We know that towing can be an unwanted expense, especially if you are dealing with a broken down vehicle. Many people consider whether there may be a way to do this without the help of a professional, but is it a good idea? Is it legal? We discuss these questions and more below to help you decide whether you should give it a go yourself.
In NSW it is legal to tow a trailer, car or caravan if you have a full licence and have set up your car with all the necessary requirements for safety.
Your car must be fitted with the correct towbar and couplings of suitable capacity, you must have electrical sockets set up correctly for lighting the caravan, car or trailer. You will likely need extra mirrors unless you are towing a very small trailer. If your car is automatic you may need an extra transmission oil cooler, and some vehicles also require structural reinforcements and other amendments such as load-distributing devices. If your car is not set up with all of these amendments and you are doing a one-off towing job, it will likely be more cost effective to hire a professional.
There are regulations in NSW around the towing capacity of your vehicle depending on the vehicle, the tow bar and coupling, and the weight and size of the vehicle being towed. You can check these with Service NSW.
Towing a vehicle is a difficult thing to do if you haven’t got much experience, it’s not the same as driving a car normally. Your vehicle will become much heavier and longer than usual, so you will need to drive slowly and take extra care on hills, and when merging in traffic. If you try to do this without experience you risk damaging both the vehicle leading and the vehicle being towed.