Car and Accessories

If you are towing a trailer for the first time you will want to have everything going for you. Changing from a single vehicle to what is essentially double that, is not a step to be taken casually. The hitch you use to link your tow vehicle to your trailer is a key element in your safety and the safety of other motorists on the road.

A great deal hinges on the choice of hitch in the world of towing. There are a number of factors that you need to take into consideration when making the decision. Before doing anything else, you will need to consult your vehicle owner’s manual.

This comprehensive source of information will give you valuable information regarding the towing specifications of your vehicle. You will want to stay well within the parameters outlined in the manual, being ever cautious not to place the rig under more pressure than it can safely handle.

Remember that what you can tow under ideal towing conditions and what you can tow under challenging conditions are two completely different things. The tow combination that you put together needs to have capacity to spare in order to handle these challenges when they arise.

Both the tow vehicle and the hitching system have weight capacities that impact the safety of the whole rig. Once you have determined the tow vehicle’s maximum towing capacity you will be able to choose the trailer and hitch that is the best fit. Tow hitches come in varying classes to match the weight capacities of the vehicle and the gross trailer weight, known as the GTW.

Trailer hitches are specific to each vehicle so you need to find the exact hitch for your vehicle model and year. Most online websites will have you key in these details before coming up with the hitch for your vehicle. The most common hitches are receivers. They are the ones that you see on most SUVs, trucks, vans and RVs. They come in Classes specific to their weight carrying capacity.

Class I hitches have a GTW of anything up to 2,000lbs. They are the best option for light duty tow vehicles and commonly allow for the towing of smaller loads like bike racks and utility trailers.

Class II hitches, with a GTW of 3,500lbs, are commonly used on passenger vans and the less powerful SUVs. Class II hitches are capable of towing smaller, lighter travel trailers safely. Some class II hitches can have their tow capacities expanded in combination with a good weight distribution system. Details on this option should be available in your vehicle owner’s manual.

Class III hitches have a more generous tow capacity of up to 5,000lbs. They are the most common hitch for the more powerful SUVs and trucks and allow for heavier duty towing and a broader range of weight distribution systems that balance out the trailer load between the wheels of the tow vehicle and those of the trailer.

The addition of this kind of hitch system offers enhanced safety in the form of improved steering and brake control. Once you have selected the correct hitch for your vehicle and trailer and you have had it shipped to your door you will be faced with a mysterious bundle of odds and ends that bolts onto your vehicle frame without welding. Installation times vary from 30 minutes to an hour so don’t rush.

If you have doubts about the finished product of your work you might want to invest in a second opinion from a professional before heading out onto the highway.

A couple weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, I was running late. My morning coffee didn’t wake me up like it should have, and I was dragging. As a result, I was going to be late for church, and as a teacher, that wasn’t going to be good!

I finally got my stuff together and ran outside to my car. It was raining. As I put the key in the ignition, I knew something wasn’t right. I turned the key…nothing. The car wouldn’t start. I hoped the problem was only with the battery, so I rolled the car onto the street, pulled my wife’s car out, and jumped the battery. It worked!

After church was over, I took my car to a garage, where I found out the problem was the battery, and I replaced it.

But what if the problem wasn’t the battery? What if it was some kind of engine failure? The car was only five years old, but there could be an engine problem at any time. Before I found out definitively what the problem was, the only thing that ran through my mind was dollar signs—what would this cost me if it was an engine problem?

It turns out I didn’t have to worried at all. When I bought the car, I could have bought a vehicle extended warranty that would have covered engine repairs (and some other things), but I was too cheap to do it. I decided to gamble on the car working properly until I wanted to get rid of it, and I got lucky that something major didn’t happen to it.

What about you? Have you considered getting a vehicle extended warranty? For the small monthly cost, it would certainly give you peace-of mind. Knowing that your car was covered for repairs even that much longer will help you feel better when your car overheats in the fourth year of your vehicle extended warranty—especially if your original warranty expired after three years.

Many insurance companies and dealers will offer a vehicle extended warranty. You should look into it, and get several free quotes to compare. Then, you can make the best decision you can to get a vehicle extended warranty.

Do you own a leased car, truck or SUV, but aren’t quite happy with the dealer-installed sound system? Would you like to have a video system in your leased vehicle, but are deterred by the expensive costs of the DVD player and overhead drop-down screens offered by the dealership.

In the past, if you were unhappy with the entertainment system in your leased vehicle, you either had to accept the system as it was or pay to have it customized to your preferred taste and then pay once again for the original equipment to be reinstalled before returning your leased vehicle to the dealership.

On top of that, if your custom installer did not restore all of the original equipment to make it look as if nothing had been changed, the dealer would tack on yet another fee. This situation is obviously very reasonable unless you really love a quality automotive entertainment center and you have plenty of money to burn.

Luckily, over the past few years, there have been products to hit the market that directly meet the needs of those who own leased vehicles and also enjoy the benefits of a quality sound and video system in their vehicle. To enhance your sound system, consider an easy-to-install XM Satellite receiver.

There are kits available that offer the receiver along with plenty of mounting and placement options. The kits include mounting hardware, a micro antenna, and both a cassette and power adaptor that allow you to play the XM Satellite radio through your vehicle’s original sound system.

There are also wireless kits to accommodate vehicles that don’t have a cassette player. In the video arena, there are new and innovative products that give you more options than the traditional drop-down or in-dash video screens.

Now there are video monitor headrests and sun visors designed to replace the headrests or passenger-side sun visor in your vehicle. The manufacturers have even been so creative as to match the fabric, leather or vinyl to what is in your particular vehicle’s model and color. They’ve even gone so far as to match the stitching as well! The monitors easily connect to your vehicle’s sound system. They can also easily be connected to a DVD player or video game system.

There are absolutely no holes involved as the wires run easily through the posts of the headrest. When you are ready to return your leased vehicle, you simply pop out the headrest monitors and reattach the original headrests.

These are just two examples of how you can customize the entertainment system in your leased vehicle. There are several other devices that can accommodate the needs of a leased vehicle owner as well. Just because you drive a leased vehicle doesn’t mean that you can’t enjoy it as if you owned it!