Towing & Roadside Assistance Glossary of Terms & Definitions

Citywide Towing is assisting motorists across the Greater Dallas, Texas area with a number of towing and roadside assistance services. Being fully licensed and insured to provide the community with our professional expertise and services has given us the opportunity to hone our skills and efficiency. Our experts are completely trained, experienced, and skilled; possessing all the credentials necessary to ensure professional care and assistance. With Citywide Towing, you can expect friendly customer service, traditional values, and exceptional work ethics to give our valued customers a phenomenal experience every time they are in need of our aid.

Towing Glossary of Terms & Definitions

In an effort to extend Citywide Towing customer service online, we have compiled a glossary of terms and phrases frequently heard in our industry so that our customers have a better understanding of towing services and procedures.
Coupler: The coupler is conjoined with the trailer tongue and is the round, hollowed portion that fits over the hitch ball.
Flatbed Tow: A tow truck equipped with a platform that the vehicle needing a tow has all 4 wheels securely resting on the surface with no contact to the ground.
Hitch Ball: The hitch ball is constructed steel that’s bolted through the hitch head.
Hitch Receiver: The hitch receiver permits the insertion of the hitch shank; located under tow vehicle bumper which usually bolts to the tow vehicle frame.
Trailer Tongue Weight: The applied downward force by the trailer coupler on the hitch ball.
Shank: The shank inserts into the tow vehicle receiver, connecting to the hitch head.
Sway Control Bracket: Sway control brackets that bolt on to the trailer frame. To create steel on steel friction sway control, the spring arms rest on the bracket.
Spring Arms: Included in the hitch assembly, the spring arms connect to the hitch head and the brackets that are set of solid steel square bars.
Socket: The socket is rectangular steel tubes on the hitch head where the spring arms are inserted.
Linear Friction: Linear friction is steel on steel positive friction created at the connection point of the spring arm on the L-bracket that provides integrated sway control.
Rotational Friction: Connected where head sockets rotate inside hitch head, the downward pressure from the trailer tongue and upward pressure from the spring arms creates rotational friction, contributing to integrated sway control.
Weight Distribution: The distributed weight over the axels of the tow vehicle and trailer prevents tow vehicle and trailer from sagging in the center.
Weight Distributing Hitch: A weight-distributing hitch is a system that includes a shank attached to the tow vehicle receiver along with a hitch head, spring arm or spring bar assembly, and brackets that connect to the trailer frame.
Wheel Lift Towing: Tow trucks equipped with a wheel lift capabilities have a metal yoke that fits underneath either the front or rear wheels of the vehicle to be towed, leaving the remaining two wheels connected to the ground that run along the roadway during the duration of the tow.

Roadside Assistance Glossary of Terms & Definitions

Accident: Damage to the vehicle or property caused by a collision or impact with any object.
Emergency Roadside Assistance: An assortment of basic services available to assist disabled vehicles becomes mobile again.
Commercial Vehicle: A trade or business vehicle that is used only for delivering products and services associated with the industry.
Disabled Vehicle: A vehicle that has become disabled in such that it is unable to be driven safely due to; mechanical failure, engine fire, flooding that doesn’t inflict on the vehicle’s cabin, or malicious act.
Mechanical Breakdown: A vehicle that makes the car unsafe or inoperable due to mechanical malfunction that has occurred during operation of the vehicle.
Minor Mechanical Repairs: Minor and/or temporary solutions to repair the vehicle in an effort to make them operable for a short time.
Pre-existing Condition: A pre-existing condition of a vehicle an issue that a professional has diagnosed that causes the vehicle to experience ongoing malfunction.
Tow(s): A vehicle transporting another vehicle with appropriate equipment.

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