) for years after due to my knowledge of what was needed to complete the position satisfactorily. I ended up moving to Colorado and after working (I promis this WILL be about the tow industry!) until my visual limitations prevented me from continuing the position. Before hand a co worker asked me "why don't you go on disability" and so I did. I am legally blind but I can see out of the eye (left) that was less compromised by the tumor so I CAN see just it's like delayed vision (I cannot drive as everything is moving too fast to be able to safely drive) throw keys at me to catch...I will be unable to catch them. So I've been on disability for some time now and after walking past a scene at an intersection I thought about what I originally wanted to do in life. I'd love to be at least the person that helps the driver with wrecks, spread absorption materials for spills, set safety flares, pull chains etc....Or would I? I'm asking to see if there are any people that work in the industry and can say "yeeeeah no this is lame work and I wish I could be on disability" or "this is hard work with long hours that will be strenuous but ultimately rewarding" What should I do? Leave the disability status to become a tow service assistant?

P.S.

I LOVE cars and it was my passion before I lost vision. Been turning wrenches in one form or another since age 15 so again working in a field centered around automobiles would be great and not feel like work. TIA for any opinions!

Recently took a 400-mile trip with my 2013 Toyota Sienna XLE AWD pulling a 6x12 U-Haul trailer. This was my first time ever towing anything, and I definitely learned a lot along the way.

A few things I noticed:

1. Braking: I knew beforehand that I’d need to start braking a lot earlier, but wow, I didn’t realize how much of a difference it would make. There were definitely a few moments where traffic suddenly piled up and I got a little nervous trying to slow everything down.

2. Hitch: U-Haul ended up giving me a hitch setup that sat too low. I really needed one with a rise instead, because the trailer kept bottoming out throughout the trip, especially over dips and uneven roads. Definitely something I’ll pay more attention to next time.

3. Rear suspension: The rear of the Sienna was definitely squatting quite a bit. I knew the trailer was heavy, but seeing how much the rear dropped was pretty surprising.
   The Sienna is rated to tow up to 3,500 lbs when properly equipped, and with the 6x12 U-Haul weighing around 1,920 lbs empty, I think I was getting pretty close to that limit once everything was loaded up.

Overall, it was definitely a learning experience. A little nerve-racking at times, but I actually enjoyed it and would do it again, just with a better setup and more preparation.

I am looking for a trailer to tow my utv but also my drift car and any other cars OR TRUCKS as well that I would ever have to tow. Would this trailer work to tow cars? Would the rear ramp break with the weight of a car going over it? Would i be better off getting a separate set of ramps?

I drive a 2022 Toyota Sienna AWD. Unsure what's helpful here, but:

GCWR - 8995

Curb Weight - 4725

Passengers - 565

Tow capacity - 3500

Max tongue weight - 350

I know better than to think I can tow 3500lbs, but can someone help me understand what I actually can tow? I'd really like to get a lightweight popup camper in the vicinity of 1800lbs. Is that doable? The last time I towed, I drove a Ram 2500 with a travel trailer and didn't ask enough questions to know how to figure it out next time. This time with kids and dogs, I'd like to know what I don't know and not push my limits. I can limit my cargo pretty dramatically as we're a low-maintenance fam. Thanks for any help!

Thinking of renting an f150 to start freelance worth. Its 1500 a month. Is it a good idea? I dont specialize in any specific thing but i can haul and do manual labor. I figure start hauling and towing and switch to power wash, lawn care, roadside assistance, or something else later.

It's just missing a WDH..

Sono alla prima esperienza di traino, ho una ruloutte di 1200 kg a libretto.
Sarei deciso a comprare una 308 bluehdi 130cv eat8 sw.
Qualcuno ha esperienza di traino con questo motore e questo cambio? Grazie!

Edit: Thanks for the advice. Having a Class 3 - 2" installed this morning.

Have a 2019 VW Tiguan AWD rated at 1500lbs. Initial tows will be U-Haul trailer for moving. I can see eventually towing a teardrop or other small travel trailer if one can be found cheap enough. Plan to one day have an RV of some sort though for camping/traveling.

All of the kits I've seen for wireless trailer lights have a 7 pin connector for a transmitter. Is that because the 7 pin provides power for the transmitter? If you add an adapter to go from 4 pin to 7 pin will the transmitter work?

Put a new set of trailer tires on the duck boat last year. They are rated for 1050 lbs per tire according to the manufacturer and says they are at 80lb maximum psi. Everything i researched before said the tires should be near the 80 lb psi as thats what gets you the max carrying weight of the tire. I have talked to a couple people who said its likely over inflated. Did I read the wrong information installing these, or is there some other issue at play here? I checked the wheelbearings and there's no griding or looseness of the wheels. The duck boat with gear and trailer weight is maybe 800 to 1000 pounds.

OK, common sense says it’s totally fine. But unfortunately, common sense doesn’t always equal good engineering. With all these new trucks and their four-wheel-drive systems being so temperamental, and so many electronics attached to it, does simply pulling a front driveshaft work anymore? Was towing a ram 1500, with the four-wheel-drive auto option on the dial, and it got me thinking. Asked one of my more experienced towers at my job, and he said it should be fine as well. But I just want to hear everyone else’s thoughts on this matter for those you who have be doing a whole of a whole lot longer than I have.

This instance, the rear end needed work, and oversized tires made it too wide for the dollies. My company gives me.

Hey all, need some input and suggestions.

The wife and I just bought a 2016 Yamaha yxz 1000r, which I can easily tow with my ram, however we are wanting to use the side by side when we camp, which means my truck is busy towing the 5th wheel so the wife would need to tow the side by side.

Now the wife’s car is a 2026 Hyundai Santa Fe with the 2.5L turbo and the 8 speed tans. Everything I’ve ready says it can handle 3000lbs so I’m thinking a small 14ft single axle trailer should be Ok… any input or advice would be greatly appreciated.

I canny double tow because would be beyond the 70ft limit in Oklahoma, and I can’t carry the side by side on a roof rack because the SRW ram doesn’t have the payload.. so my only option is toying with the Santa Fe, or upgrading the truck or her vehicle, but we just bought both in the last year so changing vehicles is not a option at the moment..

Thought I’d put this here too

Howdy folks!

As the title says, I've got questions about the tire pressure and wheel bearing grease on my trailer.
I have a double axle trailer I bought in 2023. I use it to tow 2-3 times a year. So far, it's done about 4000 miles. I'm about to add 2000 miles this coming week.

Grease

I remembered I've never actually checked bearing grease. Just popped the caps off and this is how they look.

I'm unsure who makes the axles but the wheels are Dexstars if that matters.

Question 1: Do these bearings have enough grease? Or do I need to add?
Question 2: Since I have no idea what grease was used from the factory, can I use any grease? I have a tube of Mobil XHP 222. Is that appropriate? Or do I need to grab a tube of the red stuff?

Trailer Tires

The trailer has a GVWR of 7000lbs.
The tires are ST205/75R15C with a cold max psi of 50.

From the dealer lot, these tires were at 32psi, and that's where they've lived since then. Should I be increasing the pressure?
The trailer weighs about 2000lbs and I have about 2500lbs of cargo. The tires appear to be wearing evenly, but I just want to know if I should be increasing the pressure or not.

Towing Tires

The tow vehicle is a 2008 Toyota Sequoia, with the factory size 275/55R20 XL tires, with a cold max psi of 50. I adhere to the door sticker for tire pressure when I'm not towing, which is 30F/33R.

But I'm wondering if I should be increasing the rear tire pressure when towing.

I noticed the tire tread was beginning to chevron after the last tow trip and I don't know if that's because the tires were under inflated or not.

Our KMI scores are killing our scores, and I have no idea why. We are calling the customers immediately after we receive the dispatch, we call them when we are en route, we are marking them acknowledged and the KMI fields. They constantly receive text updates from the Gannt. Management says that half of it is marking KMI and the other half is from customer surveys. There's no damn way these people aren't "informed". What do they expect? Do members expect us to call them every single step of the way, "Hey we're on scene, hey we've got it loaded, hey we've dropped it off, etc." Our dispatchers already call so many people that it literally affects and slows down dispatch operations. Anybody got any tips or advice?

Hello all, I went to Paprika in Austin Texas today and parked in the lot next to it which is Side Kitsch Vintage store. First of all, there is no sign in front of the spot that I was in as you can see in the attached image.

I come out of Paprika and then Kitsch and my car is booted. The guy says the sign says towing enforced on all that aren’t at the 4 restaurants - none of which were Paprika. However when I looked at the sign, it was damaged and obscured. Please see the attached sign. It was a $200 fee, so I’m trying to understand what I should do next.

Hello, I live in Michigan and in my area a ton of people tend to get stuck. I have a 2016 Tacoma and I love to help, the only issue is how? Outside of a specified tow hook I find myself not finding any good tow spots on a lot of these vehicles.

Long story short. How can I hook up to a vehicle from the front and rear (depending on situation) without damaging it. I know you shouldn’t hook up to a control arm but some of the vehicles are barred bad. I’m willing to dig and do what it takes to do it right. I just want some guidance of what my limitations are and how I can help the best I can. I also just ordered some maxtrax recovery boards as option A. Gonna repost in a few subs to get as much guidance as I can so please don’t be annoyed by any repost 🙏. Thanks again and please cut it to me straight. I’m uneducated looking to be educated.

Edit: I should have emphasized that there is a small dirt ally behind my house that has deep rivets people get stuck in. No way in hell am I doing this on the free way or express ways. I am talking about MINOR situations. I get the risk and fucking ride it brother.

My friend wants to buy this Airstream and have is placed on his property but I have not been able to inspect the trailer. All I know is it has no brakes or lights. Tires are unknown. Ive towed horse trailers for years just nothing without brakes.

What are your thoughts or concerns? Any other suggestions?

I think it can be done but I want to take every precaution.

Flipping a fixed mount to get rise is fine, and the derate is on the sticker: most fixed mounts carry a lower GTW and tongue weight rating in the rise orientation than in the drop, because the load path through the shank changes. Almost nobody reads that line.

We all know why it's derated. What I don't know is how often it matters in the field - has anyone here actually reached that limit flipped, or is it a conservative margin that never gets tested??

I need a smaller utility trailer, around 5'X10' to haul tools with my F150 between Oklahoma and Ohio. They all seem to come with 13 inch wheels. I'm a little concerned with the wheel bearings spinning so fast for so long. Are they capable of a trip like this multiple times a year? Any special considerations?

If it would be suspect, generally, can 15" hubs be mounted and the fenders modified?

Random question that I just cannot shake. If you have a 1 of a kind car that costs millions and you have it on bags so you can drop it to touch the ground and also a deadlock to make it possible to disable the car remotely, what happens if law enforcement needs to tow the car for say, a DUI?

Obviously they must seize it but how would you tow something like that?