I have some vehicles that I will be flat Towing. As I'm traveling I often see towed vehicles that the tow truck only uses the flashers.
As I move my vehicles, some of them would be by highway some will be on regular roads, so should I just be using my signals or should I just be using my hazards?
By the way the trips are about an hour or an hour and a half long something like that. Some might only be 20 minutes or so. The one I'm thinking of currently would be from New Jersey to Pennsylvania, coming up Route 76, but the others are just local in state.
I'm sure you experienced tow guys know best but I'm also going to call Brian and see what he says.
@brian991219
Towing- using flashers or regular signals?
Discussion in 'Experienced Truckers' Advice' started by Dino soar, Mar 12, 2023.
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I’d get one of the Guardian Angel battery powered strobe lights .
I have a couple and they are handy , and around $100
I assume you already have the magnetic tail lights that you will be sticking on the rear of the cars ?
$35 on Amazon or your local tractor supply or auto parts store is cheap insurance for working taillights on the towed vehicle.Sirscrapntruckalot and Dino soar Thank this. -
I will say it is confusing AF to everyone else when someone is driving down the road with the flashers on. No idea what their intentions are - are they going to change lanes, exit the highway, slowing down etc.
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Some type of light bar plugged in to the tow hitch plug would be the professional way. Tail lights. Turns. You also need brakes. You didn't mention that.
Don't be an unprofessional tow truck that only uses hazards.
Light bars are cheap. I bought one of them led strips for my colorado on Amazon for $25. It has 2 rows of red tail. One row brightens for brake. A 3rd row flashes yellow for turn. It's one of those that starts at the middle and goes outter. For each side.Last edited: Mar 12, 2023
beastr123, Concorde, Sirscrapntruckalot and 1 other person Thank this. -
You could rig up something fairly cheaply and have actual lights on the back vehicle like @snowwy mentioned. In the Midwest we see a lot of convoys headed from the auction south to the border. Usually one vehicle flat towing two others. They have a light bar on the rear vehicle, or at the very least two magnetic lights that are tied into the lead vehicle.
RockinChair, Sirscrapntruckalot and Hammer166 Thank this. -
If they don’t wanna spend that , then they deserve the liability if they have an accident and the other persons dashcam shows there were no working tail lights on the junker being towed to the scrap yard .
and hopefully their tow vehicle is heavy enough that it has the necessary braking ability .Sirscrapntruckalot Thanks this. -
I have a battery powered light bar that operates remotely. It plugs in the pigtail outlet on the cab.
Search "wireless light bar"
Probably make them for other tow vehicles and plugs also.
Don't run with just the 4ways flashing. That's lazy. (My opinion).
Good luckConcorde and Sirscrapntruckalot Thank this. -
I have magnetic lights that are wired not just for turn signals and Hazards and stop lights, but also for running lights the same as the truck.
My instinct is to just run it and use the signals and brakes but I was curious what anyone else thinks.
And I am curious why I see so many professional tow guys do that. I do agree it's very confusing because you can't tell what their intentions are. But I've seen so many of that, that's why I asked the question.Last edited: Mar 12, 2023
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Wireless last I knew is still illegal in my state. I had a pile of tickets for wireless light bars. Cheap, no point violations. But no cord, no count in Ohio. That was 10 years ago. Maybe changed. I changed jobs since then. Yet everyone ran them.Sirscrapntruckalot Thanks this. -
Dino, just run the mag lights, that's all we have been using when we were moving the vehicles to the new place.
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